Agustín Cordes emerges from his ASYLUM

• Interviews by Jack Allin
• Published:

Argentine indie developer Agustín Cordes broke onto the adventure game horror scene in a big way almost two decades ago with the spine-tingly Scratches. So it was with great anticipation that thousands of backers (full disclosure: myself included) helped finance his next project, ASYLUM, on Kickstarter in early 2013. Yes, 2013. That is not a typo. It’s been twelve years since the Lovecraft-inspired thriller set in a “massive, decaying mental institute” was first announced. But good things come to those who wait, and at long last the game is ready for launch, and we’ll be able to see for ourselves whether it was worth the wait. In the meantime, I recently had a chat with Agustín to talk about what’s been happening all these years behind the scenes, what we can expect of the finished game, and what makes his wonderfully demented, horror-loving mind tick. 

Hi, Agustín. Long time no talk to! But then, I guess you’ve been kinda busy. 

Agustín Cordes: Hi there, Jack! I guess you could say that, yes. “Kinda busy” is an understatement, though – more like caught in a spiral downward into madness. A good chunk of my life has been devoted to finishing this adventure game; I don’t know if you’ve heard about it…

I think I might have, and I believe I speak on behalf of all followers of ASYLUM when I say – in the most tactful way possible – TWELVE YEARS??!!  

Agustín: And not even twelve years, it’s been more like fifteen since we got started with this project. It’s been a long journey, almost like a pilgrimage, to get this thing done. There’s no question that plans didn’t turn out as expected – some factors and decisions were very much under our control, for example switching game engines during the project, but others such as finances and life also got in the way.

It’s hard from the outside to really appreciate all the challenges faced by small indie developers working with shoestring budgets, while still trying to deliver the best quality possible as technology rapidly advances. 

Agustín: Quality is an important topic these days. The bar has been set high, and today for a few bucks you can buy a AAA game released a few years ago that will yield 50+ hours of gameplay. The odds to compete in the current landscape are getting grim for indies, so we need to be smart and focused to survive.

No doubt the Senscape team itself evolved as the project ebbed and flowed over the years. 

Agustín: Most certainly, Senscape these days is a very different company. You could say that we matured along with ASYLUM, and in turn the game matured with us. There are currently twenty people working on the game, including community and PR efforts. This was unimaginable back when we started. Over the years we also honed our communication and production skills, always embracing remote work. The Senscape team has been spectacular; there is NO way this game could’ve been done without the amazing people that I work with. Working with cool people, as well as nurturing a welcoming work environment, makes all the difference.

Was there ever a time when you felt like you’d bitten off more than you could chew, or considered cutting corners just to get the thing done and out the door? 

Agustín: Right from the beginning, ASYLUM was always going to be an ambitious title, but we grossly underestimated just how ambitious. On the surface, it’s a different game than what we started doing all those years ago in terms of quality, eye candy and polish. Yet at its core, the game has always remained the same. It’s the content and script we always intended to do. I never considered cutting content, but at some point I toyed around with the idea of doing an Early Access. That was immediately discarded, though, as it would’ve ruined the experience.

No good ever comes from sacrificing standards, so now that it’s (nearly) done, I’m sure we’ll all be thankful that you remained committed to your vision. So tell us about that vision: What is ASYLUM? 

Agustín: It’s the game I always intended to do after Scratches, so in many ways it’s a spiritual successor. Not a sequel, but fans will appreciate many nods. I like to consider it as a love letter to the adventure genre: ASYLUM is stubbornly anachronistic, insisting on the same pseudo-3D gameplay style of Scratches, but tweaked and polished to the extreme. Its design has more in common with Infocom text adventures, even, with intricate maps and characters following their own agenda.

So, I guess you could say that ASYLUM is a fairly personal game, with a large number of influences ranging from The Lurking Horror, to King’s Quest, Dark Seed, Zork Nemesis, and so much more. This is the last game of its kind that we’re doing, for real, and one of my desires is that fans perceive it as a trip down memory lane as well as the end of an era.

I personally consider Scratches the scariest game I’ve ever played in which you’re not in any actual danger, so you set a high bar for yourself. How does ASYLUM compare with Scratches? 

Agustín: While similar, the game doesn’t intend to emulate Scratches, rather aiming to leave its own mark in the adventure genre, with a different atmosphere, attitude, and lore. The script is quite verbose (54,000 words, nearly three times as much as Scratches), so fans who like to explore and get different types of feedback everywhere are in for a ride. The game area is also estimated to be three time as big as Blackwood Manor. However, the playtime is not a massive difference – around ten hours, maybe fifteen if you take your time to slowly explore everything.

Where would you say ASYLUM falls on a scale of goosebumps to needing to change one’s underwear? 

Agustín: I’m not sure if it’s going to be as scary as Scratches. Or rather, ASYLUM is a different kind of scary: it slowly gets under your skin, with a growing sense of dread that I believe will put many players on edge. You could say it has different goals than Scratches, which was more romantic in its treatment of horror.

