The next game from The Unfinished Swan developer Giant Sparrow, codenamed Heron, will feature an aesthetic inspired by classic fairytales, Jim Henson, and Junji Ito.
A new job listing for a Senior Gameplay Designer at Giant Sparrow, developer of The Unfinished Swan and What Remains of Edith Finch, offers a closer look at the concept behind the studio’s next game, codenamed Heron, which involves the “mesmerizing experience of interacting with wild animals.”
Giant Sparrow is seeking a designer-programmer hybrid who can help create gameplay prototypes that feel “intimate and weirdly alive.” The developer likens the kind of interactions it has in mind with examples such as “a grub crawling on a hand,” “a starfish waving its arms,” and “a lizard emerging from its shell.” These encounters will be filtered through an aesthetic drawing from “classic fairytales, Jim Henson, and Junji Ito,” indicating a mix of handcrafted imagery and biological horror.
The studio describes the role as highly creative and hands-on, with the successful candidate joining a small team that currently consists of just four people. Their responsibilities will include brainstorming interactions between humans and animals, rapidly building 3D gameplay prototypes in Unreal, and refining movement, physics, and animal behavior to make encounters feel tactile, expressive, and alive.
Giant Sparrow is particularly interested in candidates who have created “non-standard gameplay systems” rather than relying on familiar combat or genre mechanics. Personal game projects, experimental prototypes, indie releases, and an interest in science, biology, or natural systems are also highlighted as desirable qualities.
Heron is described as a game extends beyond simple encounters with wildlife. It’s focused on “exploring the wonders and horrors of biology,” with players taking on the role of a field biologist studying both mundane and fantastical urban wildlife. The developer cites Ico, Windosill, Spirited Away, and David Attenborough’s nature documentaries among its inspirations. It is also looking toward early animators such as Winsor McCay and Walt Disney, particularly their ability to use cutting-edge technology (for the time) to create works that “didn’t feel technical at all but instead felt weirdly alive.”
