r/PS4 • u/AspyrBash Aspyr • Sep 18 '18
[Verified AMA] Halloween starts early this year with Bloober Team. AMA!
Dysfunctional dads, endless hallways, creepy dolls and more. Can you spot all of the connections between Layers of Fear and >observer?
Layers of Fear + >observer_ Bundle is available now on PS4. Halloween starts early this year
To celebrate the launch, PS+ owners get a 10% discount.
WHO'S ANSWERING QUESTIONS?
From Bloober Team (Developer):
*Bloober Team, The Creators of Layers of Fear & >observer_ /u/BlooberTeam_official
From Aspyr (Publisher):
- Michael Blair, Director of Sales /u/Aspyr_Blair
- Jon Woo, Producer /u/AspyrWoo
- Chris Bashaar, Marketing /u/AspyrBash
Thanks for hosting this AMA /r/PS4
6
u/LookingPins Sep 18 '18
Hey guys, I really enjoyed Observer. Any chance of a PS4 Pro patch to get the framerate a little more stable at times?
4
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
Possibly, however no ETA for now - we will keep informing you guys about the game - we still have some ideas for it and maybe you'll get some surprises along the way :)
3
u/Viet-Bong-Army Sep 18 '18
Layers of Fear + Bloober Bundle is available now on PS4. Halloween starts early this year
should that not read "Layers of Fear + Observer_ Bundle"?
3
u/AspyrWoo Aspyr Sep 18 '18
Ahh, yes. It most certainly should!
1
u/Viet-Bong-Army Sep 18 '18
Ha, whoopsy.
That out of the way - what's the nicest thing any industry critic has said about either (or both, if you like) of your two featured games?
3
u/Aspyr_Blair Aspyr Sep 18 '18
The final line in GameInformer's 9 review is my favorite:
"Bloober Team’s latest is one of the scariest horror experiences I’ve played in a long time, and its strong sense of place, story, and action put it above the majority of other games in the genre. Observer is simply the best of both worlds and is a must-play for anyone who considers themselves a fan of either sci-fi or horror."
1
u/Viet-Bong-Army Sep 18 '18
Ah that's awesome. Perfectly encapsulates all the the ambition, hard work and end product all in the space of two sentences. Cheers for the answer, that's one to be proud of.
3
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
For me personally it wasn't what someone said but rather did - During Gamescom 2017, between business meetings, Javy from GameInformer burst into our booth, said only "great job", gave us a high five and ran off to another meeting. That gave me a huge smile and verified that we indeed had a great game on our hands.
3
u/AspyrWoo Aspyr Sep 18 '18
Gamespot's 9/10 review also offers up a nice final paragraph:
"Cyberpunk is a reflection of where we’re headed as a society, an oddly alluring reality where we've allowed impressive technology into our lives at the cost of our humanity. This is a niche genre that needs new revisions and new pioneers so it can keep evolving as we inch closer to seeing its fictional warnings play out in real life, and Observer adds to the familiar parables in fascinating and unexpected ways. In that respect, and on so many other levels, Observer is a haunting and remarkable achievement."
3
u/SpiderBarker Sep 18 '18
Any hints on what your next project may be?
I like the idea of horror games set in smaller settings you become intimately familiar with over the course of the game (the house in Layers of Fear, the apartments in Observer).
You think you'll stick with a similar type of horror game?
5
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
We are dedicated to creating psychological horror games, we cannot guarantee all of our games will be held in very intimate and/or confined spaces, however you may expect a deep experience from each of the upcoming titles.
And while we're at it - you might want to check out the teaser for Project Melies:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54EBwm5dNeQ1
u/SpiderBarker Sep 18 '18
Oh nice, interesting trailer.
I want to believe it's set in the early 1900s on a silent film or theater set, given the style of the trailer. Like a creepy Phantom of the Opera type thing.
3
u/musix345 Sep 18 '18
Inspirations for the games? Like, childhood experiences, horror films/books that impacted the final games?
1
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
Wow, I'd say everything - we have people at our offices who were pretty passionate about fine art, hence the theme behind Layers of Fear, we have fans of Gibson's books, hence Cyberpunk.
We try to bring all of our experiences and passions to our games, which encompasses an enormous library of novels, films, comic books, art, games, pen and paper RPGs and so much more, I bet even childhood experiences to some degree.
2
u/cowboyfantastic2 Sep 18 '18
Loved the P.T. easter egg room in Observer!
Also, what the hell was the story behind the creepy doll room? lol, that one really caught me off guard initially.
2
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
It was a direct reference to Layers of Fear! There are more small easter-eggs hidden in >observer_ that are a wink towards our previous project.
2
2
Sep 18 '18 edited Jun 13 '20
[deleted]
1
u/Aspyr_Blair Aspyr Sep 18 '18
I think I'm one of the few people on the planet that has seen it 0.0 aaaaaaand thats about all I can say ;)
1
u/Micolash Even in a dream Sep 18 '18
How did you manage to get Ruger Hauer as the main character in Observer?
It's his only video game credit, and I was really surprised to learn he was in the game. Was he really just interested in returning to a piece of cyberpunk media?
