A few days ago, a rather interesting trailer for space action/adventure Delusion Out of Space appeared on the network, which, as it turned out, is being developed by the Ukrainian studio Unicore Studio.

The authors describe Delusion Out of Space as Lovecraftian space fiction with aliens using gas technology and a giant terraformer ship. The main character of the game gets on the ship of aliens, gets acquainted with its artificial intelligence and looks for a way to return home.

Unicore Studio was created in April 2020, and the release of the game is planned as early as the second quarter of 2025. But big Ukrainian games are always interesting, and space fiction is even more so, so we decided to ask a few questions to the head and co-founder of Unicore Studio, Vladyslav Tomaschuk.

Good afternoon, Vladyslav. Please tell us a little more about Delusion Out of Space.

Gladly! It all started with a small idea to make something similar to Homesick but on alien spaceship. The ideas grew and became structured so much that as a result, we saw that something more could be done from it. We have already developed the script and it turned out very well, all that remained was to implement it in the full game. In terms of gameplay, Delusion Out of Space is an exploration of a large alien ship, solving puzzles, and sometimes fighting enemies both on the ship itself and in space. We focus on a dynamic plot and an interesting narrative. It seems to look like The Medium + Scorn, but we are not tied to these games, but try to create our own unique universe and atmosphere.

How many people are there in Unicore Studio now?

At this stage, we have a small studio. In short, old friends got together and decided to make a new “experience” from the synthesis of their favorite games and movies. As a result, new friends were found. We found freelancers. Currently, we have four people in the main team and about 12 people working as freelancers.

How long has Delusion Out of Space been in development?

The idea of the game, the plot, and the code were developed for about three years, in the evenings after work. When it came time to create content, we went into an active phase that took about 10 months. At that time, only 3 people worked at full strength.

At whose expense is the game created?

There was a conditional “tension” with money, in general, we paid for the development out of our own pockets, plus we had a little help. But we still don’t have a full-fledged investor. Everything was done with the help of our own experience. When there is a good tool and the ability to use it, the result is quick and high quality.

Why UE4 and have you tried Unreal Engine 5 yet?

When the development of the game began, Unreal Engine 5 did not exist, of course. When we were already preparing for Games Gathering 2021 in Kyiv, only the alpha version of UE5 appeared. We tried to transfer the project to UE5 and in general everything turned out not bad, but we had to reconfigure all the lights from scratch. We just didn’t have time to study Lumen. As a result, we decided to leave this technical alpha demo on UE4. In addition, we were confident in the stability of this version of the engine.

What stage is the game at now?

Delusion Out of Space is currently in the technical alpha demo stage. It contains the basic concept of the game and the presentation of the mechanics, which we, of course, plan to polish. The base code is already written, it is stable and flexible. It remains to make a full version of the game and raise funds for it!

In general, our project survived the coronavirus, now it is going through a war… This game developer is staying under bombs. As we were making final edits to the music for this trailer with our sound designer, I heard explosions through his microphone. I think I will remember this for a long time.

Thank you for the answers, Vladyslav. Good luck with creating a game and finding investors! Well, of course, victory to all of us!