Alternate History, Immersive Philosophy, and "Cute Girls": The World of Peripeteia

At Digital Dragons, we met the development team behind Peripeteia, a fascinating Polish immersive sim that skillfully blends history, sociology, and post-communist culture into a dystopian alternate history (Poles are obsessed with alternate history, after Cronos). The game's title itself, derived from the Greek peripeteia (the sudden reversal of the protagonist's fortunes in classical tragedy), reflects the project's nature: a declared homage influenced by milestones like Deus Ex and Splinter Cell.

In this interview, the creators guide us through an alternative future born from the ashes of a nuclear conflict, where Poland moves as a resilient organism in the power vacuum between East and West. In addition to exploring the deep philosophical and ideological framework of the title – designed to respect and reflect players' diverse worldviews – the team describes unique gameplay dynamics. These range from a strong verticality in levels to a grid-based inventory based on the real physical shape of objects (where an AK-47 magazine fits like a Tetris piece). Finally, the developers talk about their genuine connection with their community of artists and hint at their role as publisher for Hiroatona, a second and bizarre comic book project dedicated to the American Revolution.

The Meaning of Peripeteia and Polish Alternate History

We are here on the first day of Digital Dragons with a game that combines Polish history and society with many cultural and sociological insights. The game is called Peripeteia, correct?

The correct Polish pronunciation is Peripeteia. It's a word that actually exists in many languages, derived from Greek. It indicates the moment of a sudden change of circumstances in a Greek play, when the character gets into trouble and their entire world is turned upside down. It's a very appropriate concept, similar to deus ex machina, given that our game is openly a "clone" of Deus Ex. In English, it's not a very popular term, while in Polish it's a common idiom: "Oh, we've fallen into Peripeteia."

The game explores a Soviet future that touches on themes like hyper-materialism, post-communism, religion, and Polish messianism. Tell us more.

Actually, it's an alternate history. It's the future, but a future seen from the past. It's an approach similar to that of the original Ghost in the Shell manga or Neuromancer: a vision of the future born in the '80s or '90s.

In reality, we were lucky: in Poland, the transition from communism to democracy happened peacefully, without bloodshed. In the Peripeteia universe, however, the situation was much more chaotic and disastrous. It's a post-nuclear exchange world where the great world powers have lost control. Central governments are like headless chickens, automatons following ideologies that are no longer applicable. In this scenario, Poland represents what it has always been historically. There's a comparison with the Germans: Germans are like a well-oiled, efficient machine, but if you remove one gear, everything collapses. Poles are like a plant: it grows, proliferates, does what it can, and pushes its way through cracks in the concrete. If you break off a branch, it keeps growing. Poland here is a survivor, a nation that finds itself in a power vacuum between East and West. The game's aesthetic is heavily based on the 1920s, the interwar period, and the Sanacja movement that governed Poland in those years, albeit in a somewhat romanticized version. Even the protagonist's name, Marie, is a veiled historical reference.

Different ideologies coexist in the game. You explained that it's not about imposing a truth, but about allowing the player to choose how to view the world. How did you develop this aspect?

The reason lies in the genre the game belongs to: the immersive sim. Our biggest influence is Deus Ex. There's a famous anecdote about Warren Spector: sometimes he would meet fans who told him "Oh, how could you create this terrible right-wing propaganda?", and five minutes later another fan would arrive saying "This game perfectly represents the left-wing point of view!". This happened because the developers had approached every worldview with total respect. It's important not to alienate the audience. If a player represents a certain point of view, they must be able to feel at home. We respect different views, and every player's decision is fine with us. We give different options so that anyone can feel comfortable with their choices, offering the possibility of taking a completely different path in a second playthrough.

Gameplay Mechanics: Verticality and the "Physical" Inventory

So much for the lore and social construction of the game. Mechanically, what is Peripeteia like?

Mechanically, it started as a tribute to Deus Ex mixed with a tactical shooter. That's why we included the fluid lean system for peeking around corners. Another huge influence was Splinter Cell, evident in the stealth mechanics. You can approach every problem pacifistically and avoid conflicts. There's still a lot of work to do on level design; not all areas are optimized for stealth, and shadows need to be perfected (which is why we're in Early Access), but one thing we took from Splinter Cell is the ability to move while clinging to ledges.

The original prototype I created in 2019 made this transition incredibly fluid. We realized this opened up totally original ways to traverse levels. The entire game is built around verticality: maps expand greatly in both width and height. If you see a ledge, you can climb it. My wife, who is also the CEO of the studio, spends hours playing and discovering new places without ever getting bored. The challenge is to make the levels adapt to Marie's versatile move set. The enemy AI isn't super intelligent, but it's very satisfying to emerge from the shadows, take them from behind, or jump down from ledges.

I also noticed hacking mechanics and a very peculiar inventory management.

Yes, the inventory is one of our strong suits! Initially, we wanted a classic standard grid with square and rectangular items. However, a friend of mine suggested making it more complicated. At first, I was angry, thinking the classic system was perfect. So, to prove to him that his idea was stupid and impractical, I took the real silhouette of individual objects and created a grid that represented the exact physical shape of the item. Well... it worked perfectly in the end! It's not a totally unprecedented idea; games like Resident Evil 4 had already done something similar, but the fact that the object in the inventory is a faithful physical representation of how it appears in the game world is quite rare. Some love it, some hate it, I find it fantastic. The best object is the AK-47 magazine: it literally has the shape of a Tetris piece due to its curvature, and it has become the symbol of this system.

The Connection with the Community and the Parallel Project

If you go online, you immediately notice the great support you have from the community. What is your relationship with them like?

We give a lot of space to fans. If there are artists who want to show their work on Twitter, we love to share their creations. We constantly ask for feedback on what to change, and managing all of this on Discord is a priority. We've created a place where people can make friends; some couples have even formed on our server! We don't just talk about our game, but we share inspirations, talk about life, or other titles. We wanted a space where people could feel at home. Many corporate Discords forbid you from talking about competitors; here, other games are welcome.

The most special part of the community is the artistic side. Marie is a cute girl, and people love to draw her. We strongly support those who draw, create music, or 3D models. They've built an environment where they exchange advice and constructive criticism to improve their skills.

One last question: you are also working as a publisher on another game titled American Revolution, by the artist Hiroatona. What is it about?

Yes, we're publishing this project by our friend, Hiroatona. He's a very prolific artist on Twitter, known for his beautiful historical-themed drawings. He's a big history enthusiast, and being American, he loves the period of the American Revolution. He now lives in Italy with his wife and is a true patriot, but he wanted to represent that era in an ironic and lighthearted way, given his cartoonist style. It's not a heavy historical reconstruction, despite being very accurate in details. Since he specializes in drawing "cute girls," his motto for the game is "Date a State": each American State is represented by a charming personification that reflects its values and stereotypes, and the plan is to make them all... courtable! We'll see how many will be available at launch.

Splendid! Where can we find the game and how can we try it?

You can find it on Steam, on our website, and on other recommended stores. The important thing is that there's a demo available. It's not a game for everyone, but we believe that if you spend a few hours on the demo, you'll spend dozens of hours on the Early Access version. The full game will only be released when it's truly ready; we don't make promises about dates. If you don't like Early Access games, simply try the demo, and if you like it, wait for the full release.