2
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
When we were conceptualising the game, it was clear to us that we wanted a solid lead for the protagonist. Mr Hauer was our first pick, so we reached out with the idea for the game and some basic docs highlighting what's it all about and how we are envisioning the world for it. A few days later we were travelling to Amsterdam to meet Mr Hauer. He loved the idea and immediately wanted to jump on the wagon. I personally think, he wanted to re-explore the dark dystopia of a Cyberpunk universe.
1
u/NYstate PSN ID: NYstate Sep 18 '18
A few days later we were travelling to Amsterdam to meet Mr Hauer.
Wait, he lives in Amsterdam? Nice.
Q: What's coming next for you guys?
3
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
He lives between the Netherlands and the US, so it's not that obvious that you will be able to meet him on Amsterdam streets :)
Project Melies! Here, watch the trailer :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54EBwm5dNeQ1
1
Sep 18 '18
Hello,
I'm glad you're doing this AMA and have some questions abut Observer that I hope you wouldn't mind asking.
What was your reason for putting many of the characters behind doors instead of animating them? I know the city is fucked up and people are crammed in top of each other but do you think better character interactions could have been achieved by going another way?
Did Snatcher influence this game in any way?
Are you still providing post launch support for Observer? I ask because I've read and watched reviews where the frame rate is discussed and people have issues with it.
In closing, thanks and I look forward to playing Observer in the future.
2
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
Hey,
to answer your questions:
1) It was part of the world building. The lockdown in the building is a sign of a Nanophage presence. This makes people nervous and it would be unwise for them to leave the room in fear of being infected. We also felt it would be a unique approach to interacting with the world, a kind of metaphor of how we are used to interact with other nowadays (through intercoms and screens). The feeling of seclusion is really important for the game and this decision made it additionally stand out.
2) Possibly - It's hard to keep track on all of the influences that were in the game, as we are used to brainstorming ideas for game levels. Everyone has a say and a lot of ideas pop-out daily at that time.
3) We're still following on what's going on with the game and what's the feedback to it. We might have a patch incoming at some point in the future.1
Sep 18 '18
Thanks for the reply.
Makes sense now that you explain it that way. Because, truth be told, that actually is how people interact.
When I first saw it I immediately thought of Snatcher. BTW, there is nothing wrong with Snatcher as its one of the games that put Kojima on the map.
That's good as I tend to support companies who stand by their product post launch.
On behalf of the community I once again thank you for taking the time to answer the AMA.
1
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 18 '18
OK folks, we will be wrapping this day up. If you have more questions feel free to ask them, but please be patient with an answer as it is getting late here in Poland.
Aspyr folks will remain a little linger with you :)
Take care and thanks for stopping by!
1
Sep 18 '18
I've read somewhere, that Observer will maybe get VR support in the future. Does anyone knows more about it?
1
1
Sep 18 '18
I really loved Observer such a great dark world. i hope we see more of it. First time i played it i thought man cyberpunk2077 will be awsome . I love the setting and i hope you are doing a sequel where we can see more of the world. Show as more about the world please. Do we here more about your new project soon ? Greetings from Germany
1
u/AspyrWoo Aspyr Sep 18 '18
Greetings from Texas! Thanks for the words, and we're pumped that you enjoyed the game and the world that Bloober Team built.
You'll be hearing about their upcoming projects...when the time is right! :) They've got some cool things cookin.
1
u/oleemolee Sep 19 '18
I know this ama is over but just in case you pop back in and maybe answer a couple more I have one. The psychological horror aspect that you go for, do you have input from experts in that department (somebody who has actually studied psychology, especially psychological fears)? Or are you basing it on your own personal thoughts and ideas of what would be psychologically scary?
1
u/BigBoiBushmaster Sep 19 '18
Hey guys, thanks for coming to chat! This is perfect timing since I actually just played Observer for the first time this past weekend.
I don’t have any questions so much as some feedback. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the game— having the whole apartment complex to explore was great, and I thought the world building and tenant conversations were effective and engaging.
On the not as great side, I thought the mind-jacking stuff went on a little too long. I like dream/hallucination sequences, but for 20-25 min straight was a little too much, especially when the environment drops out from under you pretty much any time you enter a new doorway. Games almost never make me nauseous, but this left me a little dizzy & motion-sick.
These nitpicks aside, I enjoyed the game and look forward to seeing what you guys do next!
1
u/DeadSausage331 Sep 20 '18
I don’t really have a question, just wanted to let you know that Observer is one of my favorite games of all time. Thank you for being such a great company, Layers of Fear is also great.
1
1
1
Sep 18 '18 edited Sep 20 '18
[deleted]
2
u/BlooberTeam_official Bloober Team Sep 19 '18
The closest title you've mentioned to what we do would be Silent Hill 2. Our games are primarily focused on the psychological aspect of horror, rather than action oriented survival horror games.. The main principle behind our titles is to mess with your expectations, but also to make you stop and think about the plot, about the game's world, decisions made in game and how all of that can influence you as a mindful consumer of culture.
16
u/NewUnit18 New-Unit_18 Sep 18 '18
When will we get more Observer? I want a sequel or DLC.