For decades, LEGO games have followed a familiar formula, but a new title from Light Brick Studio is changing the game – LEGO Voyagers is a unique co-op adventure that puts you and a friend in the shoes of a couple of LEGO bricks.
We spoke with Karsten Lund, Creative Director at Light Brick Studio, for an exclusive interview to discuss LEGO Voyagers’ revolutionary physics, its mandatory co-op design, and the heartfelt story told without a single word.
And further to that, you can read our full review thoughts surrounding LEGO Voyagers too.
Hi there, please could you introduce yourself. What is your role at Light Brick Studio and what was your involvement with LEGO Voyagers?
I’m Karsten Lund, I’m the creative director on LEGO Voyagers, lucky to work with the talented team here at Light Brick on bringing our visions to life.
For those who have never played a LEGO game before (or haven’t experienced the new take on gameplay), could you briefly explain the premise of LEGO Voyagers, and what they’d be missing out on should they not check it out?
LEGO Voyagers is a game that explores what it feels like to be a LEGO brick. You get to tumble, connect to other bricks and build your way through rich brick build environments, all while being immersed in a nonverbal narrative about friendship and play.
If you love LEGO bricks, you should definitely try this new take on what a LEGO game can be.
During my time with LEGO Voyagers, I noticed an emphasis on physics based puzzles rather than the typical building puzzles found in previous LEGO games. What inspired the change in focus and did your earlier title, LEGO Builder’s Journey, play a big role?
We didn’t want to repeat ourselves, so when a prototype of tumbling with a LEGO brick proved itself to be a lot of fun, we knew that we had to embrace the physics of being a brick in the world. The challenge was to make a building system that is simple enough to work while operating a brick like that.
Given the nature of LEGO pieces and environments sometimes being difficult to work with, did these cause any development challenges? How did you overcome them?
Compared to LEGO Builder’s Journey the world is much bigger (around 1,7million LEGO bricks), that was definitely a challenge to overcome, fortunately we have an awesome team of LEGO modelers on staff, to work on the beautiful models in the game. As well as some clever procedural systems for foliage and optimized rendering.
It’s clear that a blend of open exploration and building is highlighted in this game, but how did you balance this sense of freedom with pacing and challenge?
We have pockets of exploration followed by more linear play.
We balanced this through playtests and planning the rhythm for introducing new concepts, teaching them, and twisting them or combining them with other previously introduced mechanics. A lot of small easy puzzles exist only to establish a certain way of thinking to be used later in more challenging ways.
In previous LEGO titles, players could construct massive creations in just a few seconds, to what extent can players hope to build with LEGO in LEGO Voyagers?
In LEGO Voyagers we focus on the singular brick, and building with singular bricks, we believe that playing with LEGO bricks is fun in the physical world, so it should also be fun in the digital world.
The players will build to solve puzzles, but here are also some creative playgrounds for building and decorating something massive. I think this is for the players to discover.
Of course, not everything planned for a game always makes the cut. Was there anything planned for LEGO Voyagers that you had to take out for whatever reason?
We cut a lot of things out in our games, if we can’t reach the quality levels we want or if players have a hard time figuring them out. We also iterate a lot which means we re-work certain levels many times over, in order to get the experience we aim for.
So there are a lot of ideas that didn’t make the cut.
Co-op has often been optional in previous LEGO games, but what are the benefits to making it mandatory?
When you know that you have two players at all times, you can be more specific in the puzzle design and story telling. We also find that two players are good at helping each other with figuring out what to do, which makes the experience even more enjoyable, and smooth.
It feels like LEGO Voyagers could well be perfect for those who don’t play too many games. Was LEGO Voyagers specifically designed as an entry point for the younger or more casual gamer, perhaps those looking to start out on their gaming journey?
We tested a lot during development, on all types of players, we really wanted this game to be playable and enjoyed by everyone.
In an industry that can often be run by the thought of money, the Friend’s Pass system stands out as a shining light. Could you briefly explain what this system is and what drove you to implement it?
Our goal is to get the game in the hands of as many players as possible, and since it’s a co-op only game, it felt obvious that finding a friend to play was to be the only real barrier to getting to try.
In terms of story, how do you go about crafting a heartfelt tale with an emotional storyline that is able to capture the hearts of viewers, all without dialogue?
I think it’s about understanding the underlying theme of what we want to tell, and then making sure that every beat points in that direction in some way or another.
The story came out of gameplay and not the other way around, this made it easier to use game mechanics to tell the story rather than telling it in parallel.
The emotions come from all of our collective experience of friendship and growing older together, we feel that if it resonates with us, it just might resonate with the players too.
What prompted the choice of two singular LEGO bricks for the protagonists? Was it purely a narrative choice, or did gameplay factor into the decision?
We wanted to go deeper to the core of what LEGO play is, so for us it was a natural step to try to explore how it feels to be a LEGO brick. That is how it started; with the simplest of bricks in a brick world.
What are the next steps to expanding upon LEGO Voyagers? Are we likely to see some DLC, a sequel, or any kind of revisit to this style of gameplay anytime soon?
We don’t have any DLC planned just yet, but we feel like we haven’t explored every aspect of this game style, so maybe…
Was the initial plan for LEGO Voyagers to come with a big IP/franchise attached, or was this original story always the primary idea?
We like to invent universes and tell our own stories at Light Brick. We also believe in a game play first approach to form the basis for our narrative in order to make a more coherent experience. So that was the plan all along.
And finally, if you had to pick one LEGO set you or the staff at Light Brick Studio loves, what would it be and why? And similarly, if you’re not playing LEGO Voyagers or LEGO Builder’s Journey, what LEGO game ARE you playing? 😉
Actually we’ve been so busy finishing the game that we have to brush up on other LEGO games, now that we have the time. We’re looking forward to trying some of the new LEGO games that are coming out.
But we’re also excited to see where our next prototypes will take us.
With its focus on a non-verbal narrative, mandatory co-op, and a Friends Pass system, LEGO Voyagers is a shining example of creative and community-first game design.
It’s clear that Karsten Lund and the team at Light Brick Studio have crafted a truly unique experience that explores the very essence of LEGO play. While they look forward to their next project, gamers now have the perfect opportunity to tumble, build, and connect with a friend in a world unlike any other.
Grab a download of LEGO Voyagers from the likes of the Xbox Store, playing on Xbox Series X|S. You’ll also find versions for PlayStation, Switch and PC kicking around on relevant storefronts too.
Huge thanks go out to Karsten for providing us some time for this interview.
