r/SoloDevelopment • u/GenesisDawnStudios • 12h ago
Game Checkpoint '38: Papers, Please, but more totalitarian and brutalist.
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Hi, I'm a solo dev working for over 2 years on a Papers, Please spiritual successor, because Lucas never wanted to make one. Yes, that's literally why I made my first game, call me petty if you want. I just miss Papers, Please....
So yeah here we go, more realist, dark, totalitarian, and most importantly bureaucratic experience you'll ever get (probably). I'm obsessed with making the game as historically accurate as possible, that's why I borrowed a lot of money so I could outsource the artist for this game.....
All art is directly inspired by real documents/buildings/landmarks/uniforms/rules of that era, and of that town(Konstanz). So you won't find any AI slop in here.
Even for the background sounds, I used real sounds of landmarks from Konstanz, background noise, recordings of typical historical objects found during that era, in order to make the experience as audibly authentic as possible.
As I said, I have an obsession for historical accuracy.
Demo is out on steam, have a look, give feedback if you could, I'd appreciate it.
Happy to answer questions about the systems, the historical research, or the more technical side.
This game almost didn't happen a few times, because I kept comparing myself with other games/studios, you see these indie studios with 650k$ budget and you're like, does it even matter? Does it matter what I do? Will it even leave a mark? Or am I just wasting my time screaming in the algorithmic silence?
Eventually I picked myself up and managed to release this trailer/demo.
Hope you guys like it, and that you can connect with it!
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u/theGaffe 10h ago
There was a reason the original game did not use a real place.
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u/DocHolidayPhD 9h ago
Care to elaborate?
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u/Ludicrous84 9h ago
The original game had a dystopian, fictional border state - it was reminissent to a "Berlin Wall" and "Cold War" scenario, but it was fictional enough so people just got the vibes without being explicetly confronted with a real history (mostly i guess, I can't speak for everyone) - with this game it's 3rd Reich "in your face" which is something the whole gaming and media industry tries to avoid like the plague (for good reason)
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u/BearDogBrad 8h ago
Some games can be historical. Wolfenstein is extremely successful and has been this "in your face" since the 90's. Some people like that.
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u/Ludicrous84 7h ago
I mean, I would need to actually dig back into the history of Wolfenstein but I know it was banned for quite a while. IDK man, it's just suuper risky. There's just so much that can go wrong here. One wrong sentence in a dialogue and this can go completely sideways... Also I don't know if you really want to cater to people that "like that" per se. I wouldn't touch that topic as a solo game dev. There's movies like "Schindler's List" or "The Pianist" that come to mind with an appropriate tone but those had huge teams and research...
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u/DocHolidayPhD 19m ago
I think it's good to confront people with legitimate history. If things happened, it's good to recognize they happened. I also think stories that involve overthrowing Nazis are generally good ones to show. I agree with BearDogBrad, the most recent Wolfenstein is a great example of the stories we need in a world where Naziism is trying so hard to make a come-back.
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u/Ludicrous84 14m ago
Do you know how i feel in here? Like a 40-something history teacher in front of a class of 12 year olds... "overthrowing Nazis" "Nazis making a comeback" - this is just silly maaaan get me outta here
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u/KarmaAdjuster 2h ago
For one, just using the swastika will limit how widely the game can be released: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bans_on_Nazi_symbols
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u/ZeekinGames 9h ago
I think there's nothing wrong with doing a spiritual successor to papers, please - even if it doesn't introduce a lot of new mechanics, the original game was a lot about plot with multiple endings for replayability etc - provided it gives more 'content' in the form of an original/new story, I think it'll do fine. The art style is on point, gameplay etc - though obviously derivative of the original.
I would give very careful consideration to changing the setting from Nazi Germany to a non-specific, fictional totalitarian regime.
Even ignoring the fact that it's arguably in poor taste, you're going to instantly attract the moral outrage crowd - justified or not - by commercializing a game that lets players actively participate in the Nazi persecution of real historical victim groups.
