The Callisto Protocol: Interview on the spiritual successor to Dead Space

The survival horror game The Callisto Protocol is the first project from Striking Distance Studios, founded in 2019, and since its announcement has been touted as the spiritual Dead Space successor that fans of the series have always wanted. Not without good reason, as the gameplay material shown at the Summer Game Fest 2022 impressively demonstrated: The oppressive, claustrophobic atmosphere, the grotesquely disfigured monsters and the use of splatter as a main game element – if you don’t think of Dead Space here, you probably have while lived behind the moon in the seventh generation of consoles.

This resemblance is no coincidence either, after all there are a number of former heads of Visceral Games on the Striking Distance team. Including Dead Space creator Glenn Schofield and Steve Papoutsis, who played Dead Space 1 and 2 as producer and Part 3 as director. We’ve had the opportunity to speak extensively with Papoutsis and have him founding his studio, the peculiarities of The Callisto Protocol (buy now €69.99) and asked about the level of violence in his games!

PC Games: Before we talk about The Callisto Protocol, of course we want to get to know you a little better and find out what you’ve been up to since your days at Visceral Games. An easy question to get you started: what’s your game of the year so far?
Steve Papoutsis: This is an interesting question. Well, I’m currently putting a lot of time into The Callisto Protocol, more than any other game. I’m also a big fan of racing sims, specifically iRacing, and when I have a free minute I play a mobile game called Dicey Elementalist. But my console is mostly running our game right now.

PCG: So is it good?
Steve: I hope so!

The Callisto Protocol: Interview with Steve Papoutsis (1)

Source: KRAFTON, INC.





PCG: Steve, you are Chief Development Officer at Striking Distance Studios. Tell us a bit about your job, after all, very few of us can imagine what the title means.
steve: I am very fortunate to be able to work in a team full of great people. My job is all about making sure our game is good and that it gets done. I am responsible for all kinds of challenges that can arise in the development process.

I always try to put myself in the player’s shoes and steer the production in a direction that benefits the gaming experience. Also, of course, I support every single team member with whatever they need to produce our game.

PCG: Would you describe your position as more of a creative or management position? It sounds a lot like the latter.
Steve: It’s a mixture of both. I really enjoy being able to work with many of our directors. At the same time, if I think back to my experience and the many years I’ve spent in game development – well, you don’t start in this industry because you want to be a manager. You do it because you have this passion for the creative process.

Now, of course, I can use my experience to deliver the best possible experience for the players. The game should feel intuitive and its systems should be fun. In conversations, I’m always the person who asks how I want the player to feel and how I want them to figure out how certain things work. And then I give feedback from the player’s perspective on whether those goals are being met.

PCG: You founded Striking Distance Studios in 2019 and you already have a number of well-known developers in your ranks, such as from Visceral Games and Sledgehammer Games. How does it feel to start a new studio and start with such a big budget production?
Steve: Very satisfying and fun, but of course also challenging. In the early stages was one of the most exciting thoughts for Glenn [Schofield, einer der Schöpfer der Dead-Space-Reihe, Anm. d. Redaktion] and me to be able to work again with the people we’ve made games with in the past. And then of course bringing in new people who share our passion for immersive single player games.

The Callisto Protocol: Interview with Steve Papoutsis (2)

Source: KRAFTON, INC.





PCG: So you’ve pretty much answered our next question, which is whether your studio wants to be known for something specific, like a specific genre or way of making games. So you want to try your hand at immersive solo gaming experiences with a story focus?
Steve: With this idea, this passion, we started and founded the studio, yes. But we will of course see where the journey goes as we grow and evolve.

PCG: We saw that after your time at Visceral Games you were mainly working on cute VR animation films. So how come you’re back at an ultra-violent, terrifying horror game? Did you get homesick?
steve: (laughs) Yes, that was really fun. I really enjoyed all of these projects that I got to be a part of, whether it was horror games, action games, or VR movies. Each of them was a great, educational experience with incredibly creative people. But talking to Glenn has turned [The Callisto Protocol] turned out to be a great way to get back to working with people I used to do it with for years. We quickly agreed on what we wanted to do thematically, which is of course a nice bonus. But like I said, it’s that process of being able to tackle a project with creative, talented people that sticks in the players’ minds that excites me.

Let’s continue on page 2!