this post was submitted on 06 Apr 2026
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Papers, Please creator Lucas Pope says he no longer reveals what he’s working on in case it’s stolen or ‘slurped up by AI’ (www.videogameschronicle.com)
submitted 4 months ago by alessandro@lemmy.ca to c/pcgaming@lemmy.ca
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[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 145 points 4 months ago (3 children)

Pope also said he was more wary of releasing a major new game now because he enjoyed such critical success with Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn that he doesn’t want to let players down.

“There’s also the sense that I was pretty happy with Obra Din and Papers, Please and I don’t… you know, maybe I can’t do it again, kind of thing. Do I really want to maybe just go out on a high note? Why drag my myself down with the next thing that people may not like?

You know, I feel him there. I can't even imagine how to make a successful follow-up after two games that were not just smash hits, but brilliant and unconventional too. Everyone is basically expecting a piece of genius (me included). Not to mention the step up from Papers to Obra Dinn was so huge in terms of production and scope that it's easy to expect another escalation.

[–] Bane_Killgrind@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 4 months ago (2 children)

To be fair, the first spawned a genre and the second is a masterpiece, he set an impossible standard. But you could have said that before the second was released.

If I could tell Pope one thing, it's "just make games you think you'll like dude"

[–] Lauchmelder@feddit.org 12 points 4 months ago (2 children)

It frustrates me that I'll never be able to enjoy Obra Dinn again for the first time. This will probably for ever be a one of its kind game, and it makes me sad

[–] prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago

Definitely not the same, but have you checked out Seance at Blake Manor?

[–] Trail@lemmy.world 2 points 4 months ago

Try the roottrees are dead.

[–] DisgruntledGorillaGang@reddthat.com 5 points 4 months ago (3 children)

What other games came out that were like Papers Please? I only ever played/heard of that one.

[–] Bane_Killgrind@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 4 months ago

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3419520/Quarantine_Zone_The_Last_Check/

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3431040/Thats_not_my_Neighbor/

Those are the closest two I think.

There's others that get more into FNAF type of gameplay, or straight detective sorts.

[–] Zedstrian@sopuli.xyz 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I would call Not Tonight a 'paperslike'.

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 months ago

Speaking as Brit who is salty as hell at Brexit, I really enjoyed "Not Tonight". It takes the Papers, Please mechanical framework and applies it to a new socio-economic context for some really effective satire. If you hadn't mentioned it, then this is the one that I would have commented to add

[–] Coelacanth@feddit.nu 1 points 4 months ago (1 children)

The upcoming I Have No Change has a certain Papers-esque feel to it. You're stuck in a kiosk doing mundane things, and narratives are told through the characters that visit your kiosk.

[–] other_cat@piefed.zip 2 points 4 months ago

Perhaps he could take a page out of the book of authors and publish a new game under a non-de-plume?

[–] overload@sopuli.xyz 2 points 4 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

He's in a tricky position but I'd like to see him create anything that he finds interesting. It doesn't need to be as refined as Obra Dinn, but it would be a shame if he didn't release something just because it's 75% as good as Obra Dinn.

Lucas Pope is a much smarter person than me, so I'm sure he'll make the right decision for him. I'm sure just making money doesn't mean all that much to him anymore.

[–] massive_bereavement@fedia.io 35 points 4 months ago

I'm going to miss his blog about game development, even if I don't intend to do it, reading about how he figured out how to do the Obra Din graphics was pretty rad.

[–] Ashtear@piefed.social 26 points 4 months ago

I heard the lead guy for HuniePop say the same not very long ago. He said the turnaround time for games made in regions with looser IP laws could be insane at times, and before you know it, your preview assets show up in some product.

[–] addie@feddit.uk 17 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Papers Please, Obra Dinn, and Moida Mansion creator Lucas Pope. Awesome free little retro-LCD game, if you haven't played it before? It's short, but it's got multiple endings and you can speedrun it. What more do you need?

[–] AnarchistArtificer@slrpnk.net 2 points 4 months ago

Thanks for the recommendation of Moida Mansion. I hadn't heard of it before, but I loved Papers, Please so much that I'm already sold on trying it.

(The Papers, Please theme has been my alarm tune for the last few years. Rather impressively, I haven't gotten sick of it yet — I suspect because every time I am woken to my haze of groggy misanthropy, it just makes me appreciate the song more, because it's so thematically appropriate)

[–] devolution@lemmy.world 14 points 4 months ago

Smart. Ethics are a thing of the past.

[–] wax@feddit.nu 7 points 4 months ago

~~Early Access~~ AI Access

[–] captain_aggravated@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago

I mean, valid.

[–] ArmchairAce1944@lemmy.ca 3 points 4 months ago

Good idea.

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago

this is so sad. he provided so much as a solo dev showing his work. check out his YouTube channel.