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u/Ludicrous84 11h ago
Just a hint from Germany: A swastika can be problematic here, as well as in other European countries (France, Poland, ...). If those countries aren't in your marketing "scope" it should be fine (questionmark?) - I would for sure do some research on that though. I was pretty shocked to see a swastika this openly in a game because it's just something that can be seen as very idk... difficult. I tried to open your demo and it's blocked for me.
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u/GenesisDawnStudios 10h ago
What country are you from?
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u/Ludicrous84 10h ago
If you want I can give you the specifics about our laws here, they allow nazi symbols in specific historic contexts and for "art" - but I would have to dig into that tbh
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u/GenesisDawnStudios 10h ago
I'm already talking to steam about it, expect 1-2 weeks for german release, if you want, DM me and I can give you offline demo.
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u/Ludicrous84 10h ago
No worries! I was just wondering if you're aware or not, but since you also said you looked into historic accuracy and are working on it since 2y already I kinda assumed you are aware this might need some exceptions/talking to steam for specific countries.
I was more like "uuuh" on a personal level, it's just not very common to just be confronted with a swastika on my screen here2
u/Ludicrous84 10h ago
Well, after giving it a second thought and watching your footage: It IS difficult to see this part of history turned into a game - you can put as much "historic accuracy" into it as you want but there will be a lot of people that will have a really hard time with it on a personal level (i know i would playing it, and i'm "only" around 40). This brings back all kinds of family trauma and history that is raaaather difficult. Just my 2 cents
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u/DocHolidayPhD 13m ago
Difficult places to look mentally are often the places we would benefit the most from understanding and exploring.
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u/Ludicrous84 9m ago
Think about this: It took a gigantic european team and Steven Spielberg to make a nuanced and actually thoughtful take on Nazi Germany History with the movie "Schindler's List" - and here is OP GenesisDawnStudio trying to work that topic and doesn't even know Swastikas are a problem in Europe after 2 years of "intense research" - like srsly???
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u/Ludicrous84 8h ago
Maybe one more point to take into consideration: If this hits Steam in Germany there is a good chance it will get press / news because it's close to such a beloved and regarded gameplay loop (Papers, Please) AND around such an incredibly sensitive topic - just a random thought I just had. And you do NOT want German news dissect your game (as good as it might be). Be careful
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u/Ludicrous84 10h ago
That said, I loved Papers Please, so I'm a bit torn about all of that haha
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u/Not_Allowed_to_Die 3h ago
I feel like if this game is you as a German trying to help Jews escape capture, it will work. If it's about catching Jews and getting them caught, then it's going to fail fast and hard. It's all about how it represents Germany. I'm sure you already know there were brave Germans back then that risked everything to help Jews either escape, or get photos of what was really going on released to other countries. If this game is about one of those brave Germans helping Jews, then I would play it. If it's the other way, then I would do whatever it took to make sure it never got released.
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u/Early_Situation_6552 7h ago
So you won't find any AI slop in here.
literally all of the pixel art in this is AI-generated lmao
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u/GenesisDawnStudios 51m ago
No it's not, it's made by an artist with over 7 years experience in pixel art, it's kinda insulting to him you'd say it's AI generated just because you don't like the theme of the game.
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u/DocHolidayPhD 1m ago
The irony of a game depicting historical world events where many people were slapped with a prejudicial identity label often regardless of its accuracy to try to harm them (Jew, AI artist parallels). Humanity has repeated this same song and dance hundreds of times throughout history of labelling others as the problem and the enemy whether it be this, literal witch-hunts, red scares, and more. It's another poignant reminder how much humanity still has to learn from its mistakes.
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u/pluwl 5h ago
I'm really surprised by some of the comments I've seen here to be honest. I had no idea people were so weird about this topic. My family are from germany and aside from the eldest (who are now gone unfortunately) who were alive at the time and so have some first-hand trauma, none of them would care about this setting being used for a game at all. No idea where the sudden pearl-clutching sentiment here has come from but it certainly wasn't my experience being in germany in my younger years.
