Just sit for a moment and think about what you were doing in 2010, because that’s when Senscape first announced ASYLUM, a horror point-and-click adventure set in the Hanwell Mental Institute. Me, I had moved to Melbourne from Tasmania a couple of years prior, hoping to achieve all the hopes and dreams I had as a kid (the verdict is still out). However, fast forward to 2025, and in that time I have completed a couple of university degrees and have been running WellPlayed for more than 10 years. Yet, Asylum has still not been released, making development times for games like The Last Guardian sound paltry in comparison. The good news though is that Asylum’s release date of March 13 is not far away, with a slight delay to re-record some voice-overs pushing it back a week from its initial March 6 date.
Asylum is a game that I have been excited about for a long time. Maybe not quite 15 years, but at least half of that. For the last few years I’ve been pestering Senscape founder and Asylum main man Agustín Cordes about doing an interview, and now that the game is on the precipice of release, I was able to chat with Cordes about ASYLUM’s winding journey to release, the reasons for its prolonged development, what has changed over the years and the game’s inspirations.
WellPlayed: For those who haven’t heard of Asylum or may have forgotten, what’s the elevator pitch?
Agustín Cordes: Hi there! So ASYLUM is the spiritual successor to Scratches, an adventure that garnered a loyal fan base over the years because of its treatment of horror. ASYLUM builds upon the same ideas and design style of Scratches. In the game, you’re an ex-patient returning to a mental hospital looking to understand the meaning behind strange visions you’re experiencing.
WP: Asylum has been more than 10 years in the making. What are the main reasons for the long development time?
AC: In fact, it’s been more like 15 years. There’s a number of reasons behind such a drastic delay. One of them is that we began developing the game with our own housemade engine (akin to Scratches), yet soon the whole game dev landscape began to change; generalist engines like Unity and Unreal got popular and more accessible, while the quality bar expected by customers kept rising. It became evident that ASYLUM was getting TOO old-fashioned, so we made the decision to raise the quality bar by switching to Unreal. This was a costly decision, which in the end worked out well.
Other factors include a pandemic, the economic situation, and the fact that ASYLUM is a very big game with a challenging design philosophy. Like the towering structure you get to explore in the game, it became expensive and time-consuming.
WP: Financially, 10+ years is a long time to survive without a publisher. How have you managed to finish the game while remaining independent? What sacrifices have had to be made?
AC: We didn’t make any sacrifices, the game is coming out just as was originally envisioned. That’s the good news, but it was quite a challenge! Resorting to Kickstarter with the help from fans, self-financing, and providing professional services to clients during the past few years, has allowed us to remain 100% independent. No publisher, no angel investors, not even partners.
WP: How many people have worked on the game at any one time?
AC: The core initial team was four people, me included. Given the troublesome development, the team shifted greatly over the years. Currently, we’re 20 people working on ASYLUM. Had we been able to maintain this stable team, the game would’ve been finished much earlier.
WP: I’ve heard you mention that Asylum’s narrative is partly inspired by a film called Session 9. What other films or media have inspired the game over its development?
AC: Yeah, it’s loosely inspired by Session 9. To be fair, the influences behind ASYLUM are many: Lovecraft, Lucio Fulci, Hammer Films. There’s nothing too specific. When it comes to games, it’s the same ones that originally inspired Scratches, each in their own way: Dark Seed, The Dark Eye, Alone in the Dark (too many dark games, I know), then quirky classics such as Maupiti Island.
WP: You’ve teased a release in the past. Could the game have been released much earlier? If so, what would the consequences have been?
AC: It could, yes, but with much lower quality, especially in the character department. Which was important for a number of plot points, so we made the decision to go with full 3D characters (the rest of the game is pseudo-3D). So the goal has always been to provide a quality game, to the best of our abilities.
WP: Having a long development time must feel like it increases the pressure. How have you managed it over the years?
AC: It wasn’t easy. Working with cool people, and I’m blessed to have an amazing team, is one way. Being focused and having a very clear goal in mind is another. Most importantly, ensuring you take time off and especially honouring weekends.
WP: Was there ever a time when you considered cancelling Asylum?
AC: No, not really. We always kept pushing forward!
WP: Game design has changed a lot since the game was first announced in 2010, especially the technology available. How much has Asylum changed since the game’s initial idea? Has it changed at all? What new technology has the team used to ensure Asylum looks and feels modern?
AC: Right, so following up on a previous question, the switch to Unreal gave us the necessary tools to make the environments come further alive: particle effects, fog, rain, then using FMOD to improve the sound design. It’s many things that came together to raise the quality bar. We even made the decision quite recently to go with a professional lip sync technology (Speech Graphics) as opposed to our own custom solution which was too wonky.
WP: Puzzles are a staple of any good point-and-click experience. How did you approach the puzzle design, especially with the long development time? With accessibility being an important element these days, does Asylum have any accessibility options, such as a hint system?
