The indie space is often filled with experimentation, as it’s a place where developers can take retro ideas and blend them with modern game design. Cralon is Pithead Studio’s first in-development title, after Björn and Jennifer Pankratz co-founded it following Piranha Bytes’ shuttering, and it seeks to bring the classic first-person dungeon-crawler experience into the current era of gaming. After falling into the abyss while hunting a demon, it’s up to the player to make their way back to the surface. However, their journey is likely to be a perilous one, fraught with sinister creatures and looming shadows.
In a recent interview with Game Rant, Pithead Studio spoke about its approach to storytelling and player choice within Cralon. Many players may not expect heavy doses of either in a dungeon-crawling game, but that’s not really the case here.
A Mysterious Protagonist in a Treacherous World
The trailer for Cralon sets the scene as the camera pans through dark caverns and dimly lit hallways. The footage shows the player facing off against creatures with glowing red eyes as even more crimson orbs can be seen peering out from the shadows. While the mission to find a way up and out is clear, there is a question about just who the protagonist is and how much agency the player will have. Pithead Studio seeks to create a balance between delivering a strong protagonist that leans on player-driven choices:
“Cralon will be a fully-developed character, and you will find out a lot about his past, his motivation, and his background during your journey. This will be an important part of the main story.”
Pithead Studio discussed the player’s ability to interact with the world around them as they inspect objects, read journals, and make their own discoveries about the world around them. These revelations will not only flesh out the setting, but also expound upon who Cralon is and where they came from. Of course, Pithead Studio also explained that many of these interactions are optional, allowing the player to decide just how deep they wish to dive into the world of Cralon.
The Player’s Actions Will Ripple Out to the Larger Story
While Cralon is their own character with a set past and motivations, this doesn’t mean the player won’t be able to shape who they are and the type of character they want to be. Pithead Studio has taken a fair amount of inspiration from the pen-and-paper genre, pulling from systems like Dungeons and Dragons when imagining how a player might interact with the world around them as they make choices and discoveries:
“During your adventure, trying to find a way up, you will meet different types of creatures that can be friendly or hostile. You can choose to help them and talk to them via a fully voiced dialogue system. You can make new friends, solve quests and puzzles, and make decisions. We love the idea that the choices of the players matter and have consequences. People play slower and think twice about their next move when they know the game will react to their choices.”
Pithead Studio has also explained that optional quests can influence the plot of the game, leaving room for players to have a dynamic impact on the story being told. Gamers can chase clues and solve the riddles of the dungeon to their heart’s content. All of these optional objectives will reward players with lore that provides a deeper understanding of the setting and the inner workings of the dungeon itself.
With Cralon, Pithead Studio seeks to provide a coherent and immersive dungeon-crawler experience in the vein of games like Arx Fatalis and Ultima Underworld while taking full advantage of modern technology and game design. Though Cralon themselves may be a fully realized character, there appears to be plenty of room for them to grow and impact the world around them.
Cralon is currently in development.