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Square Enix's Life is Strange Considered 100 Different Names

Developer Dontnod contemplated calling the game "What If," but Daniel Radcliffe movie had the same name; concept art revealed.

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THIS POST CONTAINS LIFE IS STRANGE SPOILERS

BOSTON--Remember Me developer Dontnod Entertainment's recently released time-travelling episodic game Life is Strange could have been called "What If," but Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe got in the way.

Speaking today during a PAX East panel, developers at the French studio revealed that the game was originally codenamed "What If." The studio considered using that title for the final version, but had to change course due to the 2013 romantic movie What If having the same name.

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In all, Dontnod considered more than 100 names for what would become Life is Strange. Only one of these was revealed during the panel today: Chrysalis. Other names focused around the game's Butterfly Effect theme were also considered, though none were named outright.

Also during the panel today, Dontnod developers explained why they decided to sign a publishing deal with Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix instead of another company. Other publishers showed interest in the game, asking for more action sequences. Dontnod did not want to do this, and instead reached a deal with Square Enix, a company that "didn't change anything."

Overall, the version of Life is Strange you can play today is, "almost exactly how we had it in mind," Dontnod said today. The developer previously said that other publishers even asked Dontnod to make the game feature a male lead instead of the female.

The developer also revealed some concept art for Life is Strange that it showed to publishers when pitching the game. You can see some of these in the gallery below.

Dontnod also revealed the first Life is Strange Episode Two gameplay today during the PAX East panel, asking attendees to make decisions by yelling them out. We got to see hero Max eating breakfast at a diner, talking about her relationship with Chloe, among other things.

Of the many options Chloe was presented with during the demo was "bacon omelette" or "Belgian waffle." After an extended period of yelling from the crowd--the loudest for any decision--she chose the omelette.

The first of five episodes of Life is Strange is available today on PC and console.

PAX East runs through Sunday. GameSpot will be reporting from the show all weekend long.



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