Lucas Pope on Making Games Out of Restrictions

The developer believes traditional games lack this mystery because all the elements are first listed as specifications, and you can clearly trace how the game was being constructed. Pope’s games are more unpredictable in this regard.

Moreover, he is sure game mechanics have to be introduced as the story progresses. “You can’t just implement a scanner that strips people naked for no reason.” But if there is a terrorist attack or smuggling, this is a different situation. Pope wants to give players the freedom to make decisions and face the consequences.

“Rather than explaining everything myself, I want to overturn the story in the players’ minds and create new developments.”

Overall, he thinks people love his games because they are different from what players are used to.