Excerpts from a reddit discussion with the developers.
To a question about
how they created the story: "At the very beginning we knew that we wanted to create an adventure game dealing with choice and consequences and using the rewind power. Starting from this we started to brainstorm different stories and character that would be the best suited for this. Very quickly we drafted this coming-of-age story of a teenage girl coming back to her hometown after a 5 years absence. This period of life, the end of high school, is the perfect one to deal with choices and fate, since it is the moment of our lives when we were still free to choose, and when we defined who we would become as adults. We also really wanted to deal with friendship as a main theme, as it is something not often seen in video games, especially with the awkwardness that can happen between teenagers, all the untold stuff, the contrast between teenage angst and genuine joy and recklessness... We are also dealing with darker themes, the innocence of teenagers against the adult world corruption, mystery and investigation, and what will you do when you discover that you have a new incredible power..."
To a question about
episode length: "This is the type of game that really depends on the player. In the playtests we find that a standard first time playthrough of the Episode 1 takes approximately 2 hours but many players explore every single bit of environmental storytelling or want to know every outcome before they make their final choice, using the rewind mechanic. Some players have taken 4 hours to get through Episode 1 so the length is really dependent on how you choose to play."
On the
visual style: "In Remember me we had a very realistic rendering, wich was great to show the bleakness of a futuristic world with all its grittiness. On the opposite for Life is Strange we wanted a very soft overall feeling, oozing with nostalgia. We wanted the player to feel like he is inside some sort of warm cocoon. That's why we decided to go for a stylized rendering, because it allows the viewer to put some of his own perception, some of his own memories, and to really participate actively to the game by simply looking at it. We made some variations and in the end we went for the style you are looking at in the screenshots, hand painted textures, soft colors and smooth shapes, with realistic materials and realistic lighting that brings a very different and unique look to our game."
To a question about
not liking stories about teenage girls and high school drama: "I don't want to spoil anything, but we think that we have an interesting story with very dark and mature themes. This most definitely isn’t a high school drama – it just so happens that there is a high school in the game! People are clearly not expecting the journey we have created for sure. We’re looking forward to see how people react when they realise what we have created for you. All I can say is that people haven’t often played a game that deals with the issues and topics we’ve included. It’s a first for games in our opinion.
"To be honest we also really think that the gender of a main character is quite irrelevant when creating a good story, it really depends on how you write your characters in relation to the themes you are dealing with. Life is Strange is starring a teenage girl, you're right, but it is clearly not only a teenage girl story and we really think that both male players and female players will relate to this game and enjoy this adventure."
Time between episodes: 6 weeks is their target.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Games/comments/2tu8zx/life_is_strange_reddit_ama_with_the_dontnod_team/