There has never been a better time to test the survival instincts of the games that at this time. Do you think you can climb a mountain with a company of adorable accelerating land explorers? There is Top. Or say you want to build an empire a wooden trunk at the same time? Good, Valheim It could be the game for you.
Even so, with so much competition, it may seem difficult to stand out. Get into Cronos: The New DawnA horror game that travels in the time of the Bloober team, which is based on the history of the real world to frame its world. In Gamescom this year, we sat down with the main writer of the project, Grzegorz Like, to discuss the inspirations behind the last incursion of the study in horror, including the past complex of Poland, Poland, Neon Genesis Evangelionand 1982 The thing.
“At some point in Bloober's team, we realized that we are really good to put Poland in the games,” he explains how. “We did that in The observerWe did that in The mediumBut we have never done it on such a large scale. “
In CronosThe players enter the metal courts of a mysterious 'traveler' whose work is to survive in a desolate version of Poland following an event called Change. While the player seeks and harvests the souls of the survivors, they must also navigate between the cracks over time, handling the scarce resources and defending themselves from the mutant figures. The world is disturbing and uncomfortable, with each crunchy floor or wind whistle that reminds you of how isolated you are.
Cronos However, it is not found in a fantasy region, and the game is based on the Real World district of Nowa Huta, which is located on the outskirts of the Krakow downtown. “The entire district is a communist district that was built just after the war, when Poland was under the influence of the Soviet Union, dark times,” says Like.
“But due to darkness, we really thought it worked well to join that with the themes we wanted to address throughout the game,” as he continues. “Cronos It is a bit about union and humanity, but the question is, what happens if when people gather and something bad happens?
The “bad” in question is the “change” mentioned above, a virus that allows “humans” to merge in violent and fleshy monsters. “(In Cronos) Being together is not really good “, like notes.” In real life in Poland, we have met against the Soviet Union, and basically destroy the government with solidarity. We ask ourselves, what would happen if there was no martial law presented by the disease? As reference was made to the cult series, Neon Genesis Evangelion, pointing out a psychological metaphor in which he takes advantage of the so -called 'hedgehog dilemma', “basically, (people) are hurt when they are approaching.”
Human instrumentality
Despite his strong nuances, as he clarified that the team was not trying to make radical political statements and was simply based on their own experience, such as having grown up in the area. “We knew that [what we had] It was good, but we needed to be very gentle and conscious while we tell the story, “as he explains.” It is good when you are telling a story like this to have a history, and the communist origin was very, very rich. “As he said.” And we do not need to investigate, “they joke.
To give Cronos A personal feeling, the team did not depend on new images to create the brutalist environment. However, instead of creating images for location, they communicated with family members in search of memories of the area since childhood. “Because we wanted to reproduce the city's atmosphere, we decided not to generate photographs or take pictures.” As he says. “I showed my mother's trailer, because she is still living there in Nowa Huta, and she said, what did you do? Destroy the entire city?” He joked.
It is easy to understand its reaction, especially considering how abandoned Cronos It feels in motion. The walls are graffitiated, overturned furniture and all regular life signs seem to be turned off. As I would often visit the art team to try to adjust how the models joined. “It was really a pain for all 3D artists,” he joked. “[They’d say] It is a game. It is not a museum, “he continued.” It is for me. “
At the beginning of our demonstration, we found a bulletin board full of flyers of missing people, a rapid reminder that Mishapen's bodies that we would face once belonged to the normal people of the city. The solid construction of the world, as explained, some of the family members who helped the team with photos, also ended how the faces of those missing people. “[The family members] Everything needed to sign documents and all that, and now they are in the game, ”he explains.
Working in the shadows
Even so, despite these personal touches, as is not naive for the fact that Cronos is compared to other horror games such as Dead space and resident Evil. “Cronos It is our love letter to all those games, “as he says.” (But) While creating the new IP, we decided to treat ourselves and create a (game) that will scratch all our peaks. “
Hot the heels of study success with Silent Hill 2 remakeBloober's team was anxious to push in a different direction with Cronos. “We knew we needed to do more than James Sunderland again,” he says. “That was very psychological … we also wanted Cronos To be deep, but in a different direction, so we think of different genres and subgenres of horror, and decide not only a science fiction, but also the horror of the body. “
During the research phase, such as telling how the team found inspiration in John Carpenter's science fiction thriller, 1982, The thing. “The design of the monsters was taken from that,” he explains how. “But, we needed to function as an adversary in a game, so we also decided to create this fusion system to be unique for players.”
While players explore CronosThey will find the remains of society, which the game refers as orphans, are contorted in strange forms. If you fail to eliminate each enemy tactically, they can combine forces, swelling in a much more threatening enemy, a unique system that forces you to act with intention.
“It is always good to have an adversary to do something fun on your own, and you don't have to know the script of the whole fight, (things) simply,” as notes. “Very early in the game, you can end up having a boss fight, and it is not written; it is there because you did not play well.”
Cronos: The New Dawn He is paying tribute to the series of horror games that have arrived before, instilling that proven and true methodology with an intriguing enemy system and a large number of personal traditions. While we will not know how it will shake until it lashes next week, as it left us with some wisdom about how to survive. “Be prepared and make your weapons be loaded again, manage your inventory well and it will be fine, each battle is a puzzle and, of course, read all the notes.”
