Lorne Lanning, the creator of the Oddworld saga, advanced some details of his next title Oddworld: Soulstorm, which indicated that the game will be exclusive on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 consoles due to the fact that the company financed the development of the game, while in PC will come from the hand of the Epic Games Store.
Why did you decide to go exclusive with PlayStation on consoles? Is this a temporary deal, and if so, will the game be available elsewhere afterwards?
This is a temporary exclusive to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 systems. PlayStation believed in us and our game and was willing to support us financially in our development. It was a great opportunity with a great partner. They have already proven incredible by including us in several of their digital storefronts. I think we and maybe one or two others have been so lucky. The same goes for the Epic Games Store. They have included us in several digital showcases and in the Game Awards. Our partners have supported us at all times.
On the other hand, the most interesting thing, which is to know how the game will move on the PlayStation 5, knowing that it will reach a resolution of 1440p @ 60 FPS (the user interface rescales to 4K), while the PlayStation 4 will settle for 1080p @ 30 FPS. On PlayStation 5, he will also take advantage of 3D Audio and the advantages of the DualSense controller, although they indicate that what he likes most about this console is the implementation of the SSD.
You've already mentioned that the PS5 allows you to enhance your game through "impressive graphical fidelity, mind-blowing 3D audio, and the DualSense controller." Can you go into more detail about each of these improvements planned for Oddworld: Soulstorm?
Our goal is to take advantage of PS5-specific technical advancements that can increase the player's emotional connection to Abe. Soulstorm runs at 60fps at 1440p on the PS5 and 1080p at 30fps on the PS4. The gaming experience will be the same whether you play on PC, PS4 or PS5. The technical advancements of PS5 give us the opportunity to add some additional features that increase the visual fidelity of the PS5 and the emotional connection that players will feel with Abe.
The PS5's 3D audio, which uses the Tempest engine, allowed us to play with the game's sound. Gameplay at all levels takes advantage of spatial audio. The vast majority of sounds are emitted positionally, except when we need the sound events to be 2D.
The DualSense controller brings several new features that, in our opinion, increase the player's emotional connection to the characters in the game. Imagine feeling Abe's heart palpitations increase in times of stress and danger. Or experience the resistance of adaptive triggers when Abe has to push or fight something.
Of all these improvements, which one is your favorite?
For us, everything revolves around loading speed. The PS5's SSD is blazingly fast. It's a game changer, in the pun intended sense. Adaptive triggers are great. I was expecting a similar experience to previous PS controllers, but these have allowed us to create a stronger emotional connection between Abe and the player.
Plus, the Game Hints activity cards are way cooler than we expected. The ability to give the player clues along the way will be really useful, especially in a game like ours, which has many puzzles to solve and more than one way to do it most of the time.
What do you think of the impact of the PS5 SSD on overall game development?
Anything that speeds up loading times is a bonus. Loading times take players out of the dive. Everything in a game should serve to provide the most immersive experience and loading times tend to get you out of the game. The SSD should help gamers stay immersive.
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