The next big horror game from the creators of Dead Space is due out this December, and developer Striking Distance Studios hopes The Callisto Protocol is “the start of a franchise.” However, there are still a lot of questions about the old PUBG spin-off, so PCGamesN spoke to Striking Distance for answers.
After impressive gameplay demos at PlayStation State of Play and Summer Game Fest, including a demo of the awesome gravity gun, anyone eager for The Callisto Protocol will no doubt want to know more about this spooky space game. . PCGamesN spoke with Striking Distance creative director Chris Stone, who was animation director on Dead Space, about what inspires the team, why they dropped their connection to PUBG, and how the Callisto protocol improves Dead Space.
PCGamesN: Are the developers concerned that the upcoming Dead Space remake will overlap too much?
Chris Stone: I’ve thrown about 30 games in my career and we’ve always had competition. You do not have to worry about that. We simply put ourselves in the player’s shoes and create the best possible game.
Many of us have worked on Dead Space: game creator Glen Schofield, our development director Steve Papoucis, and myself. Our art director, lighting director, sound director, and design director also worked on Dead Space. So naturally, our creative fingerprints are all over the Callisto Protocol, and here’s some good news: all those ideas we had years ago for Dead Space that we couldn’t bring to fruition because the hardware couldn’t handle them? Now we can make them, and it’s amazing!
PCGamesN: Naturally, it’s easy to compare the two games: how does the game advance in the genre and stand out?
KANSAS: We’ve all grown and evolved a lot as game creators and artists over the last ten or fifteen years, and the Callisto Protocol reflects that. There are a million details that make this game stand out, but I think the most important things players will notice are the combat system, the story, and the visuals.
We’ve created an in-depth combat system that combines melee, personal combat and long-range shooting with a gravity weapon called GRP (“Grip”) that allows players to switch weapons seamlessly. Don’t have enough ammo? Grab an enemy and pull them towards you to deal a devastating blow with the stun baton. Mob attack? Throw an enemy across the room and shoot their legs to breathe. And of course, if you see an environmental hazard, grab an enemy and throw them for an instant kill.
We also go from a silent protagonist to a deep story with complex characters and incredible performances from Josh Duhamel and Karen Fukuhara. We think players will have a blast uncovering the dark secrets of the United Jupiter Company as they try to survive the horrors of Black Iron Prison.
PCGamesN: Does the game take inspiration from other sources that the developers would like to highlight, including third-party video games?
KANSAS: Games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil have clearly influenced us, but we’ve also been inspired by movies like The Thing and Event Horizon. And lately we started to see a lot of foreign horror movies. There are some really crazy things that take the genre to terrifying places. In particular, the French and the Koreans have really stepped up their horror game. On top of that, we found ourselves seeing plenty of real-life examples of horror and gore. While it was a lot less fun to explore, it was one of the most memorable and worthwhile entries when it came to creating realistic images and experiences.
PCGamesN: What balance do you hope to strike between exploration, horror/environment, and combat?
KANSAS: When it comes to making horror games, the only rule is no rules. It’s about going with your instincts. That’s why we think of “horror engineering,” which means mixing and matching many different aspects of what it takes to scare people: the atmosphere, the tension, the brutality, the humanity, and the helplessness. We mix and match these details so players don’t know what’s next. However, we expect the game to offer a satisfying mix of exploration, atmosphere, and combat.
PCGamesN: What led to the decision to drop the partnership with the larger PUBG universe?
KANSAS: When we started working on the game, the story was part of the PUBG universe timeline. But games change during development. As we worked on the story, it got bigger and bigger until it became clear that it was a standalone thing. We love PUBG and there will be more surprises for fans of the franchise, but The Callisto Protocol is a different story with its own characters in its own universe.
PCGamesN: What kind of level design can we expect: linear, linear with backtracking and branching, or something more open?
KANSAS: We’re a story-driven survival horror game, so the level design will be familiar to fans of games like Resident Evil, but we’re creating plenty of opportunities for players to think outside the box and discover new surprises.
PCGamesN: Will the Callisto protocol use PC-specific features like Nvidia DLSS/Reflex or AMD FSR? Will ray tracing be implemented and if so, which ones?
KANSAS: Nous aurons plus d’informations sur les spécifications et fonctionnalités spécifiques au PC à mesure que nous nous rapprochons du lancement, more en général, oui, nous nous engageons à prendre en charge les futures technologies PC que prennent en charge la qualité d’image dans the game.
PCGamesN: Do the developers envision this as the start of a franchise, and if so, do they already have any ideas for a sequel?
KANSAS: We’d love to see The Callisto Protocol be the start of a franchise, and we’re not short of ideas. But right now, we are 100% focused on making The Callisto Protocol the best game it can be.
PCGamesN: Summer Game Fest featured some newcomers to the sci-fi horror movie scene – trends come and go, but this one feels particularly sudden and poignant. Do the developers have any idea why this resurgence?
As a huge fan of sci-fi and horror, I am personally very excited about all the new games being announced. Trends just fluctuate, whether it’s games, movies, TV, shows, or music. We only focus on creating the game we are passionate about. If it’s part of a modern trend, all the better!
Callisto Protocol will be released on December 2, 2022.
Source : PC Gamesn
