Revealing the game to be part of the PUBG universe was something that raised eyebrows, but seemed more beneficial for headline writers than to either game. When and why did you decide to roll that back? At first, the connection to the PUBG universe was really helpful when we started building out the world. But the more we worked on it, the more The Callisto Protocol just grew into its own thing. It’s just the way the creative went, and CH Kim, the CEO of Krafton, was incredibly supportive of us just doing whatever we felt was best in terms of the creative. We still have lots of little easter eggs in there for PUBG fans.
How would the game’s protagonist Jacob Lee get on with Dead Space’s Isaac Clarke if they met socially? I have to think Jacob would kick his ass, right? But seriously, I think they’d totally get together for a beer or something. They’re both just regular guys in terrible situations. They’re not soldiers or anything. Isaac didn’t talk though, so it’d really be up to Jacob to keep the conversation going. A couple eagle-eyed journalists did pick up on the relationship between the names Jacob and Isaac though.
How difficult has it been to straddle the line between being too much or not enough like the game’s spiritual predecessor? At first I didn’t want to do anything I did in Dead Space, but then realised things like the immersive diegetic UI, audio, the art, the brutality … These are all just my style. Both games just have my creative DNA and there’s only so much I can do about that. That said, this is a new game, with new mechanics, in a new world, with a new story, with new characters, from a new team, so it really is its own thing.
Every game has development challenges that couldn’t be predicted. What have been TCP’s? How about COVID for starters? We had literally just built out our brand-new state-of-the-art studio at the end of February 2020. Twelve days later the world went into lock down. We hadn’t even set up everyone’s computers yet. Making a video game over Zoom was way harder
than we thought. There’s the technical challenge of having to pivot and create 150 remote mini studios, but the creative process was an even bigger challenge. At least for me, creativity has always been about face to face interaction with people. There’s nothing like being in a room with other people kicking around ideas. Combine that with the fact that we’re working on a new engine and making games for new platforms, it’s probably easier to count all the things that went to plan rather than the things that didn’t.
What’s been the biggest highlight of making the game, aside from the fact that it will soon be in people’s hands? I just love survival horror. Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been obsessed with sci-fi, and have developed such an appreciation for horror as an adult. Getting to make a game like this is just so incredibly rewarding that it almost doesn’t feel like a job at times. It’s hard work, don’t get me wrong, but I just love getting to think so deeply about creating a scare. It really is something that comes from the gut. On the team we think of it like “horror engineering” – crafting every detail that goes into a scare by hand. I’ve been incredibly lucky in my career to be able to
create my own studios and start a few of my own IPs. It’s amazing and refreshing to have the chance to work on bringing your own vision to life. I really am grateful to Krafton for the support and the faith in me and the team to make The Callisto Protocol a reality.
44 | MCV/DEVELOP October/November 2022
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