MIND: Path to Thalamus - Englisches Originalinterview

PCGH: Your video really dropped in like a giant bomb. Some of our readers just went nuts. Did you expect the reactions?

Honestly, I did hope it would surprise people, but certainly not so much. It's just been such a great reaction. The Greenlight process is all the proof I needed: it only took two weeks for it to be approved. I don't know if that's a record time, but my expectation was to wait for months until it was greenlit.

PCGH: Just to make this clear: The scenes in the trailer are pure gameplay, not cutscenes?

There are not cutscenes in this game. Everything in the trailer is gameplay. We never take control away from the player in the game. In a few occasions the player cannot move, but that's just when the plot calls for it. The player will never feel, as it happens in some games, that the gameplay portions are just there to string along some cutscenes.

PCGH: How long do you work on the trailer itself?

About three years. One to shoot, another to edit it and a last day to perfect it and prepare for the reveal to the people and the press.

PCGH: Since when do you work on the game itself and how many developers are involved?

Three years since I started to work on the concept, and two since I actually started developing. Mainly, I work alone, but I have a couple of friends who are helping me out in these fininishing stages. One of them is a programmer who is being a priceless help, refining the player's movement and interaction with the world, and the other one is a translator who is writing a final script in the English-language based on the story and the early drafts I wrote. He's not just translating it, though —his version of the script is breathing life into the protagonist, lending the script some style and personality. He also helps out in writing and translating the press releases and interviews. If you are reading this, it's because he's taking great care in translating my Spanish to English (Translator's Note: I am watching you!).

PCGH: What are your plan for development and publishing for MIND?

First Steam, then we'll see. We are already in contact with Oculus VR and other companies, though. The trailer was a great help in that respect.

PCGH: First Person Puzzler sounds like an unusual genre. What's the actual goal fpr the player?

Well, as in any game, the general gameplay goal is advancing. Does the player know where he is going in each level? Yes, he does. But, is there a big EXIT sign in each stage, as in Portal? No, there isn't. It's a bit more organic than that.

PCGH: The art style is sensational from our perspective. We especially love the scene with the giant waves standing still. What's your inspiration for this kind of art style?

Stephen King's "The Dark Tower" series was a great inspiration. Visually, believe it or not, the concept art of Guild Wars 2 impacted me as well. It's just so great. But honestly, it's not fair to mention just those two. There are many, many cultural influences in me as a person and in my work, just as with everyone else. "Land Art" was a great source of inspiration. I am also molded by the many TV shows I watch: "Breaking Bad", "Sons of Anarchy", "True Detective." Or films, such as "Mr. Nobody" or "The Wolf of Wall Street." But, in the end, the descriptions of desolated (yet not brown and post-apocalyptic) landscapes from "The Dark Tower" left a mark on me for life.

PCGH: You mention that daytime, weather and even season is important. How is this gonna work technically?

Technically speaking, it's all quite simple. Ridiculously so, sometimes. Generally, the night cycle is just color correction. Rain is a particle effect. The level of fog changes based on a paremeter of the entity that controls fog. And traveling in time is also mostly achieved by color correction. There is more to it than that, of course, especially as it pertains to the puzzle elements themselves, since they also change depending on what is activated and what isn't. Anyway, the technical complexity of it all is not so relevant —the result is all that matters. I love creating constructions, both in coding and design, that are simple yet also very flexible, with great potential. Also, it's all programmed via Kismet, a very visual programming language. In fact, Mind is proof that a videogame can be designed without knowing to write code. I know how to do it and I have used it plenty but I am sure that everything I did with code can be achieved via simple, box-based gameplay scripting.

PCGH: Do you have any idea about the system requirements yet?

If you can run the original Gears of War, you should have no troubles with Mind. Although the levels are big, they are quite minimalistic as well, so they do not drain many ressources.

PCGH: Thanks a lot for the interview!

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