Krzysztof Chomicki & Sebastian Krośkiewicz Interview: Phobia Game Studio
We catch-up with Krzysztof Chomicki, Level Designer and Sebastian Krośkiewicz, Game Director/Programmer from Phobia Game Studio to discuss games and of course their upcoming title Carrion!
Welcome to COVID-19 Earth, what games have you been playing in social isolation?
None. Seriously – making video games consumes obscene amounts of time, so we have little to no time for anything else – especially now that we’re on the final stretch of development. In fact, in order to finish Carrion, we would’ve been in social isolation for the past few months anyway – the pandemic hasn’t changed much for us in that aspect.
So tell us what you love about gaming?
It doesn’t require you to go outside.
Are there any downsides?
It’s a very time-consuming hobby, so it’s extremely difficult to play everything you’re interested in, and the backlog never stops growing. It can get quite overwhelming at times, to be honest.
Carrion! How did you become involved in this game?
We worked together on Butcher, and as we enjoyed the experience, it was only natural to keep the same team for the next project.
Tell us a little about Carrion in terms of story, plot and characters?
In Carrion you assume the role of an amorphous creature of unknown origin that was imprisoned and experimented on by human scientists. Your goal is to escape captivity and make it out of the research facility. As the game is told from the monster’s perspective, it relies on environmental storytelling rather than lengthy cutscenes and exposition dialogues. We feel the players will have fun piecing the story together and coming up with different theories about the lore of the game.
Okay… and the “horror”, where does that come into the game?
The creature doesn’t exactly go easy on the humans. Stalking people through ventilation shafts, eating them alive, tearing out their spines, taking control over their bodies… you know – the usual monster shtick. Only this time it’s the player who controls it, hence the “reversal” of the horror.
What about gameplay mechanics?
Consuming people (and making their short lives miserable in the process) is not only a fun way of replenishing your life, but also a key gameplay mechanic. The more you eat, the larger you grow, and depending on your current size you gain access to different skills – it’s what we call a “mass-based class system”. As you progress through the game, you will unlock new abilities, and eventually will have to learn to actively manage your biomass, so that you have the right tools to overcome the obstacles you’ll face next. We believe it’s a pretty interesting twist on the classic Metroidvania-esque formula.
Without spoiling the game, what’s your favourite aspect about Carrion?
We’re really fond of the ending sequence and think the players will share our sentiment here. We’re not spoiling it though!
Lastly, besides Carrion what are you most looking forward to in 2020 in terms of games or new consoles?
Definitely the next-gen consoles. Even if we have to wait quite a bit until games truly make use of the new hardware, the start of a new generation is always a very eventful time, so that’s something to look forward to.
For more information on Carrion, visit – https://www.devolverdigital.com/games/carrion
About the Author
Andrew Bistak When he's not trying to save the world, Andrew enjoys travel (although loathes turbulence), going to the movies, reading and being a dad to his two dogs (and now twins) with his wife.
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