YOUR FIRST PATCH OF THE HIGH LIFE
Gram’s lot
A borrowed RV, an old shed and not quite enough room for your ambitions. The idea starts small. The rent does not forget.
BLUNTFORD, FLORIDA / SUMMER 1986
IN DEVELOPMENTTHE HIGH LIFE · 1986
VHS & THC
FROM HALF BAKED TO HIGH SOCIETY.A borrowed RV.
A very questionable business plan.
01 / BETWEEN THINGS. GOING PLACES.THE STORY STARTS SMALL
FLORIDA HAS ROOM FOR ONE MORE BAD IDEA.
THE HIGH LIFE
DOESN’T GROW
ITSELF.
Summer, 1986. You’re between things. The RV is a place to sleep; Gram’s lot is a place to start. Your first customer is waiting at a park bench, your pager won’t stay quiet, and rent is coming.
Grow a little. Make a hand-off. Turn a stranger into a regular. Somewhere at the other end of this idea: Budingham Palace, at the end of Easy Street.
STARTING POINTA BORROWED RV.LONG-TERM AMBITIONA PLACE OF YOUR OWN.
SIDE A / START SMALL
Find your feet.
Two pots, a pager and a little help from Gram. Your first operation has to start somewhere.
SIDE B / MAKE A NAME
Find your people.
A good crop becomes a hand-off. A hand-off becomes a regular. A regular knows someone else.
FAST FORWARD / THE HIGH LIFE
Keep your cool.
Bigger plans attract attention. Learn what people want, and keep one eye on the street.
02 / GOOD COMPANY. BAD INFLUENCES.CHARACTER CONCEPTS
EVERYBODY
KNOWS SOMEBODY.
A mentor on the line. A customer on the bench.
A badge you’d rather not see.
Open a dossier and meet the locals.
03 / THE LOOK & FEELGREENTHUMB / LIGHTING STUDIES
SUN-BLEACHED DAYS.
NEON AFTER DARK.
Stucco, chrome, plastic and paper.
The colour and texture of a Florida summer.
Sun-bleached. Slightly suspicious.
Pale stucco, bright skies and a perfectly ordinary garden supply shop. Florida daylight leaves very little to hide behind.
04 / AROUND BLUNTFORDTHE PLACES IN BETWEEN
VACANCY. ALWAYS.
Sunset Motor Inn
Free ice. A familiar sign. A swimming pool that has been coming soon since 1979. Better days ahead are good for business.
BEYOND THE NEON
The quiet side
Canals, sandy paths and a little room to breathe. The town’s atmosphere reaches beyond its shopfronts.
05 / WORD GETS AROUNDREAD BETWEEN THE BEEPS
STRAIGHT FROM THE GAME’S STORY
YOUR PAGER
HAS PLANS
FOR YOU.
Advice. Warnings. Business opportunities of highly variable quality. In Bluntford, the next move is usually only a message away.
06 / VISUAL DEVELOPMENTOPEN THE ARTBOOK
A WORLD
IN THE MAKING.
People, places and the texture of 1986.
Explore the studio’s original concept archive.
Visual-development artwork. These illustrations explore the game’s characters and atmosphere; they are not gameplay captures.
VHS & THC — THE HIGH LIFE · 1986