Kursk – Developers Share First Details About The Upcoming Controversial Game
The newest production of studio Jujubee is going to deal with the Russian submarine disaster. We had a chance to sit down and talk to a representative of this Polish team based in Katowice and find out some details about the controversial game.
Until recently, Jujubee, the Katowice-based company, had been known mainly for mobile games. After the announcement of Kursk one of the things we can say about it is that the team is certainly not lacking in courage. For their upcoming release, the developers from Poland are not only abandoning the mobile platforms they're most familiar with, but they are also trying to raise a subject that is likely to arouse considerable controversy, particularly in the context of the recent tension brewing in Eastern Europe. One trailer was enough to trigger accusations of trying to make a profit at the expense of someone else's tragedy, draw attacks from the Russian gamers, as well as gain some support. During a gaming industry conference Digital Dragons that took place last Friday in Krakow, Poland, we had a chance to chat about Kursk with its authors.
The direct inspiration for Jujubee was the disaster of Russian submarine K-141 Kursk that happened in August 2000 in the Barents Sea. It's likely that during a naval exercise one of the torpedoes failed – its explosion caused a chain reaction that killed most of the crew. Initially, 23 of 118 sailors survived, but the delayed decision to launch a rescue mission combined with rapidly decreasing oxygen supplies resulted in their subsequent death. Slow response of the command, the rejection of foreign aid, and feeding the public false information caused an outrage in the media and led to a number of conspiracy theories that suggested, among other things, a suicide bombing of one of the sailors, and a collision with a NATO submarine.
The controversy surrounding the recently announced production from Jujubee is the more acute as the studio seems to be rather inexperienced at first glance. Known mainly for two racing games –Flashout 3D and Flashout 2 which met with a fairly good response – the team has only been in business for three years, and yet it intends to tackle a subject that can open some barely healed wounds, if handled without subtlety. Luckily, the Katowice-based developer has in its ranks the people who were associated witch companies such as CD Projekt RED, Traveller's Tales and Infinite Dreams. It’s also hard to ignore some similarities with the distinctive features of a different Polish game, namely Kholat which will soon be released as the debut production of studio IMGN.pro. These characteristics include a scenario based on a true story that still raises some questions (and is also associated with Russia), a first-person perspective, an emphasis on exploring, and questioning the official version of events. However, Michal Stepien, CEO of Jujubee SA, is quick to assure us that these similarities are a "total coincidence".
All the more so as Kholat is teased as an extremely atmospheric horror featuring some intriguing paranormal phenomena, and Kursk will be devoid of such elements. "It will be a serious game that's most likely to be appreciated by older gamers", says the studio representative. "We're putting a great emphasis on a mature, interesting story." At the same time, the team is trying to tone down a little bit on the emotions this production may stir, and therefore there won't be any real names of sailors who died in the tragedy. The Russian submarine disaster is to serve as a pretext for speculating about what really happened during the naval exercise in August 2000. For now, the developers don't want to reveal too many details about the script. "We are definitely not going to stick with the official government version", says Stepien, adding that one of the major plotlines will be the infiltration of the submarine. "The theme allows us to constantly surprise the players."
Jujubee intends to divide its production into two major parts, with the first one taking place before the disaster, and the second centered on the fight for survival. The introduction will largely focus on exploring every corner of the submarine. We'll have to talk to members of the crew and get down to the above-mentioned infiltration. This aspect – which was hinted by the studio representative as if by accident – raises a question as to whose actions we’ll be controlling in Kursk. The creators weren’t eager to reveal this mystery, although Michal Stepien had the following to say: "If we were to play as one of the sailors serving on this vessel, that would largely limit our gameplay options." Whatever the goal of the protagonist will be, it will cease to count in the second part. When it finally comes to the explosion, Kursk will become a full-fledged survival, in which oxygen will prove to be an essential commodity and problems with electricity will force us to run around with a flashlight and tinker with the lighting.
The disaster itself is still a controversial topic, so it comes as no surprise that Jujubee quickly became the target of criticism, particularly from the Russian players. The developer was accused, among other things, of trying to gain popularity at the expense of someone else's tragedy, and showing lack of respect for its victims. Some people have argued that creating a game about this event would be synonymous with producing a title about the terrorist attacks of 9/11, while others suggested that the studio should rather take up such topics from the Polish history as the Katyn massacre, the Volhynian genocide, or the crash of the presidential plane that took place in 2010.
"We want this to be a movie-like experience", reveals Michal Stepien, promising that the team is doing everything in its power to provide the players with an immersion of the highest level. Among its inspirations, the creators cite productions such as The Vanishing of Ethan Carter or Heavy Rain, so we can expect a minimalist, contextual interface that will allow us to delve deep into the atmosphere of terror and hopelessness. Threat will not be indicated by a bar showing the decreasing oxygen supply, but though a variety of effects such as a blurring image. In addition, Jujubee is much more inclined to depict all events occurring in Kursk with the use of a first-person perspective instead of resorting to traditional cutscenes. The length of the gameplay is designed to lend itself to the film-like nature of the production – the developers want the main story arc to be short but filled to the brim with interesting events. "We're thinking about four hours of intense gameplay", said Stepien, while also pointing out that this period will probably be longer for those players who want to discover every secret of the ill-fated submarine.
There's another reason for these time restrictions. Representatives of the studio openly admit that Kursk is not a production on which they can spend a huge amount of money. "We don't have a big budget, so we wanted to make a game that will be limited to one location, while also reaching the level of AAA titles." There should be no problems with the graphics – Jujubee is building its newest game on the latest version of the Unity engine (although initially the Unreal Engine was considered), which was used, e.g., in the production of the visually stunning Ori and the Blind Forest. The developers themselves admit that it's the best choice for them, since it's this technology they are most familiar with.
Given the above, the fact that we won't be delving into the depths of the Barents Sea until the end of next year for PC, and even later for console, might seem surprising. It is due to the fact that the works on Kursk began in earnest only a few months ago. "The production is now getting in full swing mode, and we are employing new people", boasts the CEO of Jujubee. Perhaps the studio also hopes that announcing such a distant release date will help it wait out the first wave of merciless criticism. Once it passes, they will be able to concentrate on further work in peace. Because there is no doubt that the work of the Polish team will attract a lot of attention – although not necessarily the kind the creators are waiting for the most. "We hope that the game will trigger some questions, maybe even reopen the discussion about this tragedy", the developers claim. Let's hope they are right, because a failure in the execution of such a sensitive topic won't be soon forgotten by many players.