This year, behemoth events PAX and EGX have merged into a single mega-event, joining forces to bring to life the biggest digital version of their shows! We were due to have the Disjunction team at both shows to meet fans and show off a brand new playable demo! Since we can’t be there in person, we have decided to bring the show and Disjunction direct to YOUR home, with a BRAND NEW demo (now available to play right here on Steam) and a sit down discussion with Erwan LeCun, Co-Founder and Lead Developer on Disjunction, from Ape Tribe Games! Let’s get to it!
Q1) Disjunction is currently on display at the Sold Out booth as part of the virtual EGX and PAX 2020 joint show. There is a brand-new demo on display which people can download right now on Steam and try it at home – What can people expect from the demo?
This demo features the first three levels of Disjunction, and two of the three playable characters that will be present in the final game. You’ll start off playing as Frank, a private eye, as he investigates the suspicious arrest of a controversial community activist. From there you’ll play as Joe, an unlicensed boxer seeking answers and revenge for the recent death of his daughter. Within these levels, players will experience intense sealth-action gameplay, a reactive story with branching dialogue, and an immersive cyberpunk world.
Q2) A big part of the allure of Disjunction comes from allowing players to carve their own way in the game and enabling them to tackle situations any way they like, with a mixture of stealth and ‘all-out’ methods – was it quite a challenge to balance out this freedom?
From a design perspective, it was definitely a challenging balancing act for us to pull off. We wanted both playstyles (as well as a mixture of the two) to feel fun, challenging, and viable. We had to constantly playtest levels and character abilities to make sure that there was never a situation where a particular playstyle felt easier or more rewarding. In the end, I think we struck a good balance in our design. Half of our players go in stealthily and the other half go in guns blazing, so I think that’s a good sign!
Q3) So out with it, Erwan… What type of Disjunction player are you? We have a feeling you’d put on quite a ‘Ballet of Destruction’ style show.
No way! I’m the type of person who has beaten the original Deus Ex game five times, and never once thought about killing anyone. In fact, if non-lethality is ever an option in game, that’s what I go for. That includes games like Thief, Deus Ex, and Dishonored, which are all huge influences on Disjunction. That said, there is something really satisfying about blowing enemies away in Disjunction…
Q4) There’s a lot of choice in Disjunction, building out all of those decisions and splits in the path must have been quite a challenge. How did that process begin and how did you know when to stop and tie it all up?
This was probably the hardest part of developing Disjunction. We really wanted to offer the player a lot of freedom in the choices they made, but also have those choices have satisfying reactivity. On the other hand, we had to be able to do this in the confines of being an indie game with relatively limited resources when compared to AAA RPGs.
Our method was to determine where each character would start, and where they could end up given a range of possible choices the player could make. Once those start and end points were established, it became easier to “fill in the gaps” of the story, since we knew all the possible places that each character could end up. We found it very helpful to refer to a list of confines for each character, so that we knew the types of choices we could offer to the player that would have reactivity later on. Mostly though, it just involved writing many drafts of the story/dialogue/choices and rewriting things when it didn’t make any sense or if we couldn’t justify the payoff for a certain choice.
Q5) You’ve been building the game with your brothers. What influences did you each bring to the table and equally was Disjunction always what you had in mind?
The interesting thing about my brothers and I is that we are remarkably similar. We always had a very good idea of what Disjunction should be about, how it should feel to play, and how the characters should act. We ended up with a very solid instantiation of our original vision. That said, we do each have our own quirks: Ronan is an awesome systems designer. He meticulously made sure all of our damage/health/energy numbers were perfectly balanced for each possible playstyle, and that each ability/upgrade/talent was worth using. He also really cares about the internal consistency of our setting and making sure that nothing is “stupid.” Kevin is good with dialogue and making sure that each character has a unique and recognizable voice. I’m always trying to make sure the “big picture” of the game really works, and that we’re tying all of our different systems and ideas together into a coherent experience.
Q6) You wrote the story for Disjunction quite some time ago, but the interesting thing to us is that whilst it is set decades into the future, the story and themes seem grounded within the realms of reality. What kicked off the thinking behind the overall scenario and what do you hope Disjunction conveys to the player?
I think cyberpunk stories are unique because even though they’re set in the future, they often serve as a vehicle for exploring contemporary social and economic issues. On the surface, Blade Runner is a movie about Harrison Ford shooting replicants, but it’s really about the changing nature of humanity in the face of rapidly evolving technology. Likewise Deus Ex (the first one) plays like a conspiracy-filled adventure, but it’s really about structural failures in our government and the growing influence of corporate power over society.
When we were writing Disjunction, we looked at all of the trends in the United States that our generation grew up with: rising income inequality, unchecked climate change, growing corporate influence in politics, and general social instability. We then amplified all of these to ridiculous levels. In Disjunction, many people live in shanty towns while the rich live in luxury arcologies, sea levels have risen so much due to climate change that an enormous flood wall surrounds New York City, corporate lobbying basically runs the country, and divisions based on social class are worse than they ever have been. The setting and story of Disjunction isn’t so much a prediction of what is going to happen in the future, as much as it’s a radical depiction of what is already happening. Disjunction isn’t a preachy game, but we do hope that some people will play through it and draw some parallels between it and the world we’re all currently living in.
Q7) Disjunction could make for a pretty incredible movie or TV series – if you had to pick cast members for the three main characters or Frank, Joe and ‘Spider’, who would you cast in those roles?
Fun question! Let’s go with Aliens-era Michael Bien for Frank, Chad Coleman for Joe, and Awkwafina for Spider.
Q8) If you could pick up a cybernetic enhancement, what would it be?
I’d pick Spider’s cybernetic neural implant. I’d browse Reddit using only my thoughts!
Q9) You have to spend a week with one of the main characters of Disjunction – Who are you staying with and what are you both doing?
I’d pick Joe (assuming he’s in a good mood). He’d have some crazy stories to tell.
Q10) If you could give a single handy tip to those about to jump into Disjunction, what would it be?
Take your time, and assess each situation carefully!
Q11) Finally, do you have a final message to those waiting to get their mitts on Disjunction when it releases?
Thanks for your patience and for supporting us during development! We’re almost there.
