![]() ![]() JP: You know, I wouldn't be surprised if some of Donald Trump's followers would eat poop. Maybe that has informed the choices that we made with the design and what we wanted the player to end up doing. It probably is a game that’s a product of its time in that we’ve had Trump and this right-wing mantra of saying crazy things that get you in the news, because that’s all that matters. Rather than us kind of reflecting what's happening, that’s just human nature and probably why people like the game so much. JA: I guess I'd say it's a fundamental truth that power corrupts, people want to be followed and worshipped. How much has Cult of the Lamb been influenced by recent political events? So the game felt particularly timely in a week where the FBI raiding former President Trump’s home became a rallying cry for many of his supporters. You use lots of natural materials to like build all the buildings with and even the enemies are kind of very naturalistic, rather than trying to do lots of crazy fantasy stuff. JP: Even though there are sort of rituals and curses and supernatural elements, we kind of wanted to keep it all grounded in reality so it doesn't feel too kind of fantastical and magical crazy. It was almost like trying to make something wink that floats – if we pushed to make it darker and darker, then it would just kind of pop up and be adorable and cute. We were actually trying to push for the game to look darker, and it just kept naturally becoming cute, because that's something James and our creative director Julian are so good at. If we had a different aesthetic I think the game would be R-rated and banned in every country. JA: I think because the art direction is so cute, it gave us a license to be as horrendous as possible. So we do a lot to reward people for doing horrible things – like marrying and then murdering someone – and just pile those things on so that they become absolute monsters. Now you don't just get gold, you actually level up your character entirely, and we make it so that the higher level your follower is, the more loyal they are the more points you get. ![]() Before then, you would just get gold for doing one. JA: We actually changed the sacrifice ritual just three weeks ago. How do you incentivise someone to get hooked on ritual sacrifice and exhortation? ![]() You borrow a bit from Grand Theft Auto and Untitled Goose Game where the player is encouraged to do the bad thing. Now that the game has come out and done well we have plans to send everyone to Bali and have a big old holiday party to celebrate. I’ve got two kids now, so it was a very long time ago. JA: I think the last time we all met was three years ago, because it’s pre-pandemic. We've, we've always worked remotely and I started working with Jay eight years ago. JP: It kind of is like having a long-distance relationship, actually – we just write each other sweet messages every morning and make sure to send some flowers regularly… Honestly, I think we just got into the flow of it. Making a game across so many time zones sounds like a nightmare. Your team is split remotely across the UK, Singapore and Australia. That concept was trying to do too many things at once though, so we went back to the board and iterated for a while before pitching to a bunch of different publishers again, and basically every single one came back to us and said, ‘Yes’. They had their tribal followers, and you would still sacrifice some stuff for the head, you'd like jump off the web and go to the ground below and fight enemies. JP: Originally we had a very different concept where you kind of play as this god who lived on top of the flame. When did you realise you're on to the good thing with this game? ![]()
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