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As a AAA single-player Souls-like, Lies of P is a leap into uncharted territory for both its publisher, Neowiz, and developer, Round8 Studio.
Speaking with GamesIndustry.biz, executives with the studio and its parent explain that they at least started with something familiar by basing the game on the story of Pinocchio.
When asked why a public domain story was used, game director Jiwon Choi explains the choice was because, creatively, they are uncommon for Souls-like titles.
With a well-known property, it’s challenging because there’s a responsibility to respect the sourceJiwon Choi
Choi says, “With a well-known property, it’s challenging because there’s a responsibility to respect the source, but we also wanted to put our unique spin on the story to fit within the world we created.
“Having existing source material is beneficial in the early stages of development because the main storyline, the characters, and the relationships between them already exist. With that solid foundation, we could, in a sense, dive right into deeper discussions about how to best interpret and implement the original story into Lies of P.”
The game director adds that the Belle Époque era, 1880 to 1914 Europe, was used for its advancements in science and technology. Choi also notes that the period has rarely been used in game settings.
He explains, “Since our main story was an Italian fable, we were prototyping while researching multiple European architectural styles. The Belle Époque era was our final selection because it was the period in which romance, turmoil, cultural resurgence, and prosperity coexisted. We needed to capture a city’s transformation from opulence to ruin. That being said, there are influences from our collective travels across Europe throughout Lies of P.”
But Round8 head of studio Jason Park says a lot more went into making Lies of P than finding a public domain story and a setting that would take advantage of the team’s old vacation photos.
There was about a year of meticulous research on the target market, genre, overall strategies…Jason Park
“There was about a year of meticulous research on the target market, genre, overall strategies, and other aspects,” Park explains. “This included exploring the possibility of incorporating open-world or multiplayer features, given their widespread popularity among gamers.
“But rather than checking off a list of popular features, we decided to concentrate on delivering a solid action-focused experience and make Lies of P the debut single-player title for Round8 Studio. Once it was determined Lies of P would be a Souls-like game, we invested a large amount of time discussing the narrative.”
Whether 2D or 3D, Souls-like games have been popular in the gaming market. Choi admits that Round8 created one in part due to his own interest in the genre.
“The genre is growing in popularity, so I feel that gamers expect there to be a lot of games being developed to cater to that market. But this isn’t the case because Souls-likes are incredibly difficult to make well,” Choi explains.
“I’m only one of many Souls-like fans at Round8 Studio, and we wanted to take on the challenge and honor the genre that inspired us and brings us much fulfillment as gamers. We believed that if we succeeded in that, we’d be able to begin to establish ourselves as a studio capable of consistently delivering exceptional games, which is what we aspire to be.”
The game director adds that despite the market presence of these games, the development team mostly kept its eyes on its own work.
Choi says, “We realize we’re total rookies when it comes to creating Souls-likes. This fact made us less concerned about the competition in the market and more concerned about delivering a game that gamers can really enjoy while meeting our own goals and expectations.”
Round8’s previous title, 2020’s Bless Unleashed, is a free-to-play MMO, which is common in Neowiz’s games catalog. Lies of P is not seen as an outlier in its library but more an opportunity for the firm to diversify its title offerings with a single-player adventure.
We felt we had a great opportunity to create something unique and unexpected from a Korean studio on consolesJason Park
Park says, “It is known that most Korean gaming companies focus more on creating competition-based online games, and we’ve seen this trend even after mobile gaming was booming. Considering the demand and wide range of tastes of gamers worldwide, we felt we had a great opportunity to create something unique and unexpected from a Korean studio on consoles.”
Neowiz publishing director Wonmo Kim further explains, “Neowiz has a long history of developing and operating consistently successful live service games; our experience developing single-player console games is relatively nascent. So, our goal with Lies of P was to establish Neowiz as a publisher with a studio capable of creating great single-player console games.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to challenge ourselves in an area we aren’t experienced in. [However] our belief in Round8 Studio’s development capabilities and strength in working as a team gave us the confidence to take on that mission with Lies of P. At Neowiz, we believe strong teamwork is paramount in creating a strong game, and the Round8 Studio is proving that with Lies of P. Our hope is that this title will not just be another good game but a memorable and impactful experience that players will appreciate for a lifetime.”
Regarding the biggest lessons learned from developing and marketing Lies of P, Kim highlights how much the game’s demo taught the publisher and development team about consumer interest.
“While critic reviews have been strong, and we have a good sense as to players’ sentiment for Lies of P, it’s still too early to begin a true postmortem for this project. However, there are two lessons we definitely learned from the experience,” Kim says.
“One being that gaming fans are aware of every major gaming event no matter where it is in the world and know how to utilize social platforms and news outlets to find out about their favorite genre and games.
A hands-on demo is the best method for a new IP to earn a fan’s trust before it launchesWonmo Kim
“The second is that a hands-on demo is the best method for a new IP to earn a fan’s trust before it launches. From both business and development standpoints, the public demo in June ensured fans the title would be fun and well-optimized while also providing key feedback that allowed us to release Lies of P in the most enjoyable way possible.”
As we wait to see how well Lies of P will do in sales, Choi offers the following when asked what’s next. He says, “I’ll put it this way: there are more stories I want to tell in Lies of P, so I hope [it] does well.”
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