When we first started creating games at Frictional Games, we knew we wanted to create immersive horror experiences. We’ve included everything we can think of: puzzles, physics, combat, creepy dream sequences – you can name it. Those who have played Penumbra: Overture will remember these elements very well. Now, as we prepare to launch Amnesia: The Bunker – coming to PS4 on June 6 – we wanted to look back at how we’ve further improved our formula and approach to the game.
The real breakthrough came with Amnesia: The Dark Descent. We started focusing on the key aspects that lead to a much more engaging experience. We remove combat and all other aspects that don’t directly promote the horror experience. This results in players paying more attention to their environment and becoming more deeply engaged. For example, a simple sound effect can cause a backlash, causing the player to flee. Players become immersed with the happenings in a way we’ve never seen before.
One of the only relatively safe places in Amnesia: the Bunker – the administrative office. Check the map carefully, planning your next move is crucial to your survival.
This revelation shows us that we can use such techniques to advance the story in new ways. Very few games at the time did this, and we felt we could still push the boundaries. This is how SOMA was born. We asked ourselves: Instead of scaring players, can you spark the same sense of immersion in more complex themes? In the case of SOMA, it becomes: can you get them to question the nature of consciousness? Five years of work later – turns out you can.
In Amnesia: The Bunker, the revolver is used to bombard locks, showing how it can be used as more than just a weapon.
We then aimed to expand our studio into a two-project operation that split our team in half. A team working on Amnesia: Rebirth, where we sought to combine gameplay and story more closely, introducing mechanics (such as the belly rub simulation) that carry important story meaning. We are proud of the results but feel we can go further. A clear sign of this is that, once players know the game, they will approach each part in a predictable way. The game simply doesn’t push far enough to really empower players.
Lighter. A very important item used to craft various tools, such as a torch that can be used to repel mice.
With Rebirth out and our other project – let’s call it the Super Secret Project – still a work in progress, Fredrik Olsson, Rebirth’s creative lead, proposed a simple idea. Simple: Why not have a monster, give the player a gun and unleash them in an open world? This is a smaller, more focused project that we were able to complete before the Super Secret Project. Bunker was born.
The concept is significantly different from our recent games, but if we were to trace our roots back to Penumbra: Overture, that wouldn’t be far off. In Overture, the player handles monsters freely, using weapons, setting traps, and burning boxes. Bunker aims to do the same thing, but take it to the next level.
Concept of a revolver, the first usable gun in Frictional Games’ game.
At a similar time when Bunker was conceived, it became clear that the Super Secret project was not on track. Everything feels too linear, not open enough. Inspired by The Bunker, we decided to steer our other project towards a more open-ended, gameplay-focused direction.
When you run out of options, using force to gain entry may be the only option. However, be careful, it will make a lot of noise and may attract unwanted attention.
As a narrative-focused company, we strive to create stories in which players feel like an active participant – it’s a core part of our DNA. The common theme in all of our games is to explore something (be it the nature of the mind or the experience of pregnancy) from an active first-person perspective. Bunker needs to maintain this character, despite the limited time and resources of the project. We went with a simpler, more understandable story: “It was World War I. You are a soldier trapped in a bunker and a deadly monster lurking in the dark. Run away!” The entire game is dedicated to telling this story as efficiently as possible.While not as complex as the previous entries, it’s still a story-driven experience.
This marks a new trajectory for us as a company. Or perhaps more accurately, we are revisiting an older road and discovering what we can do with it. Starting with Amnesia, we started removing gameplay elements to see how far we could push that approach. Now, we’re bringing systems, mechanics, and player bodies to the fore. We were curious to see how far we could go. Bunkers are a fascinating first step, smaller in scope and geared towards a very specific experience.
While small and specific it is by no means easy to create – quite the contrary. A series of interesting challenges arose during development. For example, the open-ended nature of the game means that there are always multiple ways to get through the doors. In our previous games, going through a door would be carefully scripted with one or sometimes two specific solutions available.
In The Bunker, we simply give the doors certain attributes, give them some tools, and then let the player figure it all out. In a game where we want to arrange a certain all-round experience, this is quite difficult. There are certain high-level notes and this must happen no matter how the player chooses to play. Solutions include making these beats more systematic (e.g., changing monster behavior) or setting up obstacles in such a way that there is always a way to get through them, no matter how talented the player. what raw.
It will be fascinating to see how players approach the game. We’ve learned many lessons that we’ll incorporate into our next project, and even more details will emerge as we release this game to market. We can’t wait for you all to try The Bunker, not only as a new entry, but as the first step in a new direction for us as a studio.
