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The Quarry, the upcoming narrative horror game from Supermassive Games, will have multiple endings. And when we say multiple, well, we really mean 186.
Each ending will depend upon choices you make in the game with the non-playable characters. These endings could result in life or death, as the story will change depending on said choices – all of which are included in a 1,000-page script.
Speaking with IGN, the game’s director, Will Byles, discussed the amount of work that goes into such a “mathematical nightmare”. And the large amount of work wasn’t only thrust upon the developers themselves, but the game’s actors as well.
“Writing a branching narrative is a really interesting exercise,” Byles told IGN. “We write a full, hundred-page screenplay as if it were a movie. We develop our character styles, and once we’ve got that, then we can start looking at how we break that out into a full 10-hour experience.
“Actors are used to, on a feature film, a hundred-page script, so when we send the actors the scripts they get very alarmed because they’re huge. The script for this is over a thousand pages. We have to shoot about 50 pages a day, which is unheard of. It’s just a mad amount of footage. But obviously, a lot of what they’re learning is the same thing again and again and again, but a different branch.”
How these branches will work, is there are both large and small decisions to be made in the game. And thanks to smart placement, such as making a decision with only a few other characters around, a larger group of characters will continue to play things out normally because they are unaware of your decision.
Bigger choices will “significantly affect the story,” said Byles, and these decisions affect the other characters. But there will also be dozens of smaller choices that affect the story that you’re playing, such as relationships. And the outcome of every decision you make, be it big or small, will be announced to you so that you know how you have affected another person or how it has affected the bigger picture.
Set to release on June 10, The Quarry takes place on the last day of Summer Camp and the teenage counselors of Hackett’s Quarry decide to throw a party to celebrate. Unfortunately for them, blood-drenched locals and something “far more sinister” will turn a night of partying into a night of horror.
In the game you will play as each of the nine camp counselors which are played by actors such as David Arquette (Scream), Ariel Winter (Modern Family), Justice Smith (Jurassic World), Brenda Song (Dollface), Lance Henriksen (Aliens), Lin Shaye (A Nightmare on Elm Street), and more.
The game also features the ability to play with up to seven friends in online play where invited players watch along and vote on key decisions, creating a story shaped by the whole group. Or, you can play together in couch co-op where each player picks a camp counselor to control.
It features adjustable difficulty, and if you would rather watch things play out rather than play, Movie Mode lets you enjoy the game as a cinematic thriller. All you have to do is decide how you want the story to unfold, kick back, and enjoy the horror.
The Quarry will be made available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.