We talked with Praenaris, the indie team making The Silent Swan, an upcoming artistically haunting video game with much promise.
It is rare that a young group of talented, independent video game developers get together and catch the eye of a giant of the industry, such as PlayStation, and that is exactly what happened to the passionate people behind Praenaris. A Spanish group of friends joined by their shared love of gaming were catapulted into the spotlight thanks to the trailer reveal of their first project, The Silent Swan.
Published over a year ago, it has amassed more than 300 thousand views on the PlayStation YouTube channel. Now close to finally releasing their first project, they took the time to give us insightful details about their studio, philosophy, and what drives them to see The Silent Swan out the door and beyond.
Andres Garza: It is mentioned on your website that Praenaris was created in 2020. How did the journey to develop The Silent Swan begin?
Praenaris: Our journey at Praenaris is something we are incredibly proud of. We started as a university project with just a few friends who were passionate about game development.
Back in 2020, we committed ourselves to dedicating hours to The Silent Swan, even without any income. Over time, things began to take off, and an important moment came when we were accepted into the PlayStation Spain program for indie game developers. This was a crucial turning point for our studio, laying the foundation for what was to come.
Since then, we have been dedicated to developing The Silent Swan, attending various gaming events, working with amazing people along the way, publishing official trailers, and creating a community around our work.
But perhaps the most thrilling part of our journey is that we have realized our dream of having a physical edition of The Silent Swan for PS5, made possible through our partnership with Selecta Play.
Andres Garza: The Silent Swan’s atmospheric trailer released last year showed a mysterious narrative with an expansive open world and a clear art style. What are your main inspirations for The Silent Swan?
Praenaris: We take inspiration from various sources, but games are our major inspiration. When developing The Silent Swan, our primary inspirations were drawn from Stalker, a 1979 movie, the game Firewatch, published in 2017, and the iconic Shadow of the Colossus from 2005.
Andres Garza: Now that you have been able to share The Silent Swan on different gaming events, how has player feedback influenced the game?
Praenaris: Player feedback has significantly influenced various aspects of the game, including gameplay mechanics, user interface enhancements, and even narrative elements.
For instance, initially, players were supposed to walk straight down a road at the beginning of the game, but we noticed that sometimes players lost interest during this segment. Their suggestions prompted us to create new mechanics, introducing the bicycle which you can see in all our trailers.
We have listened closely to our community, taking note of what resonated with them and continuously refining The Silent Swan. However, it is essential to mention that we also have a clear vision for the game, but player feedback has undeniably shaped The Silent Swan and we are grateful for that.
Andres Garza: What is the philosophy behind Praenaris? Are there any other interests you pursue as a studio besides gaming to keep the creativity flowing?
Praenaris: The philosophy behind Praenaris is rooted in our passion for storytelling and creating immersive gaming experiences.
At Praenaris, we believe that games possess the power to transport players to different worlds, evoke emotions, and challenge them with perspectives they might never have imagined.
To keep our creativity flowing, we embrace a multidisciplinary approach. While gaming is at the core of our studio, we take inspiration from various art forms, literature, music, other video games, and films.
Sometimes, during moments when we are not inundated with work, we do workshops of 15 to 30 minutes aimed at exploring our creativity. We pick a word or image and set a clear goal to create a concept or story. These exercises serve to awaken our creativity and come up with new ideas.
In essence, our philosophy is centered on storytelling, immersion, and the pursuit of delivering unique gaming experiences to our players.
Andres Garza: What are your thoughts on the current state of indie video games?
Praenaris: Responding to this question is no small task, but we believe it is an exciting time to be part of this industry.
The current state of indie video games encompasses diverse perspectives, making it difficult to provide exact insights. However, from the perspective of indie developers, we can see a multitude of great projects emerging.
We have access to tools and platforms to be creative, we can also develop better and faster than in previous years. This allows small studios to remain competitive. Moreover, the indie community is incredibly supportive despite the highly competitive landscape, and we are proud to be part of this. It is true that financial sustainability can be a concern for indie developers, but it is a challenge that entrepreneurs in any industry face.
Overall, while there are challenges, the indie game scene is full of creativity, dedication, and passion from both developers and players.
Andres Garza: How did the interaction with PlayStation happen, and will you take advantage of any console features, such as the DualSense controller?
Praenaris: We entered the PlayStation Talents program in 2022 which provides a platform for indie game developers, offering them resources, mentorship, and guidance.
The program presents indie developers with opportunities for exposure and recognition within the PlayStation community, which can be a game-changer for smaller studios. Thanks to this, we have seen our trailers reach a wider audience, and it has also allowed us to establish a partnership with Selecta Play, our publisher.
Thanks to this, we can offer a physical edition and we can also provide features from PlayStation 5. We believe the DualSense controller can be an opportunity to immerse players in the world of The Silent Swan.
Andres Garza: Finally, what are your short and long-term plans for Praenaris?
Praenaris: We hope this to be but a first step in our long voyage across the oceans of the video game industry. A short while ago, we announced the project title of our upcoming video game right after The Silent Swan, which is launching on November 3rd.
This means that even as we focus on individual games, we are already working on our next video game. We expect this to be the case for every project we work on, representing our ever-advancing passion for video games.
Andres Garza: Where can gamers find you on social media for all content related to The Silent Swan?
Praenaris: For the latest updates and insights into our studio, we invite everyone to connect with us on Twitter and Steam, which are our primary communication channels.
However, if gamers are interested in delving deeper into the ins and outs of the studio, they can join us on Discord.
Many thanks to María Solana for taking the time to answer my questions on behalf of the Praenaris team and doing the interview with GamesCreed. We wish them all the very best with their game, The Silent Swan. Keep up with Praenaris by following them on Twitter and through their website.
