The Astronauts — a small indie studio founded last year by Adrian Chmielarz, Andrzej Poznanski and Michal Kosieradzki (the developers who brought us Painkiller and Bulletstorm) — have announced that their first project is a self described “weird fiction horror” game titled The Vanishing of Ethan Carter.
Set in the early 20th century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a macabre tale about a detective with the supernatural ability to “visualize scenes of lethal crimes”. While investigating the kidnapping of a young boy (who we assume to be Ethan Carter) the detective eventually finds his way to “a beautiful mountain area” that also happens to contain the “severely mutilated body of one of the kidnappers”. Players will have to use both modern detective tools and the gumshoe’s paranormal skill to discover “an ancient force ruling the area, and the fate of the kidnapped boy”.
Adrian Chmielarz, the game’s designer, commented on the teams goals for the project, saying:
“What we care about the most is that the players feel like they’re really there. Immersion is our number one priority. It’s a game about exploration and discovery. We’re not abandoning the gameplay – on the contrary: we’re trying to strip it down to the bone and make sure it’s always meaningful and truly makes the experience better.”
Despite the developer’s experience with first-person shooters, Chmielarz has stated that The Vanishing of Ethan Carter will not contain any gunplay. There will be “some death”, however, it is more about first-person exploration and discovering clues. Chmielarz told Eurogamer that “the focus is not on mind bending puzzles, but on unsettling discoveries.”
Alongside The Vanishing of Ethan Carter‘s announcement this week The Astronauts also revealed a teaser trailer, which was built using the game’s engine. The short trailer certainly shares the “weird fiction horror” theme as it features creepy music, and an old man sitting on a hill as he burns a teddy bear and bits of clothing in a campfire.
The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is scheduled to launch sometime this year on the PC. As soon as The Astronauts nail down a more specific release date we will let you know.
Ex-People Can Fly Devs Unveil Weird Fiction Horror in The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
Weird Fiction Horror Coming to PC in 2013, In-Engine Teaser Video and Screenshot Released
Inspired by the weird fiction stories and other tales of macabre of the early 20th century, The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is a game to be played at night, alone, and in headphones. With The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, The Astronauts – a team comprised of People Can Fly (Bulletstorm, Painkiller) veterans – aim to evolve immersive storytelling in games. It’s set for release on PC via digital distributors in 2013.
As a detective with the supernatural ability to visualize scenes of lethal crimes, you investigate the kidnapping of a young boy, hoping to save him before it’s too late. The investigation leads you to a beautiful mountain area, where you come across a severely mutilated body of one of the kidnappers. Using both your paranormal skill and modern detective tools you discover the mystery behind the trail of corpses in the valley, the roots of an ancient force ruling the area, and the fate of the kidnapped boy.
“What we care about the most is that the players feel like they’re really there. Immersion is our number one priority”, said the game’s designer, Adrian Chmielarz. “It’s a game about exploration and discovery. We’re not abandoning the gameplay – on the contrary: we’re trying to strip it down to the bone and make sure it’s always meaningful and truly makes the experience better.”
The game is being developed on the latest version of the industry-leading Unreal Engine 3 technology from Epic Games, as well as exciting new technology, the details of which we will reveal in the coming months.
