Life during the Hussite wars was not easy. In the first half of the 15th century, not only religious, but also significant political and social changes took place in the Czech lands. And there were a lot of fights too. All this is shown in the new Czech game 1428: Shadows over Silesia, which comes out in two weeks.
The title itself suggests that the game takes place in Silesia during the Hussite campaign. The story will be told from the point of view of two main characters: the Hussite governor Heinck and the Joannite knight Lothar. The isometric adventure game is being developed by Piotr Kubitschek, who told Zing.cz what attracted him to Czech history and why the game has supernatural elements. 1428: Shadows over Silesia releases on PC October 4th. You can see impressions of the game here.
Did you like history at school?
History was my favorite subject. It was the only school subject in which stories were told, and I always liked it. It seemed incredible to me what our ancestors achieved, what difficulties they had to go through and where they managed to get human civilization from.
If fifteen-year-old Piotr Kubitschek was sitting in front of me right now and I told him that one day he would create a video game about the 15th century and the period of the Hussite wars, what would he say to me?
He would probably have patted his forehead, because at that time he was convinced that he would become a world DJ.
Why geese? There is a comparison with the Czech game Kingdom Come: Deliverance, which takes place shortly before yours.
It’s a longer story. Many years ago, I had a simple idea for a game. The player had to descend from the surface into the dungeons, fight monsters there and go through individual floors lower and lower in the dungeon until he met the main villain and defeated him. The difficulty had to increase with each floor. At the beginning, the player had to choose one of two characters, and to make it more interesting, each must belong to a different faction. The factions waged war against each other on the surface, but the evil that came from under the ground was much more dangerous and threatened to devour all people, no matter what color their banner was.
The idea lay in a drawer for a long time, because I was still missing something, and it was no longer the same. But one day I came across Andrzej Sapkowski’s trilogy “The Hussites”. I was already fascinated by his world when I read it and thought it would be a great game. In his books, the Hussites and Catholics are at war with each other, and the main character, against the backdrop of historical events, experiences his own adventure and fights against evil, which is not at all interested in religion. Just too much. It came together and I thought it might work well for my game as well. Although the final concept was still far away, it was then that it was decided that my future project should take place during the Hussite wars. By the way, this was before the release of Kingdom Come, so this great Czech game is completely innocent.
In 1428: Shadows over Silesia, most of the work is done by you. Does this also apply to any historical research? How difficult was it for you to check whether this particular mace was used by the Hussites?
Yes, I would say, unfortunately. Despite the fact that after the announcement of the game, several people called me and promised to help with the search, in fact this never happened. So I had to help myself. The historical facts are very important to the game, but since this is fantasy, I never went overboard and certainly didn’t go into details like the shape of the mace.
I’m referring to the fact that even for large teams it’s very difficult to keep track of every detail and how it relates to the story. In a YouTube discussion for your first trailer, for example, I came across a message that the preview contains “the so-called pot helmets, which were used mainly by the crusaders at the end of the 12th century and are not very suitable for the Hussites.” For some, this would be a complete trifle.How did you react to this criticism?
My options were and still are limited, and I have to obey mostly limited time, as well as what assets I can get in the game. The game is not and will not be historically accurate, but I try to make it as believable as possible. If I get feedback and I can solve it, I always try to do it.
But Shadows over Silesia is not a purely historical game. What “supernatural” elements can we expect?
The combination of history and fantasy fascinated me in Sapkowski’s Hussite trilogy. Although his books feature supernatural beings and magic, everything makes sense and seems believable. I am trying to do the same. In the game you will meet wizards, magic, as well as creatures from European Christian and pagan mythology, but everything is mundane.
How did you manage to balance inspiration from real historical events on the one hand, and elements of fantasy, magic and demons on the other?
I feel like it happens naturally. I wanted to create not some kind of phantasmagoria, but something in the style of classic Czech fairy tales. There is too much of everything harmful, so the supernatural is here just like the story. The main characters take part in some historical events, but the story spins around and goes its own way.
And why did you decide to combine them? Why not just go the historic gaming route?
This comes from the basic idea I talked about at the beginning. I wanted to make a fantasy game, but the combination with history seemed to me, on the one hand, interesting and new, and on the other hand, to some extent, made my task easier. When you start from reality, you don’t have to invent the whole world. Real places, people, and events can be a bit burdensome when writing a story, but on the other hand, they allow you to focus on other things without having to keep track of every detail of your world. During level design, I don’t have to imagine what a castle would look like, I just take a real floor plan and build it according to reality.
Did it help you to make decisions that it was exclusively your game? What other benefits do you see when a developer makes a game mostly himself?
Sometimes I say: “There are problems only with people.” There is some exaggeration, but not that much. When you do everything yourself, you have more work, but on the other hand, you don’t have to wait for someone to do something, you don’t have to arrange meetings, you don’t have to distribute work, you don’t have to Don’t have to tell people that it should have looked different, and if something goes wrong, then only you are to blame. I used to work in a team, I have no problems with this, and I see my advantages in this, but I’m more of a lone wolf. It suits me.
And what were the disadvantages of working on the game alone?
You need to learn how to motivate yourself, as well as actively seek feedback. It’s much easier with a team.
On the contrary, there are two main characters: the Hussite governor Hynek and the Joannite knight Lothar. Why did you make such a decision?
Because the game takes place during conflict, I found it interesting to show the player that neither side is bad and neither side is good. There are no winners in a war, only losers. After each chapter, the player switches between characters, which also keeps the attention. Hynek and Lothar are completely different. Hynek does not mess with anything, he easily lets go of curses and rushes into everything. On the contrary, Lothar is prudent, devoted to the faith, in fact a bit of a burglar. I believe that by the time the end credits roll, the players will love both of them.
Does this mean that “Shadows over Silesia” focuses on dialogue and storytelling? Or maybe duels?
The game has several cornerstones it stands on, and the story ties them all together. The main elements are combat, puzzles and stealth. The game is a bit like an RPG, a bit like a classic point and click adventure game. There is a lot of dialogue here, as well as books, letters or notes that talk about the world in which the game takes place.
What made you choose the isometric game? I’m guessing money, hardship, time played a big role?
I certainly admit that making a nice stylized isometric game is easier than making a hyper-realistic first-person game. On the other hand, this is not the only reason. I wanted to go back to the classic look of 90s RPGs like Fallout, Diablo, Baldur’s Gate or Ultima. At the same time, I wanted to create a slightly fairy-tale atmosphere. It took a lot of work to find the “look” I wanted. I hope you will like it.
How long did it take you to create the game, given the preparation, research, and the like?
Apart from the idea, the first work on the game began in the summer of 2019. That is less than three and a half years. And that was the research I started with. I didn’t even touch the computer for the first three months.
Do you still enjoy Czech history, or do you not even want books about the Hussites?
Both are partly true. (laugh) I like history, I always like to read something or watch a new movie, but as far as development is concerned, I would like to take a break from history.
“There will be plenty of time to wage war…”
1428: Shadows over Silesia is a dark fantasy adventure mixed with real history. Out October 4th! ⚔️Add to your wishlist!https://t.co/ptGMw6w9Fg#madebyunity #screenshotSaturday #indiegames #game development #steamGames #games pic.twitter.com/9lJchR19mI
— KUBI Games (@KUBIGames) September 3, 2022
Source :Indian TV
