Interview With Devs of Upcoming Chimera. Not "Hard" Sci-Fi, But "Al-dente"
In small steps, but with big ambitions, Chimera is coming, which is a new Polish science fiction game combining a couple of different genre ideas. We asked a few questions to the developers at Creepy Jar, and they revealed a little more about the project
This year, during the Summer Game Fest, specifically at the PC Gaming Show 2023, we could watch the trailer of Chimera by Warsaw-based studio Creepy Jar. A cooperative shooter set in a science-fiction universe, in which we will play survival, building, and exploration. It is worth waiting for it, considering the positive reception of the previous production by Creepy Jar – Green Hell.
Although there is still some time left until Chimera's release, the developers were open to share with us some important details about their new game. We've contacted Michal Stawicki, the director of the game, and Matthew Kimak, the man in charge of narration.
Gamepressure: You have been working on Green Hell for years, so you have extensive experience with survival games. What was the biggest challenge in creating Chimera?
Michal Stawicki (game director): First and foremost, developing a new IP. Unlike the last time around, when all the dependencies of the world were known and consistent in the Amazon, the action of Chimera takes place on an alien planet. What is the composition of the atmosphere there, how do plants react to it, what kind of vegetation is there and does it grow there at all?
We have to answer such questions every day, and this time, we don't have a cheat sheet in the form of a universal herbarium. We want to develop interesting and engaging gameplay mechanics while also taking care of creating a well-thought-out world.
Chimera will be several times larger than Green Hell, which is why we decided to make the game in Unreal Engine 5. This engine provides huge possibilities, but it’s also a challenge for us – the team that worked on Green Hell earlier on Unity had to smoothly transition to UE5. We hope that it will be possible to fully harness its potential. Chimera's Early Access launch ahead of us – we want to draw from all of our experience in collaborating with the community and provide players with the best game possible.
The new game is set in a sci-fi world. Why did you choose such a setting?
MS: From the very beginning, we wanted Creepy Jar not to be a developer of just one title. We could have immediately start working on creating an entire series of Green Hells, but first, we wanted to try something new. Our team has always been passionate about SF, and after such a long time of being focused on the earthly realism of Green Hell, we decided that it would be a fascinating direction.
One of the main pillars of Chimera's gameplay, the wave of cataclysms, was inspired by Green Hell. We needed a change from having static weather conditions – after all, we won't get any snow in the Amazon rain forests. It's either hot, or hot and rainy there. We wanted to create a dynamic environment that is beautiful, but at the same time tormented by extreme elements. We wanted to build a world in which player must react to constantly changing environment and try to adapt to it as much as possible. This kind of change is very refreshing for us.
Did you use any expert support to prepare a more valid setting?
Matthew Kimak (narrative designer): We tried to create the most realistic hard SF within an accessible and cool gameplay. We were aided not only by countless games, books and movies from the genre, things we've been fans of since childhood. A whole bunch of popular and not-so-popular science sources also helped us. We pay a lot of attention to this when we write the story – most of the technologies and events in the game will be partly covered by real discoveries of mankind. Although we aim for realism, this is our Hollywood realism and our idea of the future, so it's closer to The Expanse than to The Martian. We use many scientific sources, but still, fun comes first. That's why, on the scale of realism or hardness of SF, I would describe Chimera as "al dente."
And what specific movie or book inspirations did you have - will you share them?
MK: We are huge fans of sci-fi, that's why, while working on Chimera, we drew inspiration from famous, iconic titles as well as other, less popular sources. In the first place, I would put Cixin Liu's trilogy "Remembrance of Earth's Past" which fans of the genre might have noticed in the teaser. While creating many of our own stories, we were inspired by the novel Altered Carbon by Richard Morgan and many other dystopian tales.
When creating our world, we also drew a lot from SF classics, so both Star Trek lovers and fans of Lem, Stephenson, Dick, Asimov or even Mass Effect will find something for themselves here. I would describe the style of Chimera itself as inspired by real space technologies. It's close to the vibe that’s present in movies like Moon, Interstellar or The Expanse.
Will there be a specific finale or a moment in Chimera that players are heading towards, or will the gameplay remain more open-ended?
MK: We love good stories, so in Chimera, just like in Green Hell, we put a lot of work in creating a solid, satisfying plot. There’s a main storyline that can be completed, but the gameplay itself will remain open – we do not intend to rush players. Instead, we will give them complete freedom in exploring this extreme world. So, they can get as much out of it as they want. Without giving any details, I can tell you that in Chimera, players will be able to continue the game after completing the story.
After Chimera's Early Access launch, do you plan to continue to work as intensively on Green Hell?
MS: Green Hell and Chimera are two separate projects for us, led by two independent teams. That's why our work on the release of Chimera in Early Access does not affect the second team, which constantly supports Green Hell. In the new project roadmap, we have planned several new updates for PC as well as PlayStation and Xbox consoles – and we still have a lot of ideas for further game development.
What kind of dangers await players on the alien planet?
MS: The biggest dangers players face are related to waves of fire and cold, as well as the need to fight against hordes of monsters. There will also be a plenty of survival features known from Green Hell, including food management. For more details, players have to wait a little longer.
Will there be an opportunity to freely shoot in the game, or will it rather be a rare entertainment?
MS: There will be something to shoot at. The gameplay loop involves both exploring a planet full of dangers and expanding the base – the larger it is, the more enemies it attracts.
Will the dynamic weather system be implemented from launch?
Chimera is an unpredictable star. The constant changes it faces will expose players to extreme conditions already in Early Access. That's a major pillar of our game and the element that we plan to constantly develop to inspire brave explorers to fight for survival.
Will there be any vehicles in the game?
MS: At the moment, we're not thinking about any vehicles in Chimera. On the other hand, we didn't originally plan to add the ability to start a capybara farm in Green Hell either. And yet, the add-on Animal Husbandry allowed players to enjoy their company. We will be listening to the feedback from the community, both during early access and after the full release of Chimera.
