Meet Chef from an Upcoming Retro Cel-Anime Game Created by an NYC TV Animator

Developers of Vivarium, an upcoming game developed with Unity, have showcased a character from the game, Chef, a fisherman who enjoys relaxing, smoke breaks, and listening to reggae: 

The demo has a distinctive Ghibli-style 2D animation that gets me to fall in love with it immediately. It was mentioned that some of the NPCs and their movements draw inspiration from Chie the Brat manga as well as the anime series Heidi. For one moment, the yellow and white dialogue that appears as subtitles might make you feel like watching an anime. 

Though the detailed gameplay of the title has not yet been unveiled, Vivarium evolves around life inside a mysterious terrarium. It features some interesting mechanisms. For example, you’ll find an old game console in the trash and repair it so you can play it - “We are making totally original GB games to find and play in Vivarium.”

Tree Hollow appears to be a major location, and it is a cozy and comfy place to visit and stay. Here’s how it looks when golden light shines in from the east, as well as how it boasts a peaceful and cozy atmosphere in the afternoon:

The developer also shared another location, which is a cottage you’ll find if you walk far enough into the forest region of the terrarium. Obviously, this idea comes from the developer’s real life, as it “was to capture some of the imagination I had as a little kid for what was in the woods behind my aunt’s house in rural New England. I was only allowed to go so far, so ideas of fantasies what could be in the trees beyond the shed rooted in my head I guess.”

If you enjoy exploring, you might find yourself at the edge of the world in the game. Here’s a video demonstrating this experience, where the camera zooms out to show the Vivarium before zooming back in as you return to the room after a brief stretch.

Vivarium doesn't have a Steam page yet, but the developers tease that it will soon have one. It’s best to follow them on Twitter to be notified when it’s ready to be wishlisted.