So let’s manage expectations: not goosebumps. I’m going for something different this time. There will be scary moments, guaranteed, but the impression that ASYLUM leaves may not be what you expect. You may not need to change your underwear, but you may want to cuddle under the sheets in sheer despair after you’re done with the game.

One of the most obvious differences between the two games is that instead of taking place in a creepy old house, this game takes place in a creepy old mental institution. Tell us about Hanwell. 

Agustín: And that’s pretty much where the difference ends. Yes, it’s a towering mental institute vs. a Victorian mansion, yet both, in their own way, serve as the same main purpose: they are the antagonists of the story. Blackwood Manor had one advantage in that, despite the mysterious corners and that disturbing basement, the house evoked a feel of melancholia. Hanwell Mental Institute is much darker and foreboding. It’s mean and foreboding. Seemingly abandoned, as you’ll find out…

You’ve been very tight-lipped about the story of ASYLUM, and I totally get why. These sorts of games really benefit from going in blind. But unlike Scratches, it appears that you won’t be totally alone in ASYLUM. 

Agustín: That is correct, and we’ve been very open about that fact. The denizens of the Hanwell Mental Institute are a big part of the story. My message to players who are somewhat disappointed that they won’t be “alone” like in Scratches is perhaps that they should manage their expectations again here; as I said earlier, ASYLUM wants to be a different kind of experience, not a mere Scratches clone. However, I can assure everyone that you will feel a sense of isolation and dread.

So the gameplay is still very much classic point-and-click adventuring. Did you consider a move to full 3D at all? (I can practically hear people groaning at the thought of another couple years’ development to implement that!)

Agustín: Yes, very classic, and as I said earlier, stuck in time by design. That might sound derogatory, but it’s a fundamental part of the whole package. And it doesn’t mean that it plays like an old game. Quite the contrary: controls are smooth, we’ve been testing it on the Steam Deck, gamepad support. It feels like a long-lost game that is only resurfacing now, and… you know what, it’s a bit like that. I think ASYLUM is launching at the best possible time – in more ways than a mere sense of nostalgia. It’s obvious that we’re proud of this game, ha.

THAT being said… Yeah, at some point we tested moving the game to full 3D. It was nuts, way more than switching engines, more than two years, and it would’ve been a different experience. I’m 100% convinced that ASYLUM is now the game that it was always supposed to be. We could have negative reviews all over the place, and I’d still be happy. That’s how satisfied we are with the game.

I seem to recall Scratches being fairly puzzly. Will there be a decent amount of challenge in ASYLUM? 

Agustín: It’s challenging, yes, but I think less than Scratches, which is fine. That game has a funny story behind it, since I designed for the core community of adventure game fans with really twisted puzzles, yet it blew out of proportion. Many more people than planned enjoyed the game, even newcomers to the genre, who used walkthroughs to simply appreciate the story. I’m still shocked by the amount of people that got started with gaming altogether with Scratches. That’s one scary thought.

So, in the case of ASYLUM, I wanted an overall more welcoming experience (to an extent). I think it’s going to be more challenging than recent adventures, but quite less challenging than Scratches. Hopefully a sweet spot that everyone can appreciate. We’ll see!

With a much bigger environment to explore this time, how do you manage to keep players on track so that it feels open-ended yet still somewhat directed?

Agustín: That’s a great question, because last year, during beta testing, we found that the whole design was too nonlinear. Way too open, to a point where testing (both from backers and internal team testing) became unmanageable. I’ve said that ASYLUM is reminiscent of Infocom games in many ways, and certain aspects of the game flow were very freeform, to a point in which the storytelling didn’t make sense. As stated before, we did not remove content, but did streamline the experience following that critical feedback. There was too much freedom and wandering around. And that’s a lesson learned from Scratches: the first day always felt a bit disjointed, with seemingly aimless exploration, yet only when the story picked up the game really evolved. We have thoroughly addressed this issue with ASYLUM, and I believe it works – there is quite a bit of open-endedness, but the progression of the story always comes first.

No matter how good the other elements are, perhaps the real key to your games is atmosphere. What, in your mind, is the secret to effectively conveying a sense of terror or dread without relying on too many jump scares or overt threats? 

Agustín: The allure of the mystery first. You need to get people hooked. Everyone talks about horror when it comes to both Scratches and ASYLUM, but I think that first and foremost they work as mystery games. We get you hooked, you want to keep playing, because you want to find all the answers, we even provide some comedic relief along the way, and then… when you lest expect it… BAM. We catch you by surprise. ASYLUM is slow burning, a constant crescendo towards madness. I wasn’t too concerned on designing plain scary moments this time but rather working towards the conclusion. The way the seeds are planted (by revealing key pieces of information little by little) is fundamental to achieve this goal.

You’re obviously a big horror fan. On a personal level, who or what would you say are some of your biggest influences in the genre? 

Agustín: H.P. Lovecraft for sure. But that’s obvious by now, and I have spoken at length about Lovecraft in the past. You’ll notice the influence for sure, yet in many ways ASYLUM is the opposite of Lovecraft. Can I elaborate on that? No.

