Creating the Unreal dystopian surrealism and biomechanical horrors of Scorn
August 10, 2022Eight years, failed and then successful Kickstarters, privating funding, explosive studio growth, and a leap from Unity to Unreal Engine all paved the path for Ebb Software’s quest to create a different breed of video game.
Looking back, Ebb Software CEO and creative director Ljubomir Peklar still sees that fraught journey as the studio’s only path forward. The lessons learned along the way, he said, were essential to the team’s ability to create its flagship game: Scorn, which went on to receive an Epic MegaGrant.
Melding the dystopian surrealism of artist Zdzisław Beksiński and biomechanical horrors of H.R. Giger, Scorn is a survival horror adventure game that promises an unsettling experience powered by Unreal Engine and driven by themes and ideas that Peklar says are in lock-step with its artistic influences.
It is a game designed first to thematically reflect the tech-obsessed world we live in, and then later soaked in the horror of Beksiński and Giger, which seemed like natural fits. In a recent interview, Peklar spoke about the studio’s journey, its decision to shift–in early development–to Unreal Engine, and how the game’s design and mechanics managed to meld so naturally together.
To read the rest of this story, which first ran on Aug. 10, 2022, visit Unreal Engine.
