LORELAI and the ending for The Devil Came Through Here trilogy
Hey there, Rem! Thanks for another interview. This time around, I’d like to talk about the whole The Devil Came Through Here Trilogy. But for starters, when can we expect to play Lorelai? I can’t barely wait!
-Yeah, I wish I could give you a straight answer to that… but I have absolutely no idea! I know I should probably have a plan and a clear deadline and be professional about it… but I don’t work like that. I jump into each new game like a madman and lose myself completely. And Lorelai is just like that. I don’t know what’s around the next corner, let alone how this story ends. Actually… it’s more about picking from a 1000 ideas I’ve had over the last couple of years to find one I will think is right. And then probably change it twice.
But if I had to give an answer to that, I’d say probably more than six months but less than a year. I’m just starting to work on chapter 6…
From Downfall to this new game, what changed? For you and for the way you are used to making games?
- Everything’s changed. I’d always been a programming noob and used pretty archaic methods to make my games… but I’ve pushed myself to learn Unity and it’s given me such a kick, that I can make anything I want now! I know, people say different things about Unity… but to me it’s an achievement, I’m proud and loving it, really. I think I can safely say that I’ve managed to build on the lessons learned on Downfall and TCL to make my best game yet, without the limitations of the previous engine.
Are we going to see characters from the two past games on Lorelai? Like Suzan on Downfall, for instance? How do the games connect with each other?
- Maybe! But that would be a spoiler to say it now, really! Seriously though, I always say that these games, despite being an unofficial trilogy, are all their own seperate stories, only tied together by some cameos, similar morbid themes and the world they take place in. I’d hate for people to think that they could accidentally play them in a wrong order or that they would require any specific knowledge… because that’s just not the case. I consider it a bonus that some die-hard fans will find references to previous games here and there but it’s not really necessary.
Talking specifically about the trilogy, how it came to be? Could you elaborate a little bit more on the name itself, “The Devil Came Through Here”?
- Well, if there’s one thing that binds my games together most is this presence of evil, that’s always around. The devil that comes through people’s lives. In Susan’s case, it was the five Parasites she had to kill, and her own illness most of all. In Downfall, “we” were a toy in the devil’s hands. And in Lorelai we will see how it all works from up close. We’ll get an inside view at the forces beyond our control and… at some point we will become those forces, too.
In a past talk, you said that you want to be known as “the Stephen King of horror games”. Is this still your goal? Man, that’s difficult to follow up, since the man is a machine! It seems there’s a new book once or twice a month!
- I know, I’ve just finished reading Sleeping Beauties… I’m obviously still a HUGE fan! (man, I wish King played my game… but I don’t think he’s into that sort of thing). And I will always be associated with hardcore horror games. I will always fight for that crown, you know. Sure, there’s quite a competition these days… but I guess my games have always been a very “specific flavour”. My ultimate goal these days is to have my name go down in history as one of the iconic figures in videogames. I might never reach that level of Hideo Kojima or David Cage… but I do seem to have my devoted fans who love what I do, and hopefully there’ll be more and more of them with each released game!
What have you been playing lately? I know that you love Dead by Daylight, but what about other horror games, like Resident Evil 7 or indie ones, as Detention or Home Sweet Home. Are you aware of them? For a game designer as yourself, is it important to know your ground, to play games and stuff?
- The love for games is the main reason I make them myself! Of course I try to play as many as I can, and it’s true, I enjoy stepping into the shoes of a killer in Dead By Daylight (and will probably implement elements of that in my future games), and RE7 was an amazing experience. I always learn something from playing other people’s games. And also, every now and then I get these “I could do it better” moments and that’s good, because it makes me challenge myself and work even harder. But despite being seen as horror adventure games developer, I like all sorts of genres. I actually completed Stardew Valley! And for a long time now I’ve played Rust, not so much for PVP aspect of it but mostly to role-play (I can be found on Rust Factions server as Jimmy The Traveller — a character from Lorelai — most nights).
Have you played Hellblade? What’s your take on this indie triple A thing?
