One of the downsides to the horror game genre is that, at a certain point, longtime fans can begin to feel like they’ve seen all it has to offer. But then, along comes a game like AILA, which cleverly toys with players’ perceptions and well-tread horror tropes to eventually pull the rug out from under those same players’ feet. I recently had the chance to go hands-on with an early preview build of AILA, and even as a lifelong fan of horror media across several different formats, I walked away feeling like the game had succeeded in getting under my skin. Given the game’s premise centering around a reality-distorting new technology, there was something about AILA that hit close to home as a piece of interactive media, and I couldn’t wait to interview the team about what all went into the game.
Before Pulsatrix Studios began work on AILA, the team made a name for itself with the underrated indie gem Fobia – St. Dinfna Hotel. As it turns out, the experience of making Fobia (which was, itself, very well received among players) helped inform many of the lessons that Pulsatrix would carry into AILA‘s production. AILA is roughly a year out from release, but just from the small slice on offer in its preview build, it’s already obvious that the title’s well-crafted atmosphere and subversion of player expectation through toying with horror convention have positioned it to be a game that genre fans will want to keep an eye on. The following interview transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
AILA’s Origins and Development Trajectory
©AILA gameplay screenshot – Original
Q: How did AILA come about?
A: The idea for AILA came about during a brainstorming session, along with some other ideas, before Fobia was released. With the topic of artificial intelligence gaining more traction, we decided it would be a good opportunity to use the theme to develop our game, taking advantage of the growing use of AI while the subject is not yet saturated in the entertainment industry.
Q: Once the team decided on making a horror game, was the goal always to have it be in first-person, or were there debates over the game’s perspective?
A: The idea was always to keep it in first person. While we were developing Fobia, we went through a huge learning curve and realized we should make the most of what we had learned on the first-person view, replicating what worked better, improving on what didn’t, and learning new things. So the decision to stick with the first-person perspective came about to not overcome our capacity with a lot of new stuff to learn, allowing us to focus our efforts on improving the areas we knew needed more work.
Q: From concept to where AILA is currently, how long has the team been working on the project? Roughly how much longer is development on AILA expected to last?
A: Around 2 years of development so far; we estimate the production will take about 3 years in total.
The Horror (and Non-Horror) Influences on AILA
©AILA gameplay screenshot – Original
Q: First-person horror games are almost becoming a genre unto themselves, and AILA taps into the best aspects of that subgenre of horror titles (immersion, a sense of unease and dread, etc.). What were some of the more influential first-person horror titles the team looked to when designing AILA?
A: Talking exclusively about first-person, the stronger reference by far is Resident Evil 7 and 8. But we are also influenced by Alien Isolation, Outlast, Dying Light, Dead Island 2, etc.
Q: Just about any horror fan will immediately be able to pick up on some of the technological horror influences of AILA, from cult classics like Brainscan to more contemporary examples like Black Mirror. What were some of the more prominent non-gaming influences from the world of horror on AILA’s premise and atmosphere?
A: Black Mirror is a strong reference for us indeed. AILA plays with a lot of different and not-so-common scenarios in the horror genre. So the team is always looking for good references even outside of the horror scene. We have some music, for example, that we used Vikings to get inspiration. But also, we have some influences from the films X, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Army of Darkness, and Black Army.
Leaning Into AILA’s Premise to Craft a Compelling Gameplay Loop
©AILA gameplay screenshot – Original
Q: What were some of the challenges of designing a game like AILA, where the player is encouraged to always question their surroundings? Does that approach create both opportunities and problems to solve when it comes to level design?
A: As the game progresses, the idea of questioning the environment becomes more intense, since our intention is to blur the line between reality and fiction. During the gameplay itself, the player will face several moments where solving puzzles or even escaping will take priority over that questioning, but as situations are resolved and events unfold, the feeling of uncertainty is meant to return stronger each time.
The level design was not a problem, actually, it created some creative freedom to play with some parts of the game. The hardest part was the narrative, because we needed to make the player, throughout the story we’re telling, question the truth of what they’re seeing, so we had to blur reality in a convincing way for it to work as we intended.
Q: Many first-person horror games lean into either psychological horror or more visceral horror elements like gore and jump scares, but AILA has both. How did the team strike a balance between these two approaches?
A: We believe the balance comes through the experiences that AILA creates for the character, since each experience has a different approach and a unique way of being played. We aim to avoid making our game feel repetitive, and that’s reflected in how each experience is presented throughout the game. So, some scenarios will focus more on psychological horror, while others will emphasize escape or combat.
Building an Oppressive Atmosphere in AILA to Support Its Horror Elements
©AILA gameplay screenshot – Original
Q: Sound design is a crucial element in building atmosphere that can make or break a horror game, and AILA’s does a great job at building tension and creating genuinely unnerving moments. Can you walk us through some of the influences and process for creating AILA’s soundscapes?
A: Much of the sound design is directly related to level design, where placing a loud sound, a scream, or monster noise, all of this depends on how the chain of events occurs. When we talk about the ambience of places, we analyze much more sensorial characteristics: what is the color palette, what sensation must the player feel in that space, and what makes up that place? The environment is spacious, humid, foggy, full of junk, or empty? The player is supposed to feel threatened, alone, safe, or watched.
Furthermore, it is a combat or puzzle-solving environment. So the final composition of the sound design is a variety of additions that match the ambient, the objects that fill the ambient, the sensations, the level of threat, the chain of events, etc. The sound design follows the same path as the game in general in terms of influence.
AILA’s Place Among Other Horror Games
©AILA gameplay screenshot – Original
Q: AILA’s premise is practically tailor-made for the game to showcase a wide variety of environments and setpiece moments. What were some of the genre tropes and motifs that the team wanted to play into with AILA?
A: Despite having scenarios that are difficult to use in horror media, we still have some clichés that we decided to put into our game, like sudden blackouts, distant screams, chases, and puzzles. Some of the elements stay on the edge of what is cliché and what makes the game work as a survival horror title, like ammo scarcity, or a story that’s a little confusing and harder to understand than other genres. As people play AILA, they will notice tropes used as tributes. But our biggest trope — it’s a huge spoiler of the game — people will recognize that for sure.
Q: As a lifelong fan of horror and horror games, AILA genuinely surprised me with how much it was able to get under my skin, and it seems a lot of other preview coverage is coming away with a similar impression. Some are even going so far as to say it reminds them of the infamous P.T. demo. How does it feel to have your horror game compared to such a shining exemplar?
A: There are two sides to this. We are very happy to see that our game is reaching this kind of comparison, and it gives us more energy to keep focused on delivering our best. But at the same time, being compared with such a high-level product makes us a little concerned because we are still an indie developer. This is our second product, and we have a lot to learn just yet. One day, we hope that our games reach this level of quality.
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