Environmental storytelling has become a cornerstone of immersive game design. This technique is especially impactful in the survival horror genre, where the atmosphere can heighten tension and evoke an emotional response from players.
In CONSCRIPT, developer Jordan Mochi transports players to the bleak battlefields of Verdun where he masterfully blends historical accuracy with psychological terror. We caught up with Jordan to learn more about the creative process that went into developing CONSCRIPT’s atmospheric and historically rich environments.
How did you use environmental elements to build atmosphere and immerse players in the trenches of WWI?
JM: I had to utilise environmental storytelling a lot throughout the development of CONSCRIPT. Being a one man team meant that I didn’t have the budget or time to do fancy cutscenes that detail every facet of the story. So, I had to often utilise a “show don’t tell approach” to things. This played to my advantage, because this style of storytelling works better for survival horror anyway - as it naturally builds more intrigue and mystery. When the player isn’t shown everything, their mind fills in the blanks. And what the mind creates is often more terrifying than what’s explicitly visible.
Survival horror often relies on creating a strong emotional impact. How does the environmental storytelling in CONSCRIPT evoke the psychological and emotional challenges faced by soldiers during WWI?
JM: My goal with creating the environments for CONSCRIPT, was to demonstrate the absolute bleakness of the time period. Walking through the different levels, you’ll see the corpses of both enemy and allied soldiers killed in action, deceased horses and other animals, mountains of old artillery shells, destroyed buildings that once housed civilians, trenches left abandoned, etc. Letters, photos, and items all were left behind by the destruction, and so I wanted to create that feeling of a lived in world, where certain events have happened without your input. Battles were fought without you there, and the remains of those battles stay left behind while the war rages on.
The remnants of war. This is what soldiers in the trenches had to live with.
“They really were a menace the flies were. I suppose it was due to the fact that, lying between the trenches, you’ve never seen such an array of corpses and bodies and all stages of death and so on and colour and blowing up. And the flies were having a harvest of a time among these.” - Joseph Napier
Balancing historical authenticity with engaging gameplay can be challenging. How did you navigate this balance in your environmental storytelling to create a game that is both true to its WWI roots and compelling as a survival horror experience?
JM: Once I had fully embraced the WW1 setting, balancing the historical authenticity became one of the most enjoyable parts of development. I studied a lot of WW1 era paintings and photography in order to get inspiration for environmental set pieces. The work of artists such as Hans Baluscheck, Otto Dix and John Singer Sargent stood out in particular for me
Many of these paintings in themselves were quite horrific. Artists who had gone to war pulled no punches in their interpretations of what they saw. Compare this to war paintings of previous eras that often visualised war as a romanticised affair. These paintings also gave a fascinating insight into the artists that created them, and how the brutality of the Great War had affected their perceptions.
Shock Troops Advance Under Gas, Otto Dix, 1924
So it turns out, the historical sources that I used as references didn’t really have to be filtered or changed to mesh well with the survival horror theme. Whether it be a painting, poem or letter - all these sources all reflected the horror of the Great War as it was. So, thankfully I didn’t have to take many creative liberties here.
“For days I have seen nothing but the most awful scenes that the human mind can imagine..” - Franz Marc, 1916
Although in cases where I had to put my own spin on history, I made sure it was done with care. For example, custom made propaganda posters littered throughout the opening help tutorialize certain gameplay mechanics in a non-intrusive way, while still remaining cohesive with the historical theme.
For example, the classic survival horror bottomless item box is a staple of the genre - but may feel a little more out of place in a historical setting. Having the mechanic expressed through a propaganda poster helps make it feel right at home and less “game-y”.
You can check out the entire set of custom posters below, or play the CONSCRIPT demo to find them yourself.
These were created by the amazing Athan Shields. It’s an honour to have his work in my game.
CONSCRIPT draws inspiration from classic survival horror games like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. How did these inspirations influence your approach to environmental storytelling?
JM: Classic survival horror games all utilise similar mechanics in their approach to environmental storytelling. One of the most universally shared mechanics between survival horror games is the use of files and notes that you find around the environment and can stash for later use. This translated well into CONSCRIPT, because many soldiers did actually spend their time writing letters and diary entries. And when communication systems were down, using runners or messenger pigeons to deliver important hand-written info was common.
Classic survival horror games are also known for their intricate puzzles, which CONSCRIPT also has. It was quite difficult designing puzzles that remained grounded in the WW1 theme. I wasn’t really able to access that level of campy ridiculousness that many of the old horror games that serve as inspiration have. CONSCRIPT takes place in 1916, so I wasn’t able to fall back on the use of computer terminals or anything high tech - it all had to be kept rather archaic. That being said, I’m happy with some of the solutions I came up with to tackle this problem. I won’t spoil anything, and just let the game speak for itself when it launches.
Another mechanic borrowed from others in the genre is the ability to examine many environmental objects up close. Given the low resolution of the game, this helps immerse players into the WW1 theme and breathes some life into the environment.
Overall, many different classic survival horror games served as inspiration for both the environmental storytelling and the game as a whole.
In what ways do you hope the environmental storytelling in CONSCRIPT will engage players differently compared to other survival horror games?
JM: First and foremost, because this is a story that is grounded in real history - I hope that CONSCRIPT inspires curiosity in history and motivates others to learn about history, whether it be specifically the Battle of Verdun or something else. I think the overwhelming bleakness of the environments is one of the main contributors to the overall atmosphere of CONSCRIPT. Whereas a lot of survival horror games often default to hospitals or mansions, the WW1 themed environments help offer a fresh take on the old school survival horror gameplay formula.
I think the unique setting of CONSCRIPT that is bolstered by its environment design will help it stand out to other games in the genre.
CONSCRIPT comes to Steam on 23rd July! Wishlist it now and check out the demo!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286990/CONSCRIPT/