The Order 1886, developed by Ready At Dawn, is a game that dropped at the beginning of this generation for the PlayStation 4. It was a gorgeous game, in some ways still one of the best looking titles on the system, but had decidedly mixed reception and soft sales despite its key position at launch. Now the company is getting back into the AAA space with a new game, and taking some lessons they’ve learned since 1886 to heart.
After The Order 1886, the company has mostly worked on smaller projects, with a VR title, Lone Echo II, slated for release early next year for the Oculus Rift. Talking to GamesBeat, CEO Ru Weerasuriya revealed they were working on a new AAA production that they are funding themselves, and that they hope to take what they’ve learned from the VR projects they’ve worked on to that game to create a more immersive experience.
“Understanding that immersion, it’s something that’s hard to break away from now,” he said. “We’re working on a triple-A console title right now as well, something we’re developing internally, and funny enough, a lot of the lessons we’ve learned about narrative and immersion and gameplay mechanics, we’re taking some of those lessons into console. It might not be the same display device, but the play agency we learned to do in this game—you’re always there. You can never expect the player to do what you want them to do. They’ll do whatever they want. That’s something we’re carrying with us to the console.”
When asked if Ready At Dawn would be announcing this new game any time soon, Weerasurya said, “No, not yet. It’s incubating internally. It’s in the prototype phase, where we’re building a lot of things internally. We’re funding it ourselves right now. It’s been a lot of fun taking some of those lessons and bouncing them back and forth between the two projects.”
The Order 1886 was largely criticized for its linear gameplay and basic gunplay, even though its story and graphics were praised. It had some interesting ideas though, so it will be worth waiting to see if the developers can realize that potential fully with whatever their next game will be.
