The Callisto Protocol’s director on his return to horror: ‘I don’t know what too scary is’

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He needed to take a break after leaving Sledgehammer Games. The game designer, best known as the creator of the seminal sci-fi horror series Dead Space, decided to head out to the desert in Arizona for a little R&R. He said he would draw there. I was drawing and came up with ideas. He returned with a book and a game called The Callisto Protocol.

At Summer Game Fest last week, a gruesome new trailer was unveiled for the game, which was first announced in 2020. The cut was affectionately referred to as the "Schofield cut". The urge to get back into horror grew stronger while he worked on zombies for Call of Duty.

He wants to tell a different story. I think it's similar to Ridley Scott, who did Alien and then did Prometheus. You like to do that. The movies that are sci-fi horror are expensive to make. It is my favorite type. I wondered if we could bring it back.

The Callisto Protocol takes place in the year 2320 on a prison colony on one of Jupiter's moons, where players have to escape as other inmates turn into strange alien monsters. The setting was supposed to be a part of the universe that was far away. There was a change in the story. The premise of the game, along with a number of other features, drew comparisons to Dead Space. Over the course of making the game, Schofield has come to understand that.

He says that in the beginning, he was like, "Oh no, that's Dead Space." After a while, I was wondering if that was copying Dead Space. I would like him to have a stomp. It might be possible. It's also my genetic makeup. I wanted to keep everything out. The further we got into development, I got a bit more open to it.

He says the technology hasn't changed everything, but it is the biggest difference this time. It's not like it's going to change the way we play. The current state of consoles and PCs makes it possible for his team to craft a more believable world. Having more believable alien monsters, more immersive sound design, and being able to throw a lot more visual effects on screen are some of the things that include that. One of the most important things is how much more detail they can provide.

Many people don't believe in science fiction because of the realism. The player is like, "I don't know what that thing is, but man, does it look real?" if you put rust on it or have water dripping out of things. Science fiction is grounded by this.

Image: Striking Distance Studios

It's one of the challenges to make the game scary. The average person is not desensitized to horror. Many other members of the Callisto Protocol team have the same thing. Sometimes we don't know if it's scary or not. It doesn't help that Schofield sees the game's scenarios through multiple phases Some of the punch out of them can be taken away by that. It takes a lot of testing and tweaking to hit the right level of frightening.

Film is a place of inspiration. He says he watches a lot of horror. A lot of it doesn't bother me. There are a few that really caught my attention. They're going to affect players if they affect me. At one point during our conversation, the director of the first Hostel movie talked about the sound effects of cutting an eyeball with scissors in the film. A lot of it comes from the imagination of our chief creative officer. Sometimes I will say to him, "I need two more deaths" or "I want the head taken off"

They don't test if a kill or scare goes too far in the other direction. He says that the scarier the better. "I don't know what scares me the most."

There is a resurgence of sci-fi horror games at a time when the Callisto Protocol is due to launch. Fort Solis, the return of Routine, a new Aliens expansion, and a re-release of the original Dead Space are some of the things that have been added to the game. He seems confident that his latest horror venture will stand on its own, even though he knows there will be lots of comparisons. He says that when you come out, you will know that it is Callisto Protocol.