14 DAY TRIAL // 11 Bity Studios surprised a lot of its fans when it announced that its next project was called This War of Mine, a title that is designed to allow gamers to experience the horrors of war from the point of view of a civilian who is caught in the crossfire between two armies.
Pawel Miechowski, one of the leading developers at the company, says that his team was inspired by the stories told by those innocents who were able to escape from conflict zones in places like Syria and Sarajevo and by the vividness of their memories.
He tells Gamasutra that his studio worked with Amnesty International to get information on the plight of survivors and the kinds of experiences that they had and wants to educate players about the impact of war on the civilian population.
Pawel Miechowski states, “What we are making with this game is a translation of these real situations. You don't craft things -- you create necessary items like a rainwater collector, soap, a crowbar. You cannot leave your shelter during the day, and you can only leave during the night. All of this we found is how it works in, say, Sarajevo or Syria.”
11 Bit Studios wants to make sure that all the situations in the game are linked to actual stories and real moments rather than gameplay concepts that might seem abstract.
The focus will be squarely on the player and his options and that means that This War of Mine will never feature actual moral decisions, although gamers might need to listen to their conscience when making a choice.
The developer adds, “You can be a cruel guy, or a supportive person - that's your point of view. What we're making here is a game about these situations. We're fully aware of the fact that it's a huge challenge to deliver this, but I'm pretty sure we're going to make it. People survived wars, and we're just trying to make it more or less similar to what we know about that.”
Pawel Miechowski says that his team was also influenced by the launch of Papers, Please, the title from Lucas Pope.
The interest that the experience has generated has persuaded 11 Bit Studios that This War of Mine could be a good game, while also asking important questions about war and real-world human actions.
The game will be delivered on the PC and on mobile devices before the end of the year.