In the latest issue of GameSpot's Audio Logs, lead designer and writer Robert Kurvitz spoke about the features of the game and what he would like to implement in the next project.
According to Kurvitz, the developers approached the creation of Disco Elysium with the idea of modernizing the genre of party role-playing games: "Our starting point was innovation, even if it's for the sake of innovation itself."
It all started with the text format. ZA / UM decided to immediately abandon the traditional location of the dialog box (below) and moved it to the right side of the screen in the manner of Shadowrun Returns.
Kurvitz is especially proud that all the relevant information in Disco Elysium (new lines, conversational options) appears in the lower right corner of the screen, where the person sitting at the computer watches "60% of his time."
“Hidden icons are in the lower right corner. Here is your clock, notifications, messages. People most often look to the lower right corner, where their hand is, so Windows and Microsoft put all these elements there, ”Kurvitz explained.
At the same time, the format of the text feed - the upward column - the developers spied on in newspapers and Twitter: "We wanted to create an exciting and fashionable dialogue engine, which in the context of an RPG probably sounds strange."
Disco Elysium has a lot of text (according to , over a million words), and in order to convey its meaning to the player and keep the reader's attention, ZA / UM had to go to some tricks.
The skills that make up the role-playing system serve, among other things, to repeatedly convey relevant information to the player. “You need to understand that people do not understand the text, do not understand what you are saying to them, until you do it in two, three, four, and sometimes eight different ways. Without understanding, there will be no interest [on the part of the player],” Kurvits is sure.
The developer of Disco Elysium named the Thought Cabinet as the most difficult feature to implement - an inventory of ideas that, after reflection, are transformed into gameplay bonuses and penalties.
Due to the fact that there was no such mechanic in any game before, in ZA / UM they could not peep even the basics of visualizing such a system anywhere. Through trial and error, the authors came to the conclusion that people do not like to carry diamond-shaped objects.
In addition, the thought room took a lot of time and money. The developers had to hire a concept artist who spent over a year creating illustrations for the ideas.
In the future, Kurvitz would like to realize the interaction of thoughts within the cabinet: the strengthening of one concept by others or the alignment of similar ideas in ranks. According to the developer, this mechanic has "remarkable potential."
Combat segments also appear to be extremely ambitious for Kurvitz. As possible situations in which the battle could unfold, the developer named a car accident, a fire in a building, and a fall from a great height.
“Imagine a scene that begins with a car crash, and with each turn, the car does another somersault in the air. Or a battle in a burning house from which you need to get out, or something that happens in the air, ”Kurwitz intrigues.
Among other things, in one of his next projects, Kurvitz would like to implement a sex scene: "It will be as serious or perhaps comical as the mechanics will allow."
Disco Elysium was released on PC on October 15 last year, and in this to PS4 and Xbox One. So far, the game only supports English, but in the future, developers .
Source: 3dnews.ru