The following article is a translated version of the original Korean article based on an interview. The original Korean acticle can be found here.
Wishlist 'Letters of Bernard Thorne'!
In the past, I came across a streamer playing a horror game called ‘Love, Sam.’ It was a narrative-driven game about uncovering the truth based on the contents written in a diary, and its unique atmosphere and twists made the game intriguing. Another notable aspect was the developer’s name: ‘Korean Linguistics Lab (KLL)’.
Recently, the news of KLL developing a new game came through Steam and Tumblbug. Its title is ‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’, a text/story-driven horror game similar to its predecessor. What made it more interesting is the rather unique premise that the main character is a 73-year-old man who rides a motorized wheelchair.
In today's era where people prefer videos over books, text-based games are somewhat bold and experimental. I met with KLL’s developer Seyun Choi in person to find out what kind of game ‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’ is and the background of its development.
Why Korean Linguistics Lab?
To be honest, what caught my eye before the game itself was its developer’s rather unique name, KLL. Don’t be fooled by the word ‘Lab’ in its name, because KLL is not a team, but a solo developer. Regarding this, developer Seyun Choi revealed that KLL was the name of a gaming group he formed with his friends in the past. He added that although he is working solo, those friends are still helping him in various ways in the development process; and to commemorate this, he took the group’s name.
Although its origin has nothing to do with game development, KLL is focused on making horror games that utilize language, as its name ‘Korean Linguistics Lab’ suggests. “My long-term goal is to create story-driven games of a variety of genres,” says Seyun. “I want to establish gaming as an excellent medium for conveying stories, not just a form of entertainment.”
Seyun Choi originally worked in the advertising industry, which had nothing to do with gaming. However, the tasks he received were different from what he expected, and the long working hours started to become burdensome. Soon, he thought to himself, “If I’m going to suffer from work, I should at least suffer doing something I like.” He started to educate himself about game development using Unreal Engine, and after 3 years, ‘Love, Sam’ was made. ‘Love, Sam’ is a horror game that focuses on diaries and reading, and recorded ‘very positive (94% positive)’ user reviews on Steam for its unique narrative tricks and excellent writing skills.
‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’, a Narrative-driven Horror Game
‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’ is a narrative-oriented horror game. Bernard Thorne is a 74-year-old widower who is bound in a motorized wheelchair. One day, he suffers an accident where he falls down the stairs of his house along with his wheelchair, losing his memory of the events that occurred that night. After being discharged from the hospital, he becomes obsessed with ‘going up the attic’ and starts exploring his house, looking for a way to achieve this.
Letters of Bernard Thorne is a text-centered horror game that has not been frequently attempted in Korea. “I think writing is the best way to deliver a deep story,” says Seyun. “Written stories greatly stimulate one’s imagination (compared to other media) and enhance immersion, therefore very suitable for the horror genre.” In the game, Bernard faces his past through the letters he wrote, and other various reading materials, slowly discovering what had happened.
The aforementioned development philosophy is also reflected in KLL’s previous work ‘Love, Sam’. Of course, many games use ‘text’ to convey a story outside the main gameplay, but there are limits to its use as a main storytelling element. For example, if text appears during a battle in an action game, it can hinder immersion and break the flow. So Seyun thought to himself, ‘What if reading IS the main content?’, thus creating ‘Love, Sam,’ a horror game where reading a diary is its core gameplay mechanic.
The main character, Bernard Thorne, suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the Vietnam War. To emphasize this, the game allows players to immerse themselves in Bernard's past through various writings and letters. Bernard’s hallucinations related to his trauma add intense horror to the mix, while pressure keeps building up as the character struggles to achieve his final goal of ‘going up the attic’.
‘Fear in Everyday Life’ Portrayed in ‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’
As a horror game, Letters of Bernard Thorne attempts to maximize atmospheric horror in various ways. ‘Love, Sam’ achieved this by limiting space, thus giving the players a ‘stuffy’ sensation throughout the entire game, but Letters of Bernard Thorne’s horror comes from the limitations that come from a crippled body. Bernard is an old man who uses a wheelchair due to his condition. As a result, he has difficulty climbing stairs, reaching high objects, and opening doors.
Seyun says that he designed Bernard Thorne's physical characteristics to have an impact on gameplay. Normally in horror games, when a threat chases after you, you use your legs to run away or hide, but Bernard, who is in a wheelchair, is unable to do this. Also, he can only briefly check what is beyond the low walls before he has to sit down again. This is heavily reflected in the adventure aspect of the game, such as having to repair a wheelchair lift to climb stairs or needing painkillers to pick up objects from high places.
The game also delivers horror through the use of light and trauma. Bernard has a fear of dark spaces, and to incorporate this into the gameplay, the game makes the presence or the absence of light clear, delivering subtle fear in the process. Lots of effort was put into creating a clear border between light and darkness, especially so the players can get the uneasy sensation of something lurking in the shadows.
The developer revealed that what he wanted to express through this direction and design was ‘the fear of everyday life.’ He said, “My previous work, ‘Love, Sam’, was about love and obsession, and the fear of not being understood.” He also added that “those kinds of day-by-day horrors torment and stress us out every moment of our lives, same goes with Bernard’s trauma, and I’d like to keep exploring and talking about them.”
However, rather than simply giving chills down people’s spines, he emphasized that through his game, he wants the players to also share their own scars and traumas with others and seek comfort from one another. “Everyone lives with their own burdens. Some move forward with them, but some collapse and give up,” he said. “In my next game, I wanted to tell Bernard’s story of how he copes with his burden and scars and maybe create an opportunity for the players to talk about it.”
‘Letters of Bernard Thorne’ Approaches Release
Despite the firm development philosophy, it took a lot of effort to produce the game. Since Seyun is a solo developer, every aspect of development and marketing had to be done by himself. However, the biggest challenge he was faced with was getting feedback. “Sometimes problems arise in unexpected places, leaving me uncertain what to do next,” he said. “Still, I consider myself fortunate to be able to get help from people around me who also like games.”
Funding was also an issue. As the game is about dealing with trauma, Seyun said that he wanted to hire voice actors so that players could better understand and empathize with the characters. However, due to the fact the main character’s monologue is used heavily throughout the game, there was a need for some extra funding. After some thought, he started a fundraising project through Tumblbug, and as of the 12th of July, about 80% of the target amount had been achieved.
Letters of Bernard Thorne is being developed with the goal of being released in mid-September after voice actor recording and translation in August. “So many people beyond my expectation were interested in Love, Sam, and I am so thankful that they enjoyed such a lacking and experimental game,” He said. “I hope that they will also have fun and be terrified from playing Letters of Bernard Thorne.”