Interview with Ricardo Cesteiro

It’s always interesting to see what mechanics a horror title will utilize in this day and age. With older survival horror providing weapons and newer leaving you defenseless, it’s nice to know what you’re getting into. We discuss that, what kind of experience you can expect from this lovely little town, and that it’s okay to be afraid of the dark – it may even save your life.

To start things off, this is by no means the first game from Camel 101. What else have you made? What have the team members worked on outside of these titles?

That is correct; we already have several games on the market. The team has been working together since 2005, although Camel 101 was founded in 2009. We started as hobbyists with a super ambitious project (who doesn’t?) that never materialized into a commercial title, but it earned us an award for “Best Game” at a game dev event in Portugal back in 2006.

After this, we decided to take things more seriously (full-time) and step back a bit on the games that we wanted to make. So we decided to start working on casual games. The entry level was lower, and it would allow us to gain experience, both in development and on the business side. We released a few casual puzzle games, and then in 2011 we decided to focus on larger projects outside the casual market. Since then we’ve released 2 wargames and one survival horror.

Those Who Remain takes place in an American town with some paranormal happenings. The trailer even gives off vibes of Silent Hill. How long has this idea been floating about at the studio, and what led to its creation now?

Our games always have the sci-fi / fantasy / weird / horror themes. Some of us are more into sci-fi, others more into horror, but we all share a preference for all these themes. So it comes natural to us to create stories and games with these settings.

The idea for Those Who Remain started to grow while we were finishing Syndrome, our last game. We hadn’t decided yet what our next production would be, but we knew that we wanted to make something different, not only in terms of setting but also gameplay. Our last 3 games were pure sci-fi, so now we wanted to make something contemporary, where the player could focus more on puzzles and less on enemies. We came up with an idea where the player would only be safe while walking in the light. If he stepped into the dark, he would die. This was the basic premise, and we started designing the game around this. Eventually all the pieces started coming into place: other mechanics, narrative, etc.

Did Those Who Remain change much from inception to what we see now? Or has the vision been the same throughout?

There have been some changes, but the game is still the same as it was as a concept. For example, like mentioned above, the initial idea was that the player would die as soon as he stepped into the dark. This sounded great on paper, but when implemented in the game, it wasn’t fun. It was difficult to understand exactly where there was enough light to be safe. It felt like stepping on a minefield. So instead of having the player die in the darkness, we decided to place monsters in the dark that attack the player when he gets near. So, it’s not the light that kills, it’s what roams in the dark. There were some other changes, but nothing major. We like to stick to our plan, unless there’s something vital that needs to be changed.

What would you say the core gameplay mechanics are for this?

There are two core mechanics at play here. The first is the danger in the dark. The player is only safe while walking in the light, which means that he’ll need to find light sources to advance: turn on some lights, make a fire, etc. This allows us to create interesting puzzles where the player needs to think about how to drive the darkness away. The other main mechanic is what we like to call the “mirror worlds.” There are portals in this town that connect to a different version of our world. It’s a similar version, yet different, but actions taken in one place have an effect in the other. So the player might need to move between worlds to solve a specific situation.

There are a lot of unfriendly looking creatures in the trailer. Will the gameplay be more akin to Amnesia in regards to not being able to defend yourself, or will you be able to take up arms against them?

There are no weapons in Those Who Remain. This was one thing that we decided early on, as we didn’t want to remove the focus on the puzzles and narrative by having weapons. The gameplay is also different: the player is not so vulnerable like in Amnesia or Outlast. Most of the times he’s safe in the light. Most of the times 😊

What game engine are you using for the development of Those Who Remain? What made the team choose this?

The game is developed with Unity 3D. We’ve been using this engine for 5 to 6 years; we’re very comfortable with it and with its capacities.

About how long do you think this game will last? Will there be reasons for players to jump back into it after they beat it?

It should last around 4 – 5 hours. We made a gameplay session last week with 14 people, to test the game flow, puzzle difficulty, narrative, and the game length. There was only a portion of the game available, and the quicker players took two and a half hours to finish it, while the slower players didn’t even get to the end. So with everything in the game, it should hit the 4/5 hour mark. There are different endings based on the player’s choices during the game, so there’s definitely a reason to jump back in.

What makes Those Who Remain unique from anything else on the market?

I would say the two core mechanics will make this game stand on its own against the competition. The light and dark mixed with the mirror worlds allows us to create some really interesting situations where the player needs to think outside the box. The multiple choices and endings that the player can get also add up to the whole experience.

What kind of experience are you hoping for people to get out of this? Is there anything you hope they take away from it?

We’re hoping that the game is a memorable experience itself. This is not only because of the game being fun, but also because of the story behind the mechanics. The narrative addresses powerful subjects like infidelity, bullying, suicide, and guilt, and how these things can change and destroy lives. Some choices that the player will have to make won’t be black or white. Maybe there’s no apparent right or wrong, but the player will have to decide. That’s what we’re aiming for: a fun experience, but one that will also draw some emotion from the player.

What are your top 3 games of all time, and your top 3 from the last 5 years?

Now this is a tough question. It’s hard to choose 3 alone, so I’m going to name some of my favorites.
Top 3 of all time: Mass Effect 2, Resident Evil, Doom.
From the last 5 years: XCOM, Soma, Alien Isolation.

What would your advice be for someone that has never made a game before, but wants to start?

Start small. Read and watch tutorials and start by creating small games or even prototypes. Make something that can be done in 1 – 2 months. Don’t think of it as a commercial game, but as a learning project that can also be used for your portfolio. Participate in game jams; it’s really good for meeting new people interested in making games as you are. Some truly amazing projects come out of game jams, that later become successful commercial games. Basically, do stuff that you can show. Your portfolio is the most important thing in this area.

If you could only choose one band/musician to listen to for the rest of your life, who would you choose?

This is another tough question. I listen to a wide range of genres and artists, but lately I’ve been more into Synthwave. With that in mind, I would go with Perturbator.

Do you have a favorite rodent?

I would go with squirrels, but I’m more of a bird guy. I have a cockatiel that’s been with me through all of my game developer life.

Anything else we haven’t touched on you’d like the readers to know?

We always put a lot of ourselves in our games, but this is by far our most ambitious project yet. Not because it’s a huge game, but because it’s a really intense experience. We’re taking extra care to make sure that everything’s as perfect as it can be, by doing regular gameplay sessions with volunteers, to make sure that the puzzles and story make sense, the gameplay is fluid, etc. This is adding a lot of value to the experience, as we’re collecting feedback from the players on the go, and fixing or improving things based on that feedback. We hope you get the chance to try Those Who Remain, and above all, we hope that you truly enjoy it.

 

Thanks to Ricardo for taking the time to provide us some information about the upcoming Those Who Remain, which looks absolutely fantastic. Almost gives an Alan Wake vibe with the darkness vs. light. If you’d like to follow the game, you may do so by visiting the game’s official site, Camel 101’s official site, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages. We’ll make sure to post any news regarding the game as well, so keep an eye out and stay in the light.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.