It Takes Two
Architecture fans to play a game an analyze a Honey I Shrunk the Kids style of level design and architectural representation.
It Takes Two (Game of the Year at this year’s Game Awards) is obviously an incredible game. Great puzzle design, world design, and art design merge for the Megazord of two player couch co-op games. I highly recommend playing it.
However, the architectural design and building representation were hit and miss. I find the idea of “we’re small so everything has a totally different function. Small things are big now” as tropey from the get go and it is a rough up hill battle to convince me otherwise. We’ve seen the premise so many times. Honey I Shrunk the Kids, The Borrowers, The Secret World of Arrietty, Ratatouille, etc. (there are probably hundreds of games and movies with this world building). I personally find it gauche.
It Takes Two managed to win me over and convinced me that, in fact, changing scales of mundane household objects can be interesting.
The most fluent aspect of the architectural design express themselves in the atmospheres of each act. The magic of the climate and the whimsy of the structure help hide the weak points of its urban design and architectural vernacular. In particular I found the design of the snow globe to feel cozy and fun despite having serious issues with the the actual architecture of the buildings and lack of density.
It’s hard to argue that this feels warm and inviting. Many of the missing details can easily be chalked up to “it’s a snow globe, of course it’s missing detail”. It Takes Two capitalizes on the freedom a lack of detail provides by experimenting with some really unique textures.
Some moments really feel deep and dense, but are easily exposed when viewed from a higher vantage point. Buildings are typically only one or two rows thick and only where the level design is actually engaging.
It Takes Two’s atmospheric design is at its best when it throws caution to the wind and ignores trying to make small reality make sense. When it focuses on the lighting and depth of a space it excels. Whether it is the inner workings of a clock,
or the neon music vibes,
These levels feel experimental and transcendent. It feels like what I imagine living live at a different scale would actually feel like. I don’t think I would recognize a paint can or a candy cane at this type of miniscule scale. These anthropocentric items would take on a new meaning down to their core, not only their uses.
It Takes Two is an incredible game, and despite its unoriginal premise and unimaginative architectural design, it excels at crafting a complete atmosphere and experimenting with materiality at an ant’s eye view.