Falsehood of P, a new soul-like action RPG under development by Neowiz, has emerged as a topic of interest not only in Korea but also abroad. The most mentioned game at the time of its first release was FromSoftware’s ‘Bloodborne’, and there were many opinions that the worldview and the feel of play seen in the video were similar. Regarding this, PD Choi Ji-won of Round 8 Studio under Neowiz, who is developing the game, said, “I thoroughly enjoyed Bloodborne, and I think it is an honor to be compared to such works.” He also explained that while developing the game, he was inspired by Bloodborne as well as BioShock and Dishonored.
However, P’s Lies revealed that it is preparing an action RPG that will show a different side from Bloodborne as well as existing Soullike in terms of story, worldview, and gameplay. If so, what part did the production team focus on in differentiation? I heard more about this through an interview with Round 8 Studio PD Choi Ji-won and Noh Chang-gyu AD.
The more Pinocchio lies, the more he becomes human.
The story is a reinterpretation of the adventures of the fairy tale Pinocchio as a cruel fairy tale for adults, as was known before. The reason I chose Pinocchio as the subject was because I thought it would be appropriate to draw interest and interest by twisting a well-known story in a completely different direction. The part that clearly reveals this part is ‘Pinocchio who becomes a human the more he lies’, which is also the theme of the story. This is the exact opposite of the original fairy tale, where if you lie, you move away from humans. PD Choi Ji-won said, “A machine cannot lie, and a human being who can lie. We went in that direction,” he said.
These stories do not stop at just setting. Depending on how many lies you lie as the play unfolds, your path will vary greatly. PD Choi said, “When you lie, you accumulate points called ‘humanity’, and depending on how much you accumulate, you can measure the degree to which you become a human, and the ending is determined according to that level.” A character can become an enemy or an ally, and a previously locked path can be opened through lies.”
The ending is divided into three main categories, and if you want to see all the stories, it is recommended to play multiple times. Estimated play time per episode is about 30 hours, but in the internal group test (FGT) stage, he said that he recorded more than 6 hours of play time based on two stages. In addition, it is currently being developed as a single-player-oriented game, and multiplayer elements are not considered.
If the story reinterpreted the well-known fairy tale Pinocchio, the worldview pursued a different direction. The historical background of P’s lies is the French Belle Époque. The Belle Epoque was the era when France prospered socially, economically, technologically and politically from the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century. Producer Jiwon Choi said, “In the case of Bloodborne, the Gothic style stands out, and there are many sharp minarets, stone statues that represent non-human creatures, and stone architecture. . The space is also used mainly for human life and culture, such as shops, and these parts are also included in the game.”
The reason why the Belle Epoque, which is rather unfamiliar in Korea, is set as the background is because it fits well with the lie of P, but it is not covered much in existing games or movies. PD Choi said, “The Middle Ages and sci-fi are borrowed from existing games and movies, and even in the 19th century, European steampunk and dieselpunk, and American Wild Wild West are very well known. I chose Belle Epoque because I wanted it to be recognized as a direction.”
However, like the story that beat Pinocchio, the worldview does not bring the Belle Epoque as it is. Although the Belle Epoque was a period of great technological advancement, ‘technological almightyism’ was prevalent that science and technology would solve everything. As a result, the production team turned the Belle Epoque, which was a technologically brilliant period, into a worldview that is self-destructing due to technology.
AD Noh Chang-gyu said, “In the city of Krat, which is the main stage of the game, dolls called ‘automatic dolls’ replace human labor. As in the Belle Epoque era, there is a widespread optimism that technology will solve everything.” “But one day, an unknown disease spreads, killing many people, and automatic dolls revolt and harm people. In the midst of this, the story begins, and the Belle Epoque era, which is the exact opposite of what we know, unfolds.”
‘Character build-up’ similar to Path of Exile is possible
The fun of choosing doesn’t end with storytelling. Various options are given to character growth and reinforcement that directly affects the battle. PD Choi said, “Soul-like, which the production team thinks, is a genre that requires careful selection and judgment from users rather than visual acuity, agility, or physical ability. The essence of Soullike is to constantly think about whether the current choice is advantageous to the extent that it is often expressed as ‘the user’s level rises’, and when it is better to choose.”
Therefore, the lie of P also continuously throws options to users in battle as well as in the story. There are three main ways to broaden your options in the battle area. First, it is the mechanical arm of the main character Pinocchio, which was also revealed in the video. In the game, it is called ‘slave arm’, and it is basically divided into 8 types and can be upgraded in various directions through reinforcement. PD Choi Ji-won said, “Slave arms are equipment that can use dynamic skills that go beyond weapons. If you strengthen it, the performance becomes stronger, and the existing skill pattern evolves. Therefore, it is important to choose a slave arm that fits your style.”
Here, there is a body modification element called ‘P’s Organ’ similar to the skill tree of Path of Exile. PD Choi said, “P’s organ is a core internal organ that operates Pinocchio. It is possible to build up a character by selecting the desired effect, so I expect that it will be important to devise a strategy according to your taste.”
The last is equipment modification. About 30 types of weapons appear in P’s Lies, and it is possible to create new weapons by combining them with other weapons. PD Choi Ji-won said, “There are weapons with special abilities, and considering the combination with other weapons, hundreds of weapons can be created. Therefore, it is important to find a weapon and combination that suits you.” He said, “If you combine a weapon, the appearance, performance, attack motion, and pattern will change, and if you disassemble a weapon and combine it with another type, you can get different results. ” he said.
To summarize, the original characteristic of Soul-like, which is ‘getting stronger as we die,’ and expanding options in growth, battle, and story development is the point of differentiation of P’s lies that the production team is talking about. PD Choi Ji-won said, “The core direction of play is to make the user think about how to accept a given task and devise a strategy. However, it was designed so that the difficulty of the experience can be relatively lowered by using various contents and systems in the game in the process of increasing play proficiency.”
P’s Lie is under development for PC and console titles, and consoles only considered PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but due to low device penetration, the previous generation PS4 and Xbox One are also being considered. The initial planning started two years ago, but the full-scale development took place for one year, and the current work completion rate is about 50%. However, he added that it is difficult to say in detail about the release date yet. PD Choi said, “We are thinking of pre-order sales in the second half of next year, but it is difficult to say a specific release schedule. Based on the production team’s principle of ‘quality rather than quantity’, the quenching period was set for a long time, so I think we will be able to judge by looking at the production situation next year.”
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