What balance of and puzzle-solving will gamers find, and what perspective/control methods are you using?

David: There are dozens of different NPCs which must be overcome via a variety of weapons – some basic, some extremely meaty! – so the action is a lot of fun, and we’ve implemented a lock-on system which enables targeting different parts of your adversary’s body. The puzzle solving and exploration has been paid a great deal of attention so it fits in with the flow of the story – we wanted to avoid the easy route of saying “hey, it’s a game” when considering how certain tasks should be achieved, so although there may be great powers all around the main characters, they won’t necessarily be able to harness them in traditional gaming ways.

Curse is played in third person but viewed via cinematic camera angles to help us give the key moments maximum dramatic impact. We’re effectively directing the action without going down the easy route of overdosing on cut scenes – part of the horror is in enabling the player to react when the shocks come, so they are almost always in complete control of the playable characters. Our game engine enables us to render all these events and environments in real time, and the atmosphere is heavily enhanced by extremely impressive lighting and particle effects. There’s an optional first person view which means the player can investigate anything they like at closer range. If they’re brave enough!

How long will the game last?

David: I wouldn’t want to put a figure on that, but as I said the environments are absolutely huge – this isn’t a game people are going to be able to rush through.

What are the influences behind the title?

David: We’re all huge horror fans – books, films and games – and there are aspects from each that have been utilised in Curse to give it an unsettling feel that anyone who likes being scared will appreciate.

By Luke Guttridge