From the very first glimpse, we knew that Starward Industries have been onto one thing good with The Invincible. And that turned out to be the case too because it launched on Xbox to important acclaim on the finish of 2023.
We wished to search out out extra about The Invincible, what prompted its creation and the way Starward went about delivering it. Maciej Dobrowolski, CMO at Starward Industries was very happy to inform us extra.
Might you please introduce your self. What’s your position at Starward Industries and on The Invincible.
My identify is Maciej Dobrowolski and I’m the CMO of Starward Industries, answerable for introducing The Invincible to the entire, vast universe. Thanks for inviting me to the interview.
So promote it to us, why ought to avid gamers be enjoying The Invincible?
The Invincible is a retrofuturistic laborious sci-fi journey, the place you play Yasna, a witty and decided astrobiologist despatched on a scientific mission to the eerie planet Regis III. When your crew goes lacking, you could use numerous atompunk gadgets to conduct analysis and discover your crewmates with the assistance of your Astrogator on the radio.
Throughout your emotional journey on Regis III you uncover mind-boggling phenomena that drive you to rethink all the pieces you realize about science, the universe and your self. You’re confronted with troublesome ethical selections, philosophical dilemmas, decisions main you to 11 completely different endings and the thriller of the Regis III that opens your thoughts to the chance that the evolutionary pyramid doesn’t finish on human species.
So in case you are a fan of deeply immersive adventures with partaking narratives set in breathtaking worlds and in case you dig a tough sci-fi imaginative and prescient introduced in a retrofuturistic, atompunk design, The Invincible is made for you.
Out of the various sci-fi masterpieces by Stanislaw Lem, why select The Invincible to base your sport on?
It was a troublesome option to make, as a result of Stanisław Lem wrote many iconic, laborious sci-fi books that reshaped the minds of individuals from my era.
Sooner or later we concluded that The Invincible was one of the best story to current to individuals who haven’t learn any of Stanisław Lem’s works, as a result of it’s very wealthy in philosophical contemplations packed within the compelling narrative stuffed with emotional occasions.
The worldbuilding can also be distinctive, so we knew we’d have quite a lot of materials to work with in the course of the creation of Regis III, atompunk gadgets, machines and robots and so on.
And working on the again of that, would you prefer to sort out any extra of Lem’s work? Something specifically stands out?
We’d undoubtedly contemplate it, given the chance.
There are a lot of distinctive works of Lem to select from, like Solaris or The Star Diaries, that might add an important cultural worth to a sport. And maybe we’ll come again to it sooner or later.
The visible design of the world and its machines has a really 1960’s really feel. What references did you have a look at for that design affect?
We have been impressed by numerous retrofuturistic designs from the Sixties: illustrations, e book covers, primarily these by Chris Foss. We’ve additionally analyzed many historic, engineering blueprints, for instance by Galina Balashova, and publicly out there NASA paperwork that helped us create realistically trying, atom-powered know-how of varied sorts.
When designing the planet Regis III, what have been your fundamental objectives? Which have been the toughest components to place in place?
Our fundamental purpose whereas creating Regis III was to design a planet that everybody want to go to, with breathtaking landscapes to find and analysis additional. We additionally wished individuals to really feel considerably cautious of turning a nook, getting by the crack between rock formations, and traversing by caves.
Regis III is as beautiful as it’s eerie, with its surroundings looming over you or tight areas that will really feel claustrophobic. You don’t have any thought what to anticipate and this sense of uncertainty is what retains you going, what makes you curious and enthusiastic about what there may be to search out on Regis III.
It was undoubtedly a problem to create a delicate, thriller-like expertise not solely by utilizing narrative means, but additionally by worldbuilding instruments, and we have now our artwork director, Wojciech Ostrycharz, to thank for that.
Are you able to discuss us by your favorite gameplay mechanics within the sport?
I suppose everybody within the crew has their very own favorite components of the sport, however for me what I like essentially the most is the sluggish unveiling of the thriller itself.
We achieved that by numerous particular person mechanics, from exploration, investigation, and dialogue choices too – in spite of everything, when you’ve got decisions in dialogue, you’re thoughts is engaged. You assume “What would I do or say on this state of affairs?”. This helps you be extra immersed within the character, within the story. For a couple of hours you develop into you, however in another person’s physique.
So to me, that’s what I actually beloved about our challenge and I really feel my fellow colleagues did an important job with. The thriller slowly uncovering.
Clearly, Lem’s e book was an enormous inspiration, however did some other video games play an element as an affect when making The Invincible?
There are quite a lot of video games that impressed us each immediately and not directly when making The Invincible. I suppose the primary one is Firewatch, a improbable thriller through which the participant not solely uncovers the secrets and techniques of the place they’re in, but additionally how they share their very own secrets and techniques with a personality they haven’t seen, simply heard over a radio. It’s wonderful how shut and intimate one can really feel to only a individual’s voice. Props should go to the actors, they did a improbable job there.
Alien Isolation is a title that struck a chord with us. This concept of being head-to-head with an odd lifeform that you simply don’t absolutely comprehend. Certain, our video games genres differ, however that core thought, we beloved it.
What’s necessary? We strongly targeted on searching for inspiration in tradition, artwork, and cinema in areas corresponding to artwork and storytelling. We aimed to attain a robust cinematic vibe.
The audio is essential in video games like this and it’s that which was an actual spotlight for us. Are you able to inform us extra about working with a composer and sound designer on The Invincible?
Our composer Brunon did a improbable job with our musical soundscapes. I really feel that his sounds complement our sport’s world so, so effectively. The usage of analogue sounding synths displays the analogue retro-futuristic know-how that you can find in our sport’s world.
The music has this really feel of familiarity but additionally of unease, a sense that’s mirrored by our fundamental character. She’s misplaced, stranded even, on an unknown planet. At first issues appear much like what she is aware of, however as she retains going deeper and deeper into the planet’s secrets and techniques, all that she is aware of begins to now not make sense. And that feeling of uncertainty, that unease, I really feel Brunon simply captured it completely. He’s one gifted musician.
It’s honest to say that The Invincible has quite a lot of dialogue. What was the expertise of working with the actors like?
Solely optimistic. All of our actors have been professionals and never solely did they play their roles completely, in addition they gave us nice suggestions and recommendation on the characters themselves too.
It’s one factor seeing your phrases on the script. Seeing them come to life with one other individual’s voice, effectively, that’s simply magical nearly. And I do know that I’d sound a bit dramatic after I say this, however once you hear that script spoken out, acted out, in and thru the voices of the actors, it makes these phrases and scenes come to life. All of it begins to look “actual”.
It was an thrilling second once we heard our characters communicate for the primary time. All of us grinned. We felt like we have been making a narrative.
And at last, away from the works of Stanislaw Lem, in case you may adapt some other e book on your subsequent sport, what wouldn’t it be?
I’d gladly play a sport primarily based on the novel by the daddy of Polish science fiction, Stefan Grabiński. We’ve an entire shelf of literary inspirations, each Polish and overseas. A number of titles are significantly near my coronary heart. We’re additionally followers of comedian books, however that’s one other story for one more time maybe ;).
Enormous thanks exit to Maciej for giving us a while put up launch of The Invincible in hope of understanding extra concerning the sport.
You’ll be able to soak up our full assessment of the sport proper now. And also you’ll discover The Invincible on Xbox Collection X|S through the Xbox Retailer. It’s additionally out there to play on PlayStation 5 and PC.
