"I do want to involve some mundane aspects, but the game is going to be more fantastic, with more fantasy elements than Papers, Please," he said. Through this approach, it appears he's leaving Obra Dinn's "slightly cool gameplay hook" for after he's set up more of the game's environment. Making a good game means going this sort of backwards route, setting up a challenge he believes he can solve, Pope said. Obra Dinn is still in early prototyping stages, with the game's core mechanic still up in the air. East Indiamen were just guys trading goods while someone else made money off their stuff." They're not that glamorous, and it seemed really interesting to me, to tie it into taking a mundane subject and making a game out of it. "It's hard to find information about these kinds of ships, even though they're the backbone of all European trade. This lead me to the early 1800s, and East Indiamen merchant ships. "It couldn't be a pirate ship, or a galleon or the typical ships you see in games these days. "I realized that if I did a ship, I would have to do it a little differently," he added. I originally thought of other things I could do besides a ship floating around - I had the idea for maybe a pyramid, or something set in nuclear power plant. "One ship, no environment: It plays into that visual style. "When I decided to do 3D, I knew I had to keep the scope small as far as the level structure goes, and the idea of a ship fit really well with that," Pope said. "I shudder when I think about what's going to happen, when I have a couple of games under my belt that are popular." Pope is aware of the restrictions this places on Obra Dinn's visuals, but the idea of a highly-detailed black and white 3D game, something akin to old Macintosh games, is deeply appealing to him.
The seedling for Obra Dinn was Pope's desire to make a game completely in black and white - no grayscale, just black and white pixels. "I'm a little worried about how I'm going to manage that." "I shudder when I think about what's going to happen, when I have a couple of games under my belt that are popular," he added. Usually I'm so obsessed about something that I have to work on it all the time, even when I'm not working I will think about it. "I give myself like six to nine months, and if I spend too long on a game, I'll just lose interest in it. "When I make a game, I'm completely consumed by it and have a limited amount of time to work on it," Pope said. At the time, Pope knew he wanted to make his next game in black and white 3D, and after pushing the localization for Papers, Please he was ready to center his attention on something new. Localization for the title began immediately after the game was finished, which took four months to complete. I couldn't make a sequel because my brain is not able to focus on that kind of project, at least right now."Įven though work on Obra Dinn is under way, Pope is still somewhat involved with Papers, Please running support, providing general maintenance and managing distribution. But I've lost interest in Papers, Please. Make one using TSA checking, or a bouncer at a club. "People think I can make a game like this out of any kind of gate out there. "People are constantly asking for a sequel to Papers, Please," Pope told Polygon.
But for Pope, his energy for the title is all since spent. It's difficult to talk about Lucas Pope's newest game Return of the Obra Dinn without bringing up his previous title Papers, Please the acclaimed "dystopian document thriller" that swept the 2014 Independent Games Festival Awards earlier this year.