008
The Big 10
STORIESEVERYONE’STALKINGABOUT
ofyouraudience,soforMarthaIs
Deadwemuststriveforthebest
visualquality– in thephotorealistic
stylewehavechosen– andthebest
gameplaywecaninvent,”saysDalcò.
Thougha lotis beingmadeofthe
game’svisualmuscle,Dalcòis keen
topointoutthatactionisn’tbeing
overlookedin a racetoshowcase
whatthenextgencando.
“WebelieveMarthaIs Deadmakes
greatstridesin gameplay,adding
uniqueaspectsnotseenin the
genre,“hesays,butadds:“Wemust
havethevisualqualitytomatch.”DROWNEDANDOUT
SowhatisMarthaIs Dead?Pitched
asa psychologicalthrillersetin 1944
Tuscany,it’splayedin first-person
andmixesdisturbing,dreamlike
sequenceswitha photoreal
recreationofWorldWar2 Italy.
Superstition,psychologicaltrauma,
andthehorrorsofwararethe
backdroptothemysteryofa woman
whois founddrowned.Thematically
thegamefeelslikea progression
fromLKA’sTheTownOfLight.
Dalcòexplains:“Followinga
projectlikeTheTownOfLight,of
coursethereis a spotlighton
mentalhealthwithinourgames,
howeverMarthaIs Deadis a very
differentgame.Manymonthsof
researchhelpedtomouldRenée’s
storyin TheTownOfLight– with
MarthaIs Deadwewantedtodosomethingdifferent.Thegamewill
stillexplorethehumanmind,but
witha moreartisticapproach,
frequentlysuspendingrealityand
creatingsymbolicallypowerful
abstractscenes– forthisreason
I thinkit is perhapsunhelpfulto
comparethetwoprojects,although
thereareelementsthatdotiethe
gamestogether.”
Theideaforthegamecamefrom
theteam’sloveofTuscanyanda
desiretoshowa differentsideof
theregionmostlyknownforits
scenery.“I liketousethecontrast
betweenthebeautyofthelandscape
andthegloomofthestory:indeed
war,violence,anduneasearethe
ingredientsoftheMarthaIs Dead
story.[What]startedasa simple
concept...hasbecomeverycomplex
andhasgrownandevolved
constantlyduringthedevelopment
ofthegame,”saysDalcò.RAYOFLIGHT
Bringingtheconversationbackto
PS5,Dalcòpicksraytracingasa
standoutweaponin thenext
generation’sarsenal.It’san“incredibletechnology[...]for
independentstudios,”Dalcòsays,
“allowinggamestoreachnewlevels
ofrealismwithouttheneedforhuge
teams.Asthetechnologymatures
andbecomeseveneasierto
implement,I thinkit willreally
transformtheindiegamespace.
Thisnextgenerationofconsolesis
settotransformthemarket.”
LikewisePS5’suseofanSSDwill
enabletheteamtodelivera new
experiencein MarthaIs Dead.
“High-qualityassetsarenaturally
largerin sizesowillbenefitfromthe
fasterloadtimes.Ontopofthat
MarthaIs Deadhasa moreexpansive
in-gameworldthananythingwe’ve
createdbeforeasa studio.”
DalcòclarifiesthatMarthaIs Dead
isn’tanopenworldgame,butwewill
beabletovisitplacesin andaround
SanCasciano.Thedevsays,“These
differentareascanbetravelled
betweenonfootorbycyclewithout
theconstantseparationofloading
screens;anSSDwilldefinitelyhelp
withthesetransitions.”
It’sclearLKAseesPS5’sfeatures
asanopportunity,but“it’smore
aboutjumpingtothatnextlevelof
immersionthandeliveringthenext
greatgamingfad”.We’llbekeepinga
closeeyeonPS5’sMarthaIs Dead...
frombetweenourfingers.AS THE TECHNOLOGY
MATURES... I THINK IT WILL
REALLYTRANSFORM THE
INDIEGAMESPACE.
Q ...Particularly when lightning at the
windows reveals a ghastly sight.Q The open coffin takes on a eerie feel in
LKA’s photoreal visual style...LKA’sMarthaIs Deadis yettogeta
releasedate,butit’sPS5-bound.SOUND OF FEAR
3D audio is an exciting prospect for
LKA and Martha Is Dead: “The game is
deeply atmospheric, so anything which
allows us to push further with our audio
design within the game is incredibly
welcome,” says LKA’s Luca Dalcò.A woman is found
drowned by an Italian
lake, but why did she die?