The Invincible - first-person retro future sci-fi thriller based on Stanislaw Lem

[DraQ]

In Black Mesa's Xen section, you come across all these dead suited humans that somehow got transported from our world to theirs that you can loot from. Unfortunately they didn't really do anything with the idea but it was an interesting image.

They were also in original HL. Looked like science expedition also wearing HEVs.

 

[DraQ]

Read the synopsis for The Invincible. It's just so great. Makes me want to read it, but not the translation by Uncle Forry's doddering old wife.

It was still a good read, but inelegant to say the least. The Bill Johnston one is much better, judging by the reviews on Amazon. I ordered it a couple of months ago but haven't had time to read it yet.

Anyone here familiar with both translations?

On topic, there is very little actual info about the game. These guys sure now how to foster an aura of mystery.

Let's hope for mastery as well.

 

[Jack Of Owls]

In Black Mesa's Xen section, you come across all these dead suited humans that somehow got transported from our world to theirs that you can loot from. Unfortunately they didn't really do anything with the idea but it was an interesting image.

They were also in original HL. Looked like science expedition also wearing HEVs.

Off-topic but man that boss battle at the very end of Black Mesa Xen was pretty fucking awesome, the model of the giant alien head, the way it stepped up in intensity as the earth shook, fissures opened around you and huge blasted chunks of molten boulders rained down on you and to stand still meant death. I only wish the rest of the chapter was nearly as good. Can't believe this was a fan project.

 

[DraQ]

I need to finally play full BM.

 

[CappenVarra]

great source material, now let's see the devs live up to it

 

[Jack Of Owls]

Read the synopsis for The Invincible. It's just so great. Makes me want to read it, but not the translation by Uncle Forry's doddering old wife.

It was still a good read, but inelegant to say the least. The Bill Johnston one is much better, judging by the reviews on Amazon. I ordered it a couple of months ago but haven't had time to read it yet.

Anyone here familiar with both translations?

On topic, there is very little actual info about the game. These guys sure now how to foster an aura of mystery.

I didn't think the Ackerman translation would be any good since it was basically a translation (english) of a translation (german) so I assumed something got lost in translation, big time. That apparently was a big problem with several other Lem books that had their first translations in the west, like The Cyberiad. I didn't delve as deeply as I should have with Lem but I do remember reading Solaris in a single sitting. That rarely happens with me.

Interestingly, Lem himself stated in interview that The Invincible would potentially make the best movie out of any of his books, and by extension of that in my own opinion, best video game. At least it's something to look forward to.

 

[Beowulf]

That was a very informative presentation.

Quick summary:
Made on Unreal Engine, offers about 8h playtime (lol), they want to build a franchise to create more similar games if that one catches up.

 

[Peachcurl]

Thanks for the summary. 8 hours is a bit short of course, although not that unusual for games that go more into the Simulation or Adventure direction. I still hope they deliver in terms of replayability.

Does "build a franchise" mean more Lem-inspired games?
Or do they intend to also cover other scifi authors from that era?

 

[LESS T_T]

From Polish studio Starward Industries led by ex-CDPR producer. Based on the novel of the same name by Polish sci-fi writer Stanislaw Lem.

The Invincible is a first-person Sci-Fi thriller set in a retro-future timeline. Waking up as a space scientist on a hostile planet, you embark on a mysterious mission to find the missing crew of your spaceship. Survival is a matter of your correct choices, taken whilst uncovering the secrets of the planet, bigger than anyone thought.

You are a scientist onboard an interstellar scientific expedition, suddenly thrown into a life-or-death rescue mission. Landing on a planet Regis III you have to find the missing crew members using some advanced space equipment, whilst relying on your brains and instincts to survive on the planet which quickly occurs to be unwelcoming. Soon you’ll discover that Regis III holds terrifying secrets which are uncovered while you’re piecing together the fate of your crew. And as you delve deeper into the mystery, you realise that perhaps you are not alone, and that some places like this planet are better left untouched. But it’s too late to turn back.

Features

• Retro-future atompunk setting reminiscent of the era of space race
  
• Analogue yet very advanced technology allowing for drones and autonomous robots to support or spoil your mission
  
• Immersive gameplay with a non-linear story shaped by your relationships, choices and persuasive skills
  
• Beautiful, state of the art graphics powered by Unreal Engine
  
• Intriguing story inspired by Stanislaw Lem’s seminal sci-fi cult classic of the same name

Music sample:

 

[Infinitron]

https://www.pcgamesn.com/the-invincible/release-date

Former Witcher 3 devs are launching a sci-fi novel-inspired game

Some of the developers behind The Witcher 3, Dying Light, Dead Island, and Cyberpunk 2077 have come together to start up a new studio. Called Starward Industries, its first outing is a sci-fi game with atompunk aesthetics that is inspired by the works of Stanisław Lem, a prominent novelist who worked within the same genre. It’s called The Invincible, and it’s set in a world where technology has advanced to the point of seamless space exploration, but equipment remains analogue as the digital revolution has not taken place, nor has The Cold War ended. The game’s been in the works since 2018, and the devs hope to have it out next year.

We got the chance to chat to project leader and CD Projekt Red vet Marek Markuszewsk ahead of the upcoming PC game’s reveal. So, first things first, what is it about Lem that the studio likes, and what is it about his work that Markuszewsk thinks translates to a videogame?

