Weird West - Interview @Gamespot

Weird West is an upcoming immersive sim and action-RPG set in the wild west that's being developed by WolfEye Studios, which is led by former Arkane president Raphael Colantonio. For GameSpot's Play For All, we spoke to Colantonio--who is best known for his work on Prey and the Dishonored series--about Weird West and how his history as an experienced game developer makes working on a new game feel like a New Game Plus mode.

In the video above, Colantonio talks about how Weird West is inspired by early immersive sim games like System Shock, the original Fallout, and Ultima VII. Though Weird West begins as a traditional western-style story, the narrative quickly descends into the supernatural. These supernatural themes tie into the immersive sim mechanics.

You'll play as five different people in Weird West, but not all at once. Instead, you'll go from one hero to the next--like the baton in a relay race. This means that if the hero you're playing as is still alive by the time the story transitions to the next playable protagonist, you can meet the character you were previously playing as. You can even recruit the heroes you've already played as to your party.

Weird West is set to release for PC in 2021 and may have a closed beta later this year.

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screeg said:

What is an "immersive sim"? Fallout was an immersive sim and I somehow missed it?

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An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions which, combined with a comparatively broad array of player abilities, allow the game to support varied and creative solutions to problems, as well as emergent gameplay beyond what has been explicitly designed by the developer. This definition is not to be confused with game systems which allow player choice in a confined sense or systems which allow players to easily escape consequences of their choices.

Immersive sims by definition allow for multiple approaches, and typically incorporate elements of multiple genres, including role-playing games, stealth, first-person shooters, platform games and survival horror. Although they typically have smaller worlds than open world games, they also generally allow for open-ended gameplay, allowing the player to progress in any order and pursue side missions alongside any main story missions.

Immersive sims are generally compared to games developed by Looking Glass Studios. The first such game generally considered an immersive sim is Ultima Underworld: The Stygian Abyss, and other examples include Thief and Thief 2, System Shock and System Shock 2, as well as the first Deus Ex.

The term "immersive sim" may also be used to describe the game design philosophy behind the immersive sim genre, which uses interacting, reactive and consistent game systems to create emergent gameplay and a sense of player agency.

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screeg said:

What is an "immersive sim"? Fallout was an immersive sim and I somehow missed it?

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Couchpotato said:

An immersive sim (simulation) is a video game genre that emphasizes player choice. Its core, defining trait is the use of simulated systems that respond to a variety of player actions

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Farflame said:

Basically they create FP action/ARPGs but they like to call it "immersive sim".

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