AC: Yes, there is a hint system that is tightly integrated with the game. You can use your notepad to inform you of next steps and provide some guidance during the resolution of puzzles. The overall design is fairly classic but accessible. I’d say it has much in common with Infocom text adventures, sans the dead ends and annoyances of the era. Hopefully fans of adventures will feel the puzzles are fun and challenging, without ever being frustrating.
WP: Given the nature of point-and-click games, horror can be hard to get right. How did you approach the game’s horror elements to ensure they are effective?
AC: It’s all very psychological, and we focus on achieving a strong sense of dread. You can’t put your finger on what it is, but deep inside you know there’s something wrong. The proverbial ‘carrot’ is the allure of the mystery; you WANT to proceed, because you need answers. We even provide comedic relief along the way, then catch you off guard when you least expect it. That’s the idea: ASYLUM is not a parade of jump scares and gross moments, it’s a game designed to slowly get under your skin.
WP: How did doing contract work, such as working on Silent Hill: Ascension, affect Asylum’s development? Is there anything that you learned from those experiences that has benefited Asylum?
AC: Oh yes, working on Silent Hill: Ascension provided us with a sort of insight and experience that we didn’t have before. It was a game changer that allowed us to mature, master remote work, and get better at communicating with each other. The learnings in production, such as embracing a ticketing system like Jira, coordination, and optimal team management, surely contributed in wrapping up ASYLUM in a more professional way.
WP: With the game nearing release, can you explain how it feels for you and the team to be at this point? Are you relieved somewhat?
AC: Well, we still can’t process the moment, as we’re rushing to ensure we polish as much as we can. But relief, sure. Satisfaction as well. We’re all very happy with the game. It’s better than any of us ever expected! There were many cool developments these past few months towards launch that ensured ASYLUM became a better game. You could say we’re highly motivated.
WP: How challenging has it been to stay engaged and excited by Asylum after all these years?
AC: Personally, there were challenging moments. The game is demanding, and while I tried to avoid doing all of the writing myself, it became evident it’s something I’d have to do. The team has always remained impressively motivated, and also contributed with ghost writing that sped up the process. Overall, writing for this game has been a mental burden, it nearly drained me of my energy, but in the end it happened. And I believe fans are going to enjoy the script.
WP: Understandably, many of the game’s Kickstarter backers have been frustrated by the incredibly long wait to get their hands on the game. How much does their support mean to you and the team? Is there anything that you’re doing for them as a thank you?
AC: It’s been a huge support over the years! Backers, and even the rest of our community as well. Of course, some people got frustrated and were vocal about their opinion. There were insults too; you wouldn’t imagine the things some people have said to me. But in the end, the positive majority made the difference. Remaining in tight touch with backers, and sending thorough updates about the state of development was one way to keep the flame alive.
WP: Reflecting on Asylum’s development, is there anything you wish you’d done differently?
AC: Perhaps switching to a generalist game engine earlier, which would’ve saved us time. In our defense, when we started, Unity was still too young and Unreal too prohibitive.
WP: What are you most excited for players to experience after all these years?
AC: I’m looking forward to the discussions about the conclusion of the game. I expect them to last months!
WP: Can you tell us what the price of Asylum will be?
AC: Sure, it’s US$25, and there will be a 10% discount during the first week!
WP: Are there any plans to bring Asylum to consoles or to VR? What about physical editions?
AC: Consoles, yes. VR too, but we need to test that. The game leans well to a VR experience. Physical edition also, but first we’re going to fulfil the Kickstarter rewards.
WP: Asylum is billed as a spiritual successor to your previous game Scratches. Is there a universe in which new players will someday be able to buy and play Scratches? Or could we ever see a remake?
AC: Not in the short term, I’m sorry. Not sure about a remake either, I always prefer to move on and work on new games.
WP: What is your opinion on the current state of the point-and-click genre? Are there any games you’ve played over the years that have stood out or given you ideas for Asylum?
AC: I wouldn’t say that any particular adventure provided ideas for ASYLUM, since the script has remained untouched since 2010. But I kept playing adventures, yes. I love the genre, and I see that it’s alive and kicking. Its core community remains dedicated and supportive.
WP: Now that Asylum is almost released, what’s next for Senscape? I know you have another project in the works. What can you tell us about that? Are you looking forward to developing something other than Asylum or can you see yourself diving back into this world at some point?
AC: Indeed, we already have a new project on the works with a small strike team. It’s going to be different than anything we did before, but still a narrative adventure at its core. I’m not ready to disclose much at this point, but after the release, we’ll start teasing the game. Also making sure we don’t announce a release date until the very last moment, ha!
As for ASYLUM. Maybe there will be something else in that universe. Something small, but no sequels or successors are planned.
WP: Thanks for chatting with us. Best of luck with the game’s launch.
AC: Many thanks for the kind words and the interview! See ya!
Asylum will launch on PC on March 13 (March 14 in Australia), you can add the game to your Wishlist below:
