Lucas Pope, the indie developer behind last year’s puzzle hit Papers, Please has officially announced his next project. Titled The Return Of The Obra Dinn, the game is set to be a 3D first-person mystery. Taking place in 1808 and utilizing visuals influenced by black and white Mac games, Pope has said development time could be up to a year and half and that it will be quite different to his previous work.
Writing on a TIGForums thread, he also had the following to say about the project:
“I want to experiment with the rendering, story, and a few technical features. Right now I have only a rough idea about the narrative. I’m hoping to capture a compelling mystery with suspense and twists in the limited space of an old merchant sailing ship. It won’t be the typical ‘collect items and look for clues’ structure.”
Details are understandably vague at the moment, but given the success of Papers, Please, intrigue will no doubt be brewing amongst the indie gaming community.
Released on August 8th 2013 across Windows and OS X – and on February 12th 2014 for Linux – Papers, Please is a dystopian puzzle game where players take on the role of an immigration officer who must decide who to let in and who to keep out of the fictional country of Arstotzka. The title went on to receive critical praise for its emotional pull, game mechanics and sense of immersion and has since gone on to win several gaming awards.
You can read our review of Papers, Please here, if you haven’t already, and be sure to stay tuned as we’ll bring you more updates on The Return Of The Obra Dinn as they arise.