- I hate to say it but it was my least favourite Ninja Theory game… I WANTED to like it, and I can see why you’ve asked about this particular one — the mental illness themes kinda bring TCL to mind, but no — despite the amazing graphics, some of the best motion capture I’ve ever seen and great voice acting, it was just not fun to play. And I LOVED their other games. Played them all. I guess Hellblade just didn’t do it for me. I didn’t even know it was an “indie triple A” game! To me, indies are made in stinky garages, same as grunge music of the 90's.
Please, be honest with me: how personal are these characters and their stories to you? I mean, Susan Ashworth gotta be one of the most complex characters on games. At least for me she is. It’s insane how much I resonate with her and I don’t know if that’s a good thing at all…
- They’re all very personal. Perhaps yes — I have based them on some people I know… but I’m not really allowed to say it. But even if that was the case — there’s always gonna be a large amount of “me” in all the characters I’ve created over the years. They’re these… hybrids, right? All serious writers would probably laugh in my face for the way I work… but I believe in zero structure and following the gut and just having fun making them come alive. And for the most part this works. Susan is great, because she’s different — she’s older, she’s grumpy… and she’s just not your regular Lara Croft, and remember that back in 2012 that was still a new thing for a game character to be!
You are used to touching on delicate topics on your games, like suicide, mental illness and such. Why is that? Do you think it’s important for videogame as a medium? Do you think there’s censorship on games in general?
- I choose topics I find interesting. And since I’ve always been into all this dark creepy shit… I couldn’t really imagine myself making a happy game. Also, working in nursing homes and hospitals I’ve seen enough suffering that mental illness can cause to last me a lifetime. And finally “life”, in general… I mean, we all have at least one friend or relative that’s dealing with some form of mental problem, don’t we? It’s something most people can relate to — and something games used to neglect, back in the days when each hero’s job was to hold a gun and shoot evil guys for 10 hours straight. This has changed now. People are beginning to realize that’s it’s okay for a hero to be flawed, even weak. And that our INNER demons are the most powerful enemy of all, even if we can never fully beat them…
As for censorship… I don’t think games have a problem with that. Especially indies like me can do as they please. I’ve put stuff in my games over the years that would definitely trigger people if censorship was a thing… but no one’s ever said anything. I worry sometimes that it might change, given the direction the world is heading right now… Hopefully not. I love it that games and internet in general stand as our own little patch of freedom where we can express even the darkest of thoughts.
About Lorelai, can we expect some other devs making a come back? Or are you all alone like you are used to? And what about the soundtrack department, Michal will come back? He’s your brother, right?
- It’s pretty much the same team as always. Stefano, the freelance character artist who is responsible for character design and animation, micAmic (Michał Michalski and yeah, he’s my brother) is back again on the soundtrack, and me — doing everything else — programming, writing, directing, background art + all other art in the game, and generally putting it all together in Unity. I am the only “full-time” member of the team. Once the game is done my friend and publisher Mark Lovegrove from screen7 will step in and start working on VO, localisations and QA. But in the end of the day, Harvester Games is just a room in my apartment, where I work alone (with my wife and kids in the other rooms), and I only talk to other guys via internet.
To finish it up, what about a whole package of your trilogy for consoles? Are you thinking about that? More people should play The Cat Lady, and I do mean it. This game’s so important, like just a few others.
- I would absolutely love for that to happen but the engine the previous two games were made on (AGS) will never port to consoles… But Unity totally will! So I’m really hoping that we’ll see Lorelai released on xBox and PlayStation. That’s actually another reason it needs to be a standalone title and NOT a continuation of previous storylines. And I really don’t want to spend years making Unity remakes of my older games because… there’s still so much more I can make! I don’t want to go back. I need to keep pushing forward! And I’d like to think that despite almost 10 years in the business, I’m only just warming up!
Thanks, dude! I’m willing on spreading the word about your work around here, as I’ve been doing for quite some time now, because it’s really something eles. Thanks for the attention!
- Thanks! I appreciate you taking your time to do this!
