Interview: Kickstarter Shadow of the Eternals to test your sanity over 2500 years of history

Do you remember Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem back in 2002? Do you feel ready for its spiritual successor? Welcome to Shadow of the Eternals. This is an action/adventure/horror game being created by Precursor Games. Currently being funded by Kickstarter, this game will have you solve a murder mystery where the two witnesses have lost their memories and are telling you two completely different stories. Who is right? Are either of them right?

You’ll play as detective Paul Becker but do you have the insight to solve a mystery using 2500 years of human history? There is only one true way to know for certain. I received the opportunity to do a Q/A email interview with Paul Caporicci, CEO of Precursor Games. Check out the interview below, definitely check out the Shadow of the Eternals Kickstarter page, and fund the project if you like what you see. Enjoy. 

GameZone: What exactly is Shadow of the Eternals?

Paul Caporicci: A narrative driven action-adventure (psychological horror) that blends a dark vision of Human history with a touch of Lovecraftian cosmic-horror, delivered episodically through digital distribution.

GZ: Where did the idea for Shadow of the Eternals stem from? How long have you had a project like this in mind?

PC: We wanted to make a game that is not commonly made these days.  We are combining the rise of crowdsourcing, episodic content and community created content to provide the unique opportunity that is Shadow of the Eternals.

GZ: What games inspired you for this project?

PC: Eternal Darkness, Resident Evil, Dark Souls and a few others.

GZ: Can you tell me more about Detective Paul Becker?

PC: Becker is a man learning to understand his past. Somewhat of a control freak, he is afraid to let other people hold influence over him, always feeling that he should be in control of whatever project he is attached to.  He is placed into an awkward situation when he discovers that situation at the hospital is already under the control of another police force, overstepping their jurisdiction.

Shadow of Eternals - Klára Rusznyák

GZ: How will 2500 years of history be spanned?

PC: Our story comprises a number of other, smaller scale stories which are placed throughout that time-span. The effects of the action within these stories generate the inciting incidents for the later ones, and the conclusions of these stories drive the “wraparound” story of Paul Becker, bringing us to the present day.

GZ: What techniques will Shadow of the Eternals use to test your sanity and perception?

PC: We will use technique across all of the bases of the videogame medium such as story, artwork, gameplay, audio, technology along with new ways to break the fourth wall.

GZ: Can you further explain the ‘Order of the Unseen?’

PC: The ‘Order of the Unseen’ is our vehicle to involve the community directly in the creative process of making the game.  We want to harness this symbiotic relationship to make the best game possible.

Shadow of Eternals - Room

GZ: Is the team excited to work on the spiritual sequel to Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem? Are there more freedoms this time around?

PC: Absolutely! The game concept has largely been driven by ideas that we’d like to see in a game of this kind. So far the concept appears to have been welcomed by the community of the Order of the Unseen, who as future players of the game, have a large say in what they’d like to see. However, they are keen to point out that they do not wish to override our creative vision and support our creative freedom.  The road is not set completely and it is going to be an exciting adventure through the development process.

GZ: What sort of unique Wii U integration are you planning?

PC: We plan to have unique integration across the board from sanity events to interesting things with the controller.  

GZ: If successfully funded, when would you ideally have Shadow of the Eternals publically released?

PC: Q3, 2014