Just Push Start was fortunate enough to sit down with Yegor Ostapenko, Community Manager at Studio Mono, to discuss InSomnia and its return to Kickstarter. InSomnia is described by developers as an atmospheric single-player and co-op role play game set in a “living” dieselpunk sandbox. With 7 days left on the crowdfunding campaign the game is currently 76% funded, asking for a total of £55,000 ($80,000). Let’s kick off the interview and find out more about what inspired the title, why the team has returned to Kickstarter and more.
Just Push Start’s Oliver East: What games would you say are similar to InSomnia?
Studio Mono’s Yegor Ostapenko: It’s hard to say, really. We draw inspiration from a great deal of places. I think I would name Dark Souls for instance in terms of difficulty, This War of Mine in certain degree as well, but we are talking pure good old RPGs when it comes to dialogues and non-linear story.
Other than videogames, where has the team drawn the most inspiration from?
Movies, of course: Blade Runner, Akira, Metropolis, Dead Man’s Letters and games such as Fallout 1 and 2, Planescape Torment, Baldur’s Gate and more!
How much of an impact can players have on the storyline progression?
This depends on decisions in particular situations that are brought on by the storyline. So you can “lose” the game by the end of it, or get a more (or less) positive outcome. The impact of the player, on how the story will evolve, is pretty strong.
Why did you choose to develop on the Unreal engine?
This was something that we all agreed upon within the team. We tried Unity, CryEngine and UE4 – and after a short discussion we decided that UE4 is the best option for us, as this engine offers everything we need to develop the game to the visual standard we’d set ourselves.
