Having already made Agony and Succubus, Paranoid is an upcoming horror game that’s being developed by Madmind Studio – a Polish game development studio that was set up in 2016. Due out later this year, the game can currently be wishlisted on Steam, and will be released for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles as well.
I briefly spoke to Konrad Pieńkowski (Game Designer, Madmind Studio) to find out a little bit more about the game, and to also determine as to what the game development culture is like in Poland. Enjoy!
For people that aren’t aware of Paranoid, how would you describe it to somebody in an elevator?
Okay, Paranoid is a psychological horror game with elements of fighting, sneaking and puzzles. We also have a “whisper system” which means that throughout the game you will hear voices talking in your head. We used a binaural sound system that was recorded with two microphones, and this allowed us to give a great feeling of immersion. We also have some extreme stuff – like finishers and executions. We wanted to show the state of our main protagonist, Patrick Kalman, who is mentally ill, and who is a paranoid schizophrenic. So this is the main concept of our game.
What would you say were the biggest inspirations for the title?
Well, I think Silent Hill and Hellblade were definitely inspirations. We really enjoy that stuff, but we try to do something of our own. We try to bring something new to this industry and to this game. We love horrors generally, so we have a lot of inspiration. But I think that we just want to mix the puzzle aspects of those games with a little horror, and have a dark climate with fighting and sneaking.
How long has the game been in development for?
It’s been almost two years…
How many people are working on the game?
There are something like 10 people working on the game. At Madmind Studio, we are also creating other games, but on this game specifically, we have something like 10 people.
How long have you been part of the studio?
Let’s say two years…
You’re from Poland, and Madmind Studio is also from Poland… What’s the game development culture like in Poland? How does Madmind Studio fit in, in terms of finding its place within the game development community in Poland, and how does Poland as a country treat its game development industry?
Very well… I think Poland is one of the strongest players in this industry. We have big players like CD Projekt Red and Techland, and we also have a lot of support from the community. The Polish people like developers and support us a lot. We want to sustain these connections with the Polish community, but also with people from the entire world.
Thank you so much!