One More Level: From God’s Trigger to the GOTYs. Interview with Radosław Ratusznik

During the SteelWorks Game Fest in Krakow, we had the chance to attend a variety of workshops hosted by some of the biggest names in the Polish video game industry. Among them, one was organized by One More Level, the team behind the Ghostrunner saga.

Radosaw Ratusznik, Game Director of the cyberpunk series, shared insights into how a title like Ghostrunner is developed and the challenges the team had to face; sometimes resorting to out-of-the-box solutions, such as using a French bulldog to voice the “Creep” spider-like enemy, famous for terrifying the players.

At the end of the workshop, we sat down with Radosaw and asked him a few questions about One More Level’s growth and their upcoming projects.

In April 2019 you released God’s Trigger, and just a year later Ghostrunner hit the market. Two completely different games, both in genre and ambition. How did that leap happen?

(Smiles) You know, it was incredible for us too. When I think about how it all came together and how it was even possible, I realize just how risky it was.
When we switched from Unreal to Unity, our goal was to reach the highest quality, both technically and graphically. We’ve got an extraordinary Art Team at One More Level that really wanted to show off their talent.

The Ghostrunner prototype was created at the end of 2018, so technically the game was developed over two years. But the team actually started working on it only after the release of God’s Trigger in late April 2019; so yeah, the game was made in a year and a half.

The development followed a clear vision. We didn’t want overly complicated gameplay, but something refined and full of details. We wanted a solid, well-defined core.
Usually, there's a moment in game development where you throw in every feature you can think of. Well, we skipped that part. We focused only on a few specific mechanics and tried to perfect them.

Then came Ghostrunner 2, which earned a nomination for Action Game of the Year. What lessons did the first title teach you that helped shape the sequel?

The first Ghostrunner taught us a lot and laid the foundation for many mechanics we later introduced or improved in the sequel.

For example, even during development of the first game, we wanted a title that was easy to pick up and instantly dropped players into the action, especially on handheld consoles. We wanted a game you could play through a few checkpoints and then put down.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t possible in Ghostrunner 1. When we proposed a more structured checkpoint system, our programmers told us it would require several more months of work.

Back then, we were working through the COVID lockdowns. We were stuck at home, but what kept us going was the belief that we were working on something big.
When we showcased Ghostrunner at Gamescom 2019, the positive feedback from players and critics made us realize we had something valuable on our hands.
That feeling was reinforced during a Steam event where we received thousands of positive reviews.

That’s when we understood we had to stick to our planned release window and focus on polishing what we had, but we kept track of all those features, like checkpoints, that we knew would make it into Ghostrunner 2.

When people think of Polish video games, The Witcher usually comes to mind, its medieval-fantasy vibe, or even dystopian futures. But you chose cyberpunk. Why?

To be honest, when we saw what CD Projekt was doing with Cyberpunk 2077, we got swept up in the hype. The concept was amazing, and the marketing campaign was on another level.

But they were making their game, and we were making ours. Despite some similarities in setting, Ghostrunner is not meant to be a copy of CD Projekt’s work.

At One More Level, we’re all fans of cyberpunk style. Around that time, Blade Runner 2049, Ghost in the Shell, and Netflix’s Altered Carbon had all recently come out. There was this feeling that people were really getting into the genre, so we thought: why not? And we had a blast doing it.

During your workshop, you referred to Ghostrunner’s progression as Evolution, not Revolution. The second chapter clearly builds on the first, what can we expect from a third?

As of now, Ghostrunner 3 is not in development. If it happens, it’ll be a mix of the best elements from the previous titles. Personally, I’d like to keep the intensity of the first game without losing the innovations of the second, so something in between.

Of course, fans are asking for new mechanics, like co-op modes. Maybe! We’ll see when development begins.

Silent Hill 2 Remake gave a real boost to the Polish games industry, especially smaller studios. As a larger studio, do you at One More Level feel this increased attention?

Actually, the spotlight started with The Witcher 3. Then came 11 Bit Studios, Ghostrunner 2 (smiles), and now Bloober with Silent Hill 2 Remake. But that’s not all; every year there are at least a couple of great games coming out of Poland, both from big and small studios

.
The fact that Konami trusted not CD Projekt, but Bloober in Krakow, and that they delivered a great product, is a very positive sign.
You know, we may be competitors in some areas, but when a Polish studio makes a great game, it’s always a win. It means big publishers can trust Polish developers.

In recent weeks, 11 Bit Studios faced backlash for using AI in The Alters without telling fans. What’s One More Level’s position on AI?

It depends. If there are tools that can help us reach better results, especially in the prototyping phase, then I think it’s natural to use them.

However, when it comes to voice acting or writing, at One More Level we use, and will continue to use, real people, with the goal of creating something unique. Not the result of scraping thousands of datasets from the internet that ends up sounding boring.

Humans are magnificent and unique. We want our games to be recognized as One More Level titles thanks to the creativity and touch only people can bring, their tastes, their passions.

So yes, it’s okay to use AI for mechanical tasks, but when it comes to creativity and art, we want real people.

In your future are Cyber Slash and Project Swift. What can you tell us about them?

On our socials we’ve shared a teaser image and a bit of music from Cyber Slash, but that’s it so far. It’s a new project, I can tell you it’s a first-person game, but very different Ghostrunner. It’ll be an action game, but with a different setting, different environment, and most importantly, different gameplay.

As for Project Swift, we’re far from revealing anything. It’ll be in line with our previous titles but might feature some innovations, such as co-op elements. We’ll see.
Cyber Slash will come first, and then we’ll unveil Project Swift.
The only thing I can promise is: you’re going to have a great time.

_______________________________________________________________________

With that promise of fun, we let Radosaw go, but not before getting one more promise: that we’ll talk again soon, maybe next time at One More Level’s offices.