“The most fascinating and inspiring thing about Lem’s writing is the extent of the boldness of the provided visionary,” he tells us. “His stories are multi-layered as if written with the intent to be adapted as interactive entertainment. Not everything is trivial, though. We have specifically chosen a novel with quite a deft theme, indeed a straightforward story related to space exploration, yet reaching to the phase which at present is still not easy to be fully pictured.”

While Lem was particularly active between 1946–2005, Markuszewsk reckons the words he wrote still have plenty of meaning and relevance today. “Lem has developed several visions of how humanity and societies may be evolving far into the future when space travel and meeting other species will be the norm,” he says. “Whilst we’re just beginning space exploration, many prophecies regarding tech innovations indeed came to life, such as the internet, ebook readers, artificial intelligence, genetic engineering, micro-robotics et cetera.



“Maybe not always named or working exactly as Lem imagined, but serving precisely the described purposes, rooted in science and psychology. There’s a strong feeling that with the recent trend which includes implants, chips and mental interfaces, we’re stepping into transhumanism – the theory that the human race can evolve beyond its current physical constraints. Lem’s works are great to reflect on what challenges such developments may bring.”

The themes of the game certainly seem bold and interesting, then, but what will The Invincible feel like from moment-to-moment when you’re playing it? Markuszewsk says that the atmosphere draws comparisons to Alien: Isolation, whereas communicating through radio comms will put you in mind of Firewatch.

“The gameplay is quite diverse, including exploration, navigation, face to face discussions with NPCs, operating various equipment which is all analogue, solving clues, interacting with robots, piloting drones, crunching data, even driving vehicles,” Markuszewsk explains to us. “A large part of interaction will include radio comms, sometimes dense, even tense at times, often intimate, closely related to the unfolding events – in that way The Invincible can remind of Firewatch.



“On the other hand, in terms of gameplay and atmosphere, the closest game I can think of is Alien: Isolation. Among tens of games which we’ve researched while working on The Invincible’s concept, these two titles combined perhaps represent the best of what our game is going to offer.”

Markuszewsk hopes to release The Invincible in the second half of 2021, but that’s conditional on several factors. Due to the current state of the world with COVID-19 and beyond, it’s hard to offer a more narrow timeframe. You can wishlist it on Steam if this one sounds like your kind of thing.

 

[gerey]

It's a fucking walking sim. Pass.

 

[Beowulf]

It's a fucking walking sim. Pass.

This screen:

Might be a promo image, but it can also indicate that there will be "immersive cinematic", where the game takes control from the player to show some denouement.

operating various equipment which is all analogue, solving clues, interacting with robots, piloting drones, crunching data, even driving vehicles

So - minigames galore?


Even still, I might buy it if the atmosphere is good. I really like A:I and The Invincible is one of the books I remember fondly.

FYI - they also made it recently into a comic book:

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Retro Sci-Fi is becoming a new plague.

Don't game devs can ever come up with something new?

 

[Beowulf]

Retro Sci-Fi is becoming a new plague.

Don't game devs can ever come up with something new?

Retro futurism doesn't require that much imagination as trying to create believable future setting. Especially if someone aims for hard sci-fi.
Sci fi books try to show what could be possible in the future and authors usually extrapolate from the existing sciences adding some stuff that is in high concept stage, like microrobots as precursors to nanomachines in the 60's, cybenetics and exoskeletons in the 80's, gene modification on a large scale and transhumanist ideas on the turn of the decade and so on.

Retro futurism worked in Alien Isolation because it tried to recreate the atmosphere of the movie with already established setting and visual tone.
Here - they could go bonkers with their ides how the future space exploration would look like while still staying true to the source material, but instead we get this 'cutesy' 70's tech in space. I blame new Fallout games for popularising and overusing this trend.

Here are some russian guy concept arts based on "Invincible":
https://www.behance.net/gallery/376883/The-Invincible

 

[PrettyDeadman]

Nor creators nor consumers want originality.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Nor creators nor consumers want originality.

The Suits don't want it for certain.

 

[Black_Willow]

The Invincible is a great novel, but would it translate well into a game?
Also, those screenshots look pretty atmospheric.
I'm cautiously optimistic.

 

[Beowulf]

The Invincible is a great novel, but would it translate well into a game?
Also, those screenshots look pretty atmospheric.
I'm cautiously optimistic.

All depends on the execution. They can make it into a very atmospheric exploration game.
E.g. - if this is the search for the missing exploration party members, will the player have to go through canyons and really work on finding their tracks, or will he just go through conveniently placed pieces of equipment laying 15m apart? We can see their stuff in this screenshot- in front of the player and also something slightly to the right, I believe.

And yeah, visually it seems to be borrowing heavily from Alien Isolation.

 

[toro]

Infinitron This was the old thread.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/new-sci-fi-game-based-on-lems-book.131497/

 

[LESS T_T]

Infinitron This was the old thread.

https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/new-sci-fi-game-based-on-lems-book.131497/

Oh yeah, thought the image oddly seems familiar.

 

[Origin]

Looks nice.

 

[conan_edw]

Is this what TOW tried to look but failed?

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Possibly this is my personal most (and only) anticipated game in this moment. My previous one was Thief 2 in 1999.

 

[Curratum]

The codex is now getting excited over walking simulators? True incline!

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Retro Sci-Fi is becoming a new plague.

Don't game devs can ever come up with something new?

I am a bit paradoxical here, but we can say that "sci fi" as a genre is by definition retro. I have yet to see a sci fi movie or game that doesn't use visuals borrowed straight from the imagination of 30-40 and more years ago.