summary
- The original developer behind Stalker explains the original’s large-scale business.
- The original series was full of tight deadlines and intense ambitions.
- The mix of burnout and big goals led to the cancellation of the original Stalker 2 project.
It was a huge success for the Stalker 2 developers at GSC Game World. Despite developing amid a brutal and destructive war, their game has achieved critical success and has recently reached a milestone for six million players.
However, you may be surprised to hear that this was not the first attempt at full-fledged Stalker 2. rear The success of the original trilogythe team ambitiously prepared to develop a sequel.
In a lengthy interview with Eurogammer, Andrii Verpakhovskyi, one of the developers behind the original stalker game, discusses exactly what life in that original studio was like.
Additionally, he delves deep into Stalker 2’s original plan. The ambitious goals brought about by the success of previous titles were what ultimately stabbed them in the back.
According to Verpakhovskyi, the initial developments behind the Stalker series were far less specialized than you believe. The team said, “There was no formal higher education at all. “Let’s create something in the garage, we just reduced it a bit.” ”
Despite lack of experienceAnd then, the relatively tight six-month deadline, the team behind the first entry, Shadow of Chernobyl, achieved amazing feats such as “a smarter AI agent than the average person.” In fact, they were very smartThey had to make fun of them for the launch.
It all felt like running a street gang… it was all goal-oriented and there was a solid dash of insanity. We were basically trying to enjoy the games we were building as much as possible.
How does Verpakhovskyi explain through the typical struggle between deadlines and passion? Their ultimate goal was to create a game they were proud of, and they didn’t want to seek approval from a larger audience. Before achieving a massive level of success, criticism could only come from within the team.
But as they began to achieve success, their ambitions grew and sadly it became more and more difficult to meet deadlines. After spending time developing Clear Sky, the first level of the second entry, the team “realized that there are levels that build 11 more levels for another six months. Ugh.”
Stalkers we couldn’t play 2
After the first trilogy, this mix of ambition and deadlines looked like the final blow that affected his ability to unfold Stalker 2. Despite the idea for a complete sequel, the team was completely motivated through stress and burnout.
By the time of the third game, the resources had grown so thin that they had changed the quality control department to designers. Verpakhovskyi said, “It was a beautiful bunch of thugs and madmen, a real reflection of the street life of Kiev’s industrial districts at the time.”
However, for full-scale Stalker 2, the team was much higher. Lore is a deep dive into the mystery of the zone, adding more detailed history and filling in the puzzles established in the original game.
As for gameplay, the team wanted “the new game would define genres that would define genres for open world shooters, just like the original stalkers.”
We were basically trying to attack Pixar-level quality, but we weren’t even close to that level of splendor.
The team eventually escaped from development, and Verpakhovskyi left after a thorough burnout. The entire team and development of the sequel stopped less than a year later.
The interview concludes with a fantastic flashback that Verpakhovskyi met two new Stalker teams at Gamescom. In the passage of the torch moment, he points out how he can communicate “They’re going to make a beautiful game. Absolutely in the spirit of an original stalker.”
It’s incredibly impressive to have got Stalker 2, especially considering the weight behind the development. I highly recommend that the original Stalker’s Development and The Stalker 2 never came to fruition.