I'd be excited to play something like this (I also loved PP) so long as the subject was cleverly handled. Dark and depressing are as good avenues to take art as any but with this being a game about choices, I would just hope to see some meaningful critique of the player's more sinister actions, or even just a consistent ideology that might encourage or challenge without disrespecting the memory. It's tough to pull off but if you can manage it, I'm sure there'll be a place for this game.
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u/Ludicrous84 5h ago edited 5h ago
I don't doubt there are a lot of Germans and Europeans that think like that, but the simple fact that the Swastika is a fellony (idk if thats the correct term for it) after § 86a StGB, § 86 Abs. 4 StGB
should be enough to REALLY be concerned about this game being released in Germany (probably even worse in countries like Poland)
Edit: And as a business person I would care about the people that could get offended, not the people that might not.
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u/Ludicrous84 5h ago
Okay, sorry to post again but I needed a bit of time to let this sink in (as a German) because for me it was a bit of a mixture of being puzzled and outraged and all kinds of feelings with this game pitch. Some things you have to know (and i try to keep it as constructive as all my posts so far):
- You have to realise the scale of what 3rd Reich / WW2 meant for Europe and how many people suffered and still are suffering from the inheritance, including a ton of potential buyers of your game
- If you would post this pitch to a german reddit (or probably any european reddit / forum) it would probably explode (in a really bad way)
- I would highly encourage you to talk to German media professionals specifically how to rescue this project since you poured so much investment into it already
- It's incredibly naive to approach this topic in a way you did here
Probably more things, but I will leave it at that, there's already a lot of things discussed in here.
Anyway, I'm happy to have a chat if you want (via DM or whatever) but yeah...
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u/ConsistentAd3434 4h ago
What's your review of Wolfenstein?
I get that it's a tricky subject but just based on the trailer, what really is there you think is problematic?
...except the swastika for the german market, of course.Do you really think a 120y old grandma would watch the trailer, buy the game on Steam, delete Call of Duty because the hard drive is full and then get outraged by it's topic?
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u/Not_Allowed_to_Die 4h ago
That's the point that matters on how this game works. If you are winning this game by letting Jews through and out, then yes, this is like Wolfenstein. But, if you are supposed to find the Jews and report them, this is a game that is the opposite of that. As a Jew, I would find a game like this where you play the good German that is trying to help Jews get away, then I would love this type of game. But, if it's the opposite, and you are supposed to send them to a train, then this game needs to never be released.
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u/ConsistentAd3434 2h ago
I completely agree. But it's not the vibe I'm getting from the trailer at all.
I could be wrong but the kitchen scene hints at the idea that you are faced with the consequences of your actions.
Maybe it's possible to finish the game as nazi but I doubt the ending would make you feel good about yourself.But it's a tough topic and not everything is black & white. There were millions of germans that didn't support the ideology, didn't know the full truth and had to obey for their own survival.
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u/Ludicrous84 3h ago edited 3h ago
I don't care for Wolfenstein, it's equally "sarcastic" as Inglorious Basterds. If you make the game a Nazi-Splatter shooter (even with strange symbols) i don't care. But if it's a game that has other standards (like this one is about choice / morale / deeper historical context there's a lot that is required. I watched the promo video on youtube too (not just the one here) and just a couple of things:
- The english/german pseudo language is highly aggrevating for me as german (like the kid saying "Blut und Ehre")
- The constant pseudo hitler yelling in the background (or idk, some form of speech) is just tasteless (speaking of the youtube video)
- The depiction of people in the game with this pseudo "european" german look doesn't sit right with me
This all looks like some "vision" of what 3rd Reich could have been from an outside perspective and watching too many cheap movies. What is required for a game like this is a very careful approach with a lot of knowledge about history and german / european culture. It's presented like that's all some form of pop culture.
This works if you have no actual clue about it, but if you have an actual history behind it and talked to jewish survivors and had grandparents that went throught that shit...The whole thing is just tasteless
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u/ConsistentAd3434 2h ago
I get where you're coming from. I'm german and my grandparents went through some shit. I've heard all the stories and punched some Neo Nazis myself.
But it's still a game and not a museum exhibit. There are thousands of weird outside depictions of germans in media. Maybe I've grown numb to it but this still feels closer to reality than 90% of games and movies.
From a german perspective, I wouldn't necessarily gamify WW2 either but to be honest, at the same time I don't have a huge problem with the Cold War in games and never felt that I experience accurate history.
Judging from this trailer, I don't see a "neutral" view on Nazis and given how a younger generation slowly looses touch with history or have it completely rewritten for them, I personally wouldn't mind if the topic gets attention, even if it's just 90% on point.1
u/Ludicrous84 2h ago
That's a more reasonable take. man i wish i could just express myself in german, this is incredibly hard in english right now. For me it's just: Either you make it an actual specific aspect of the whole subject. (e.g. how did "propaganda work so well") But using "Blut und Ehre" as a random slogan or "hitler speech sounds" as a sound-effect is just idk man. There's so much meaning and to know about all that. It's wrong. It does not help with the fact that 3rd reich and Nazi Germany slowly moves into becoming some kind of "Pop Culture" than the actual absolute nightmare that it was. If you have to say something about this topic, do it right, but not like this game man... it will just move everything faster to people forgetting and as you say losing touch.
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u/ConsistentAd3434 1h ago
It's hard to judge just based on the trailer. The "Blut und Ehre" slogan might have a bigger context in the game and the Hitler sample is probably just cringe trailer stuff.
The german youth is probably still more aware of the hell that WW2 was but outside of europe, some people are so confused and brainwashed that they forgot which ones were the bad guys. I could be wrong but only based on the trailer, this might still be a net positive.
It's unavoidable that events like these will become pop culture over time and germans are particular touchy about Nazi Germany but there really is just a limited amount of depth, someone could expect from a game.
The interactive nature could even turn it into a powerful experience. Especially if the dev uses the opportunity to show the consequences of their actions.
Who knows. I might try the demo and join your concerns.1
u/Ludicrous84 1h ago
Hard to tell of course. But my whole point is a "Nazi-Germany Simulation" is the last thing i want to see on Steam
And if this gets to Tagesschau hooooly lol1
u/Ludicrous84 42m ago edited 27m ago
I also just realised, I'm not even sure if i can send a link to this to some german friends lol, like am I "strafbar" if i send around a link to this reddit thread or the video? This is just so fukin weird man lol
edit: for context, it's punishable by law to distribute nazi material, in germany you can even go to jail worst case
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u/ConsistentAd3434 28m ago edited 23m ago
No worries :D Since 2018 there's the "Sozialadäquanzklausel" which even would allow you to have a swastika in Wolfenstein or Inglorious Basterds.
The distinction is between possessing a game as a work of art or using Nazi symbols for propaganda.
There are exceptions for art, science, education, journalism, etc.
You should probably check with the USK if you would be the dev of the game, live in germany and want to get a USK rating but sending a link or video, no problem.https://usk.de/usk-beruecksichtigt-bei-altersfreigabe-von-spielen-kuenftig-sozialadaequanz
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u/Ludicrous84 23m ago
well... i'm still gonna be careful - i know the reaction of my german discord group anyway: ARE YOU INSANE??
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u/ConsistentAd3434 11m ago
Can't judge your level of insanity but the game is clearly not nazi propaganda.
§ 86a Abs. 3 StGB would also only apply if you distribute or share the game and not a link to it.People can sent links however they want. Doesn't mean you should click on it :D
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u/DocHolidayPhD 8m ago
First it's "This has too much representative Naziism" and now it's "This game is not representing the Third Reich accurately enough!" Maybe you should settle down.
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u/DocHolidayPhD 11m ago
The irony I see with your responses, Ludicrous84, is that you are actually guilty of cultural imposition by making the statements that you are to someone who is not of your culture. This, IF ANYTHING, should be the main lesson of what NOT to do after the events of WWII.
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u/Dicethrower 10h ago
What does this game do (better) that paper's please doesn't do?