"What we do at Ice-Pick Lodge": new games, plans and more
Ice-Pick Lodge here.We gather for you some info about what’s happening at Ice-Pick Lodge these days. New games, fresh blood and future plans. Without further ado let’s see what we've cooked up:
There are 4 projects at different development stages at the moment. One of these is the promised continuation of Pathologic 2.
We’re live and kicking, and ready to move mountains. The studio attracted some fresh blood and ideas. And as for social media, we'll be telling you more about what’s happening inside Ice-Pick Lodge.
The games we’re working on have an equal creative value and are being led by different people. All three games except Bachelor’s story are small ones.
Each of them is an author’s work of a particular individual from Ice-Pick Lodge. We’d wish to see the studio as an independent creative community where every person is free to express and implement his bold ideas. It is for this reason that the games will differ widely as to both their design and spirit.
For the time being we are not ready to announce the release dates. Although they will become clearer during this year. You will definitely hear more about the projects and their creators during 2020. So stay tuned!
And now for the games!
1. Know by heart (First on PC/PS4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch. Later on iPhone/Android)
A nostalgic project led by Ayrat Zakirov, the CTO of Ice-Pick Lodge. Events of the game will unfold in the Russian province. The protagonist, Misha, is about to reunite with his childhood friends after spending a long time apart. Together they will revisit old memories, rediscover common ground, and rekindle their friendship. Alas, this joyous reunion will soon be ruined by something beyond their control.
2. Neuro Skazka (iOS/Android)
Neuro Skazka is a mobile author’s work by Nemo Soda who has recently joined us. The game deals with the evolution of a universe grown below the cranial vault of a god which falls asleep. The god’s brain is an equivalent of a solar system, and planets are its neurons. The player will have to turn the celestial bodies into full-fledged anthropomorphic creatures endowed with mind and identity. Neuro Skazka is a new way of looking at a classical “evolution” genre through the prism of bio horror.
3. Franz (iOS/Android)
Franz is a lab experiment of Nikolai Dybovski that grew out from the reflections about the possible game mechanics which could appear in Bachelor’s story. The main idea is to test the limits of control. It is a variation of a Chinese room argument that was first presented by philosopher John Searle. The concept is focused on criticism of artificial intelligence and how it is being perceived by a neutral observer. Is it true that we have full control over the game? Or is there a chance that it just gives us such a feeling?
4. Pathologic 2: "Bachelor's scenario"
The continuation of Pathologic 2 should not be treated lightly. The first chapter showed us all the pros and cons of our game design. We’d want to take into account all the mistakes we made and raise the bar higher. But this takes some time. We’re looking for a way to make the Bachelor’s gameplay quite different from the one you’ve experienced during the Haruspex. And we want to achieve this goal using the instruments we already have. Nikolai is writing the script. Everyone's busy doing their own thing. You will see the game in the foreseeable future.
