Ecostasis manifests in an algorithmically curated future terror

What if you could live in a world where you had everything you ever wanted, or ever could possibly want, and even then, you still weren’t happy? Worse, what if you discovered that you could never leave that world, and the longer you spent in it, the more your so-called dream would taunt into an irrevocably waking nightmare?

EcostasisDesigner Jamie Gavin’s upcoming first-person horror game takes place in such a world. A playable introduction to Ecostasis Is one of 25 demos in this year Haunted PS1 Demo Disc The compilation, an annual celebration of low-horror demos that began last year.

Gavin’s Ecostasis The demo casts the player in the role of an engineer working for an obscure megacorporation called Enigma. You are working on the company’s latest project: an experimentally immersive simulation system that allows its users to move to their own individual algorithm-generated utopia as “echos”.

The project is under attack by a mysterious cyber attack, threatening the lives of one of its test subjects, and it’s up to you to save them using “Dreamscape” – introduced in Gavin’s previous game A highly illegal program, Puzzle machine, Released in 2018 – to “Cerebral Hijack” their Echo and to find the problem. However, not everything here is as it seems – including you.

Photo: Enigma Studio

The performance of the game is as bizarre as it is entertaining; This is a first-person horror adventure in which players will have to navigate through the fragmented mind palaces of the test subjects of the Echo program, with environmental designs that range from visual artifact-laden, CRT scanline aesthetic of the eco world itself, Mist– Corporate Art Deco Rotunda Hub of the Corporation’s R&D headquarters. Players advance stories by opening bracketed keyword clues (for example).[LIKE THIS]”) Is scattered throughout the environment, which can then be typed into the terminal located at the center of the hub, as of 2017. Stories untold.

Take 2014 Talos Principle, Split That Together with Brandon Cronenberg Owner, And you’ve basically got Ecostasis.

Gavin’s experiences as a child, playing games that sometimes went out without warning or explanation, served as inspiration for both Ecostasis And Puzzle machine. “Seeing the red screen of death on my PS2 for the first time could mean that my console was haunted [and] I was going to die 100 percent, ”Gavin said in an email interview with Reporter Door. “That was the concept I wanted to play with Puzzle machine

And Ecostasis. “Playing a game that was breaking and disallowing the player.”

Gavin also cited a series of other inspirations. dark Souls‘To build the world metal Gear Solid 2Fourth-wall breakdown. He also cited Adam Curtis’ 2016 documentary Hypernormatization For its strong visuals, psychological themes and twists and revelations of paranoia-inducing plot.

Photo: Enigma Studio

Another key element of Ecostasis’ Design and appeal is the game’s sound design, an unheard vapor vapor score created by composer Carl Barnes. “We wanted to leave the optimism of the 1980s behind,” Gavin said. “When you take the upbeat vocals of 80s corporate America, and twist them, they just stop, it can create a sense of an excuse that is only managing to keep itself together. I I am seriously impressed by how well Karl composes the vibe; incorporating his music early into his play has had an impact on visual design as it evolved. “

The same essential element of meta-horror informs the story and presentation Ecostasis, Albeit in a different form. while Puzzle machine Torture was about humans instigating artificial intelligence in search of “perfection”, treating them as if they were software in some form other than sentry institutions capable of experiencing pain. Ecostasis What will happen if we give strength to those AIs in our lives?

“I’m thrilled with the notion that we have algorithms that have a greater impact on us every day,” Gavin said. “Nowadays, with many people having their entire lives online, I think their daily experiences are driven by some sort of ubiquity.

Gavin cited social media platforms such as Twitter as an example of these technology companies, whose power exceeds their own understanding by shaping their users’ perceptions through the algorithm period. “Twitter’s algorithm found that encouraging resentment was an effective way to drive ‘engagement’,” Gavin said. “Who knows what else it can do?”

Photo: Enigma Studio

Despite his general reservations about the toxicity and collectivism prevalent in many online communities, Gavin praised the Haunted PS1 team, particularly as a rare exception to the supportive and inspiring community that helped him refine and implement his ideas Of. “They are some of the most inspiring and hardworking people I’ve talked to,” he said. “While I am not usually one to show progress in my work. HPS1 still gave me an environment where ideas can be tossed around and creativity can flourish. “

Final, full version of Ecostasis Slate is slated to launch this summer. Gavin has created a Patron account to help with the development costs of both the game and many others, each in the Enigma Machine universe, with its own unique gameplay and theme. “I would like to keep the universe sufficiently ambiguous that whatever idea I have may have a place within it,” Gavin said. “My hope for all these games is that while they can make every effort to make a different point with different gameplay, they should all come together to form a coherent theme.”

Ecostasis Available to pre-order at Steam. Demo for Ecostasis’ The preface is available for download itch.io.