Chris Hunt, the lead designer of the cult hardcore RPG Kenshi, says that the game should test the player. Many modern games seem too simple to him.
According to him, players are too often put in the position of an omnipotent hero — and this is simply not interesting. He believes that players need a challenge — something that makes them make mistakes, get up, and try again.
«Too many games let the player succeed. You go ‘oh it’s a power fantasy’ and you just run along mowing down enemies and succeeding. And that’s it, that’s the whole game. And that’s mind-numbingly boring to me», — said Chris Hunt.
This approach completely contradicts the philosophy of Kenshi — an open RPG world for survival. In this game, no one leads you by the hand or gives you gifts (only a guard can plant drugs, extort money, and put you in jail). In the game, you can accidentally enter a region inhabited by aggressive mutated creatures, cannibals, or skeletons wearing human skin. The entire world of Kenshi is tough and treats the player with disdain.
«A writer’s job is to torment their protagonist. That’s what a lot of writers will tell you. And so I just adapted that», — adds the head designer.
He also doesn’t like the pattern of the «chosen hero», who is doomed to glory from childhood. He says that so many games offer to be the «greatest» of all that it’s «just stupid».
«I hate being ‘the chosen one.’ How relatable is that, being the chosen one? Stories are supposed to be relatable, right? They can be power fantasies and stuff, but I know being the chosen one is just stupid. I also don’t want to be a king or a noble or a superhero. I want to see a story about a regular person who struggles», — Hunt says.
As for Kenshi 2, Hunt hasn’t revealed many details yet. It is known that the sequel will take place in the same world, but 1000 years before the first part. According to him, the map will be about 50% bigger than the previous one (Kenshi already had a huge world of —870 km²).
Screenwriter Natalie Hunt, who is working on the sequel (and, as it turned out, is Chris’s sister), added that the game will have «many completely new factions». They will be «completely unique to the world of Kenshi». The release date of Kenshi 2 is still unknown. By the way, until May 19, the original Kenshi is on sale at Steam with a 70% discount (₴113).
Source: PC Gamer
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