“Disco Elysium shaped me as much as I shaped it, and I’m forever grateful for the experience,” Argo Tuulik, the last original game writer to leave ZA/UM, told me.
“That being said, there are some concepts that are incompatible with the Elysian world-building I’ve wanted to explore for years, and now I’m glad I didn’t try them before getting the experience I have now,” he continued. The idea of starting over with new studio Summer Eternal, along with some other former Disco developers, doesn’t faze him: “I’m no more nervous than driving. Doing it so intensely for so long has become second nature. “
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That said, when I asked him if it was hard to leave Elysium (since being laid off, writers don’t have many options), he added: “Creatively, I’m really excited to try new things. However, from an ethical, This whole situation doesn’t sit well with Cuno from an ethical and legal perspective, it’s fucked up how this creative work was taken away from him and all his friends who were involved in this work. The battle is not over yet.”
Because of the whole situation, the project Tulick has chosen isn’t the only studio to announce before Harry & Kim’s Adventures celebrates its fifth anniversary. Others, through other press releases like Summer Eternal, have hinted at the involvement of former DE developers, or the tantalizing potential of being spiritual successors who could pick up the torch that has been mired in the aftermath of chaos. Disco hell. However, Tulik’s project is the only one to come with its own manifesto, and seems keen to outline its goal of producing a game that will be “something completely fresh and original.”
“Comparisons and expectations are inevitable, but the roots of our work will be our current conditions, our current team, our current reality, not the past that can never be recaptured and is a fool’s errand to pursue,” former ZA / said. Dora Klindíi, a writer at the University of Michigan, wrote the manifesto “Summer Forever”. “Ultimately, as we build and design this game from the ground up, we’ll only evaluate every element based on whether it fits with what our team wants to make today. Of course, as the big shot famously said, people don’t Make your own history however you want, so our present is always determined by our past, but we want to get rid of all unnecessary baggage and focus on building the future.
“We are engaged in this process with no intention of ‘surpassing’ or even ‘matching’ Elysium, or competing with any other company on Earth or in orbit, or claiming any goal of commercial success. We leave this business to profiteers. We will Working like artists means our eyes are focused on the work, not the audience, nor the competition.”
“I think we were just winging it,” Tulik added. “‘No one steps in the same river twice,’ said the obscure Heraclitus (slurred). I’m not going to be different for the sake of being different. , and not being different for the sake of being different, or as if there’s a formula, I’m going to follow Dopamine and I believe we’re making something that feels familiar yet fresh.”
Gamechuck developer Aleksandar Gavrilovi, who was instrumental in forming the new studio’s collaborative structure and is “the only member of the Summer Eternal team who has not worked on Disco or any of its expansions,” has his own take on the studio’s tasks faced in this regard.
“To me,” he said, “the best thing about playing Disco was how fresh and different it was compared to everything else going on at the time. It was obviously a spiritual successor to games like Planescape: Torment, but it Dare to break the rules, which is what it should be done now… not just copy the bland styles that everyone loves now, but create something as new and innovative as Disco is in 2019.
“When Lenin wrote about how best to ascend mountains, he outlined an important aspect – when you are already at a high place, in order to ascend higher, you sometimes have to take another road and then descend, “This descent,” he continued, “is often more dangerous, and is always accompanied by the malicious glee of those who want you not to succeed in the first place. But if we are to achieve our ambitious plans, we need to take our time, and go down first.” Then try to climb higher, no matter how long it takes.”
As you’d expect from a collective passionate about workers’ rights, the Summer Eternal team seemed to have a stream of well wishes for other former Disco developers who are now trying to make their way out of ZA/UM, including those involved in the announcement during a busy week earlier this month people on other projects.
When I asked the group if there were any plans to continue reaching out to these people, Gavrilovi said, citing “many former colleagues at Argo” who have expressed interest in being part of Summer Forever, adding that they “haven’t written anything yet.” blogs and announcements, so the coming weeks and months may be full of surprises.”
“There are other developers said to be willing to join, but we haven’t been in touch with them yet,” the developer added. “Life leads them down different paths, and not everyone has a strong digital footprint, so finding where some are is also requires a bit of detective work. Fortunately, our Our huge digital footprint makes us a very bright beacon, so we’re faced with a situation where people are approaching us, not the other way around. “
“I’d rather underpromise and overdeliver, so I’ll be intentionally vague,” Tulik said himself, “but the response and support from our old comrades (and I must say new supporters) has exceeded our expectations.” Anything I’m prepared for Good thing. I’m humbled by how many people want to try again or try to help in some form. “
“A year ago it felt like a generational tragedy, and today it feels like spring, full of new beginnings,” Tulik told me. Aneurysm, and we’re now getting some unique art direction, all from Gram Children of Lonos. I get dizzy just thinking about it. “
