The Order: 1886 Dev Talks Controversial Visual Approach, PS4 Power, and More

In a new interview, The Order: 1886 creative director Ru Weerasuriya speaks in depth about the mixed reaction to his PlayStation 4 game's visual approach, how the title is only scratching the surface of the console's power, and more.

First, Weerasuriya acknowledged to Game Trailers that the way in which The Order: 1886 blends gameplay and cinematics might be somewhat jarring for players. But it was important to take this approach so that the game would stand out, he explained.

"Every time you try to tackle something new like that, people are gonna be nervous, there's no doubt. I think even the people in the public, the people who actually talked about the game,who write on forums and the bloggers and all that stuff, they do all express their concerns and I think it’s natural," he said. "It's some we accept because we took the risk of trying to do something that was different, but the reality of it is that it is part of the game and one of the big things we want to tackle with this game, that kind of seamless-ness, that constant question that you have of whether or not what you’re looking at is a cinematic or are you playing the game."

It was critically important for Ready at Dawn to structure The Order: 1886 in this way, Weerasuriya said, because it affords a deeper level of immersion.

"Yes, at some points we do take control away from you just like other games do for cinematics," he said. "We give it back to you when you don't expect it sometimes. There might be a moment, just a single moment in a cinematic where you have something to do."

"It's gonna be a trial by fire" - Weerasuriya

"It might not mean much, but to us it means a lot. It's just that level of interaction that you have--even if it's one button prompt in a cinematic, what it means is that you are still involved, you're still there," Weerasuriya added. "Your attention, your immersion is still there and without it this experience wouldn't be what it is."

Weerasuriya explained that, overall, Ready at Dawn's goal for The Order: 1886 was to create a cinematic experience the likes of which have never been seen in games before.

"It's gonna be a trial by fire. We put it out there and see what people say," he said. "But for us it was important that as the next-generation was here to do something different not to just give people what they expected; not to just say, 'Hey, here's every game you've seen until now and we're just giving you a re-hash. We wanted something new."

The Order: 1886 certainly looks lovely; it's possibly one of the best-looking PS4 games to date. But Weerasuriya says his team only scratched the surface of what is possible on PS4, with the best years still to come for the platform.

"We're just touching the surface of it and we’re at the beginning of the generation," he said. "We have those years to hit a higher bar and we already have ideas about how to get there."

The Order: 1886 release date is February 20 exclusively for PS4.

Via: DualShockers (1, 2)