Hellblade developer shows realism of experimental game Project: Mara

Ninja Theory has given more details about Project: Mara. That’s an experimental title that the studio behind Hellblade is working on. In a video, creative director Tameem Antoniades shows how the studio wants to make the game’s environment hyper-realistic.

Project: Mara is set in one environment: an apartment that is captured down to the smallest details and must therefore look very realistic. Ninja Theory shows in a video how different materials are captured, by photographing and scanning them. Then shaders and 3d models are made from it.

Because the studio zooms in to the smallest details, surfaces such as walls and floors are also 3D objects. By also capturing imperfections such as dust particles, Ninja Theory wants to represent the environment as realistically as possible. The dimensions of the apartment and the objects in it are recorded with a lidar.

According to Ninja Theory CEO Antoniades, the studio is gaining many new experiences and the work on this experimental game also lays groundwork for future games. The studio also wants to apply the way in which materials and details are processed in other titles.

Project: Mara was announced in early 2020 and, according to Ninja Theory, is a “new kind of experience” that doesn’t feel like a game or a movie. The project has previously been described as a ‘realistic representation of mental terror’. With Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, the studio previously made a game in which psychological problems and mental health play a prominent role. The studio, which is part of Microsoft, is also working on Hellblade II.