Then David Lynch, whose parting this year has shocked me to no end. Selfishly, being a huge fan of Twin Peaks: The Return (the best thing that ever happened on TV, by the way), I was expecting just one more work from him. But he’d already given his best. For me, it was like losing a sort of beacon in the world, akin to David Bowie’s passing (ironically, both of them during January). I know it will be difficult for many people who may not have connected with these artists to understand my feelings (i.e.: yeah, yeah, celebrities die every day), but Lynch has been a huge influence in how I approach art.

Then there’s J.G. Ballard. I like to think the stuff I do is getting more Ballardian as I grow older, and I think it’s because I’m slowly learning to perceive what he was trying to say in his seminal works. Even something abstract, disjointed and downright brutal like The Atrocity Exhibition makes more sense these days, because that’s exactly how the world feels now.

Impossible not mention David Cronenberg (yes, another David). There’s one movie from him that influenced ASYLUM quite a bit, and I only realized that recently.

I can’t wrap up this list without mentioning Christopher Priest, who passed away seemingly without anyone noticing a few years ago. His works on the matter of identity and perception of reality have been huge influences for me, notably The Inverted World and The Affirmation.

You mentioned a few games earlier that influenced you. Have you played any others that you felt really nailed the horror vibe? 

Agustín: Sure. I’m a fan of Silent Hill 2 too, although (I can feel the laser beams pointing at my head as I say this) it hasn’t aged well. I still must try the remake, though.

There is one game, though, that I believe truly nailed horror with the sort of abstract design that is a perfect match, focusing on the aspect of “interactive experience” rather than gameplay: The Dark Eye. That’s a masterpiece. It’s not scary, just a damn good game, from the obsessive narration of William S. Burroughs to the surreal touches that assault you when you least expect them. Hint: teeth.

No lasers here, as I absolutely agree with you on both counts, especially Inscape's The Dark Eye. How would you say those kinds of influences have shaped you as a designer, while still striving to have your own voice? 

Agustín: I don’t think much about my own voice. There’s probably one, but I don’t want to overthink that. I like to believe that I’m genuine, and at the same time blessed with the ability to do what I honestly want with my games. That’s a damn privilege these days, and I (quite sincerely) feel guilty. Most boring answer ever, I know.

I think that’s how it should be, though. Being genuine is what makes your voice YOUR voice, and you really don’t need to think about it. But surely it can’t be all horror, all the time. When you’re not thinking of twisted, diabolical ways to frighten the bejeebers out of people, what sorts of things interest you personally? 

Agustín: Twisted, diabolical movies that attempt to frighten the bejeebers out of me but fail. I really like the 80s, though. 80s music, 80s movies, 80s everything. Synthwave. Oh, and progressive rock too. Bands that I greatly appreciate are, for example, Genesis, Talk Talk, King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator, Tool, The Sound, The Comsat Angels, Sonic Youth, Pink Floyd, Bark Psychosis… Modern ones include The Midnight, Gunship, Le Cassette, FM-84, The Diogenes Club. I listen to a lot of music; it’s the fuel of life.

How about the broader gaming scene in Argentina? It’s perhaps not an industry hotbed, exactly, but there seems to be a regular stream of developers with promising new projects from your country. 

Agustín: It’s brimming with activity and incredibly cool games! Hopefully we’ll keep attracting interest. Recently, Storyteller made a big splash both on Steam and Netflix. Now we’re eager to play Tenebris Somnia, which has been signed by New Blood. Other notable recent titles, especially for adventure game fans, include Slender Threads. Overall, it’s an exciting community with talented people who deserve much more worldwide attention – and we’re getting there!

It’s never a fair question to ask a developer “what’s next?” when they’re just finishing a game, let alone one that’s been in production for a decade-plus, but now that the finish line is in sight, have you given any thought to… well, what’s next? 

Agustín: We have something in the works already. There’s a small strike team developing that project. I don’t want to say much at this stage; this is finally the moment for ASYLUM. But the next game has been decided. It’s going to be narrative adventure at its core, yet quite unlike anything we ever did before. It’s an exciting project, and I can’t wait to tell you more about it when the time comes.

Ooh, I can’t wait either! But I what’s next for us is finally getting our hands on ASYLUM. Where can we do that? 

Agustín: Steam and GOG. We had a brief delay because we re-implemented the protagonist’s voice-over based on feedback from the community, but development is under tight control this time. Look for the game launching on Thursday, March 13th. Yes, 2025 – this year.

Thanks so much for taking time out to chat, Agustín. It’s always a pleasure, and I hope many adventure game fans are looking forward to the game as much as I am. I wish you all the best with your launch, and open the floor to you for any final words to would-be ASYLUM seekers (so to speak). 

Agustín: Thank you very much for this interview; I had a great time answering the questions. Here’s hoping fans will enjoy ASYLUM as much as they enjoyed Scratches! Cheers!

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