Welcome back, Cryengineers to another Spotlight for a contender in the Indie Development Fund! Today we're featuring the work of seasoned CRYENGINE veteran Manuk, who has endeavored to bring to life one of the most iconic works of H.G Wells- The Island of Dr. Moreau - in his exciting project Heathen.

Do we have any H.G Wells fans in the community? For over a hundred years his literary works have captivated readers worldwide, and continue to influence popular culture even today. He is considered among the greatest science fiction writers of all time, and is credited with early pioneering of the genre. Some of his more notable works (War of the Worlds) have even been adapted to the big screen. But to date, Wells' work has remained unrepresented in the gaming industry. Until now. 

For those not familiar with The Island of Dr. Moreau, it is like all of H.G Wells' work, packed with allegory and complex themes that explore numerous topics ranging from the  philosophical to the scientific. Notably, Wells was known for deeply exploring the subject of morality, ethics, industrialism, and most importantly the nature of our own humanity. With such a complex story to tackle, we couldn't resist the opportunity to sit down with Manuk and learn more about just what we can look forward to in what is sure to be an exciting project. 

So to start off, tell me a little bit about the project.  In ninety-nine words, what is the project about, what can the player expect?

"Heathen" is an adventure game.This is not a classic horror game with jump scares, this is an action and exploration game in an eerie world populated by freaks, with steam punk elements.The game will be released in episodic content, and we plan to do at least 3 episodes.The story takes place decades after the H.G Wells book and the player is a descendant of the doctor Moreaus's experiments. He will have to explore the places, discover the island story, and instill respect for the laws of Moreaux to all living souls.The truth is, we did not intend to make a horror game, but the gamers keep saying that this is a horror game, so we assume that it is the case.

After reading the overview, I think many players would have expected to be playing as one of the besieged humans, fighting for survival against the "Beasts". What inspired you to do the opposite? What unique aspects of gameplay will this bring?

In the book, Doc Moreau wanted to create a "better human". Like we said in the the story summary, the humans who came after had only one goal: create new species totally enslaved for their own profit. Raised in battery farming, under the yoke of the whip, those beasts became the real victims of our story. Playing a character half human half beast gives more gameplay possibilities than playing a human only. The player has access to a "beast mode" with skills that allow him to get out of situations when a simple human remains blocked, but when he is in this "beast mode" he can no longer perform human actions like using weapons and items, opening doors, solving riddles, etc...The player can freely switch between human and beast according to the situation or his desires and we hope this creates an original gameplay.

As a big fan of H.G Wells myself (I'm very fond of The Time Machine) what sort of his influences can we expect to see on the environment and level design? You hinted at an "eerie" atmosphere, care to elaborate?

A recurrent theme in H.G Wells books is "the devastated world" ("The War of the Worlds," "Time Machine" ), so the player can expect to go through an environment that humans have lost control of; a transformed world, hostile and unknown. With the Industrial revolution and the omnipresence of science, the player can expect to find many machines, imaginary or realistic, which of course will affect the gameplay. Resulting of experiments, the beasts encountered are strange, deformed and crippled. Many movies inspired the creature design ("Freaks" by Tod Browning, David Cronenberg's movies.) Also we put great attention to sound design and to the atmosphere. All these elements make this game an anguishing and eerie experience.

"All these elements make this game an anguishing and eerie experience."

Can you comment more on the nature of these "Beasts"? From a character design aspect, did they pose any particular challenges?

We tried to create an atypical bestiary. We didn't want to do a classic "human-animal mix" like in the movies adapted from the book. We designed creatures being the result of inhumane experiments and biomechanical modifications. Fortunately, thanks to the power of the CRYENGINE "mannequin editor" and "character tool", we have been able to create our own vision.

"Thanks to the power of the CRYENGINE, mannequin editor, and character tool we have been able to create our own vision"

What type of game world can we expect to see in Heathen?

We are working on a 4*4 km main map with instances. The main island is composed of several different natural environments (beach, mangrove, jungle forest, open fields, volcano, and more.) Humans have exploited the resources of the island for many decades, so the player will explore forsaken industrial complexes. But he also will pass through structures built by the beasts, who are the new masters of the island. In "Episode 1", the player will access to 1/3 of the main island and 1 instance in a mine.

In reference to the goal of the game, to "explore, develop, understand, and reclaim the island", can you give us a little more info on what this will mean for the player?

In the "Episode 1", the player will have to find a way through the island and discover its history since the death of Doctor Moreau. To achieve this, he will have to accomplish many different tasks, for example: use a compass to find his way, search for story pages, items and clues to resolve the riddles, and of course fight against opponents. The ultimate goal is to discover the spirit of the island, and to convert or destroy all living souls who have lost their humanity, including humans.

What platforms will Heathen be released to? Will newer platforms such as VR be supported?

As we are only 2 people working on this game and having no funding, we plan to release the "Episode 1" only for WIN without VR.  But have an open mind to porting it to other platforms or VR ( with a different concept ) if the first release gets success or if we get enough funding.

What inspired you to undertake Heathen, and to use "The Island of Dr. Moreau" as a setting?

The story of this book takes place in an island, and a closed area is perfect for a FPS game.The themes addressed in the story of this book interest us: beliefs, science and exploitation of living souls by men.Late 19th and early 20th century are exciting: great inventions and great inventors like Edison and Tesla lived at this times.All these combined elements make this book, in our opinion, an ideal setting for the game we want to do.

Can you tell us a little about you/your studio? What motivated you to choose CRYENGINE for your project?

Frog Factory is a tiny collective of artists and gamers based in Paris. We are very good friends and we have been working together on many different projects for more than 20 years ( 3D ,modding, music, videos... ). We don't come from the games industry but we always wanted to create our own game. So, four years ago we decided to create a game and studying for it. We tested some game engines and we chose CryEngine for its outstanding graphics and the great editor tools. To this day, two of us are working on the project, and another friend sometimes helps us for 3D modeling.

If selected for the Indie Dev Fund, what are your plans for the future?

We would devote ourselves full-time on the project and hire other persons for adding more features and release the game faster.

Any parting thoughts you would like to share with the CRYENGINE community?

We want to thank Crytek for this great opportunity with this indie development fund. We have been working on this project with no funds for four years with only will and passion, we are creating the game we love to play, and we just hope the gamers community will like it as much as we do. 

That's it for today's community spotlight! We'd like to thank Manuk for his time and wish him the very best of luck moving forward with Heathen. You can show your support by visiting their Indie Dev Fund Page  and giving them a like!

Be sure to keep an eye out for the next feature in our lineup!

-Tracer & Nic