Scorn: The Art of the Game

Product Information

My interest comes from the relation between a man and an object, how one changes the other. For that you need familiarity. I noticed that with our new trailer, people just want it to be weird for the sake of weird, and that is not what we are doing.”

Pip: I assume you used medical imagery for some of the reference points - can you tell me a bit more about that? Scorn takes place in an open-ended world with different interconnected regions. Each region is a maze-like structure with various rooms and paths to discover. All the storytelling happens in-game, with no cut-scenes to distract you from the grisly reality of the living, breathing world you’re in. But keep your eyes open - the game won’t show you any sympathy if you miss something important on your uneasy travels. Peklar: We designed the main character first, as he is the centerpiece of the game, so we concentrated on the ideas that we wanted to express through him. There is a feature, that we haven't shown yet, that was really important to get exactly right, both in the concept art and later in the game. Peklar: The hardest part is not creating noise or clutter. If something is oversaturated with detail it becomes noise, or if it has none it becomes flat. It's really strange how much a simple line or form can mutate one concept into another and go stylistically in the wrong direction creating a standard SF or gothic aesthetic. Balance is everything.Every location contains its own theme (story), puzzles and characters that are integral in creating a cohesive world. Throughout the game you will open up new areas, acquire different skill sets, weapons, various items and try to comprehend the sights presented to you. GAMEPLAY FEATURES As for other influences it's quite a big list. If we are talking movies it's directors like Cronenberg, Argento, Lynch, Carpenter and Jodorowsky just to name a few. Writers of different genres from Horror and SF to philosophy like Lovecraft, Barker, Thomas Ligotti, J.G. Ballard, Stanislaw Lem, Kafka, Albert Camus, Heidegger and so on. Games like Silent Hill, Resident Evil or Metroid Prime. LjubomirPeklar: A person is influenced by many things and different artists throughout his life. Sometimes their art defines your taste and sometimes you naturally gravitate towards concepts you have an affinity for. Your view on life, your thoughts and ideas will push you towards similar minded artists. We also needed to conceptualize some early environments so we could see our main character present in that space.

It is designed around the idea of "being thrown into the world". Isolated and lost inside this dream-like world, you will explore different interconnected regions in a non-linear fashion. The unsettling environment is a character itself. Pip: How has the game changed over time? Have you had to accommodate that with the artwork in any particular ways? Sometimes you have to try out crazy and even ridiculous ideas to realize what works and what doesn't (image below). Peklar: The biggest problem comes from the fact that not all the ideas on paper work in a fully realized 3D world so you have to change them, balance them out or completely cut them and come up with something new. All that has to be done in a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes the most basic thing can create the biggest problems.Human beings are conditioned to like the external beauty of their bodies and see the internal organs, bones and tissue as something repulsive. It's a reflex. It's something most people want to forget. Most of the time you are not aware of your body but when you get ill or old your body turns against you. Peklar: Our existence as a living organism is at the core of the game and human anatomy is the primary subject. Therefore we referenced many different parts of it as a starting point, then we morph, combine and exaggerate them, change the shapes until we get something visually appealing. It's not always about functionality but interesting forms that make sense for what we are trying to express.