Re: STYGIAN: Reign of The Old Ones. A Lovecraftian computer
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2016 5:16 pm
Greetings Fellow Acolytes of the Sunken Lord!
Let's start our update with highlights of an in-depth interview by David McWilliam of the Twisted Tales blog with Stygian's creative director Can Oral.
DM: Are there CRPGs that you particularly admire and take inspiration from? Or do you draw more from the imaginative worlds created for pen and paper RPGs?
CO: I can say that we draw from both worlds. At the CRPG side, we have been analyzing titles of the early 90s like Dark Sun and Ultima Martian Dreams to the more contemporary CRPGs like Pillars of Eternity and Shadowrun. We aim to create a unique experience with Stygian but we are very interested in how other teams crafted their worlds, created a sense of progress, approached their systems, etc.
I believe if you know where to look and have some patience, you can unearth incredible mechanics, approaches, and solutions from the history of CRPGs. On the other hand; tabletop role-playing, with its endless variety and freedom, is also an equally productive exploration field for Team Cultic. I can easily name settings like Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, WoD, Nephilim, Call of Cthulhu, and such among my pen and paper inspirations for Stygian.
DM: This is a very unusual take on post-apocalyptic settings and reminds me somewhat of Curst in Carceri from Planescape: Torment. However, it feels as though there is more of a sense of slow-burning dread than a frenetic fight to save the town. How have you approached pacing in Stygian?
CO: A very true observation. Stygian's human characters have already accepted their doom. The surviving folk in Arkham lost any hope of seeing the sunlight or their loved ones again long ago. Most of them also lost their minds while trying to face this unbearable truth. Others struggle to hold on to their miserable existences by going to the extremes, whether in belief, in pleasure, or in power... The pacing of Stygian will come from the player character's urgent need to reach the mysterious Dismal Man before losing his tracks forever.
DM: Stygian is described as a game of horror, madness, and loss. How do you explore these themes while allowing the player to make progress?
CO: We like to emphasize that Stygian is not about winning, but about “enduring” in terms of progression. From the beginning, we wanted our players to feel the sense of progression in continuing the journey somehow, rather than owning the game's meta. If you are alive, not completely insane, and still going, that is progress in Stygian. I believe there is a survivalist (and maybe a bit masochistic) satisfaction in that kind of design and balancing approach.
You can read the rest of the interview http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com. ... lliam.html.
On PayPal and Slacker backers
We have heard your calls brother acolytes and have taken the necessary steps to work alongside with HumbleBundle to make Stygian available for pre-orders through our website. You'll also be able to donate to Stygian via PayPal with this system. We'll share more on this matter soon.
Project Delegation
As most of you know Cultic Games is an Istanbul based development studio. In order to start our Kickstarter campaign we've chosen a team member who is residing in a Kickstarter approven country (Germany in our case) for project ownership.
Due to legal reasons, our current project owner Ata Bugra Ucertas is delegating the project ownership to another Germany residing team member Senem Gokce Ogultekin who is aiding Team Cultic with the musical compositions of Stygian.
Thanks for your efforts Ata!
A big applause to Gokce!
See you in the next update!
Let's start our update with highlights of an in-depth interview by David McWilliam of the Twisted Tales blog with Stygian's creative director Can Oral.
DM: Are there CRPGs that you particularly admire and take inspiration from? Or do you draw more from the imaginative worlds created for pen and paper RPGs?
CO: I can say that we draw from both worlds. At the CRPG side, we have been analyzing titles of the early 90s like Dark Sun and Ultima Martian Dreams to the more contemporary CRPGs like Pillars of Eternity and Shadowrun. We aim to create a unique experience with Stygian but we are very interested in how other teams crafted their worlds, created a sense of progress, approached their systems, etc.
I believe if you know where to look and have some patience, you can unearth incredible mechanics, approaches, and solutions from the history of CRPGs. On the other hand; tabletop role-playing, with its endless variety and freedom, is also an equally productive exploration field for Team Cultic. I can easily name settings like Ravenloft, Planescape, Dark Sun, WoD, Nephilim, Call of Cthulhu, and such among my pen and paper inspirations for Stygian.
DM: This is a very unusual take on post-apocalyptic settings and reminds me somewhat of Curst in Carceri from Planescape: Torment. However, it feels as though there is more of a sense of slow-burning dread than a frenetic fight to save the town. How have you approached pacing in Stygian?
CO: A very true observation. Stygian's human characters have already accepted their doom. The surviving folk in Arkham lost any hope of seeing the sunlight or their loved ones again long ago. Most of them also lost their minds while trying to face this unbearable truth. Others struggle to hold on to their miserable existences by going to the extremes, whether in belief, in pleasure, or in power... The pacing of Stygian will come from the player character's urgent need to reach the mysterious Dismal Man before losing his tracks forever.
DM: Stygian is described as a game of horror, madness, and loss. How do you explore these themes while allowing the player to make progress?
CO: We like to emphasize that Stygian is not about winning, but about “enduring” in terms of progression. From the beginning, we wanted our players to feel the sense of progression in continuing the journey somehow, rather than owning the game's meta. If you are alive, not completely insane, and still going, that is progress in Stygian. I believe there is a survivalist (and maybe a bit masochistic) satisfaction in that kind of design and balancing approach.
You can read the rest of the interview http://twistedtalesevents.blogspot.com. ... lliam.html.
On PayPal and Slacker backers
We have heard your calls brother acolytes and have taken the necessary steps to work alongside with HumbleBundle to make Stygian available for pre-orders through our website. You'll also be able to donate to Stygian via PayPal with this system. We'll share more on this matter soon.
Project Delegation
As most of you know Cultic Games is an Istanbul based development studio. In order to start our Kickstarter campaign we've chosen a team member who is residing in a Kickstarter approven country (Germany in our case) for project ownership.
Due to legal reasons, our current project owner Ata Bugra Ucertas is delegating the project ownership to another Germany residing team member Senem Gokce Ogultekin who is aiding Team Cultic with the musical compositions of Stygian.
Thanks for your efforts Ata!
A big applause to Gokce!
See you in the next update!