Director Neill Blomkamp is best known for his gritty, allegorical sci-fi films.
Blomkamp immediately draws a clear distinction between the tenets of his work making movies and creating a game.
This is not that game.
Gunzilla Games
What isOff the Grid?
Off the Gridis a 150-player cyberpunk battle royale with a 60-hour narrative campaign weaved in.
Thats unusual, to say the least.
Gunzilla Games is the independent studio behind the project and Blomkamp is the chief creative officer.
The game is built on this.
Its predicated on this idea of interchangeable cyber-limbs.
LikeCall of Duty: Warzone,Off the Gridfeatures customizable loadouts.
If that concept sounds daunting, its supposed to.
Theres a shitload of stuff happening in the game, Blomkamp says.
Something more bare bones and stripped down, likeCounter-Strike, my brain soaks that up quicker.
Its pretty fucking hardcore, so youve got to be good to be able to play it.
How did it feel connected to the directors previous work?
Its a dog-eat-dog world, and thats by design.
The core aesthetic ofOTGis satirically, purposefully, very American, he says.
The comparisons to modern-day America can be seen instantly.
At my core I am most interested in sociological studies of humankind, whatever that means, Blomkamp says.
How is game development different from filmmaking?
So why has he moved from a medium thats all about him to one that requires more collaboration?
He enjoys the different possibilities.
He has big ideas about the future of what game experiences could be.
Thats coming, and thats player agency at the highest level.
It would be like an adrenaline rush and a dopamine bonanza.
Is Blomkamp leaving Hollywood behind?
Off the Gridisnt his first foray into the world of video games, either.
He was addicted toCounter-Strike, and a big fan of single-player first-person shooter games likeHalf-Life(1998).
Im definitely moving into games long term, its not onlyOTGat Gunzilla, he notes.
