Invisible, Inc - Interview @ Indie Game Insider

Game Designer Jason Dreger is interviewed by Indie Game Insider about his game Invisible, Inc. Some of the topics include the games name change, and stealth tactics.

Can you tell me a little bit about the basic premise of the game and what has changed since showing Invisible, Inc. at PAX Prime?

So when we started it we knew we wanted to make a stealth game, like a stealth tactics game — tactical espionage as we call it. It’s really easy to put a lot of combat features into a tactical game, even if you mean it to be stealth; I feel like it is probably overdone. So we’ve been spending a few months trying to really double down on stealth. The current build that we are working on is even more extreme in the stealth aspect [than the playable build at PAX East]. Things like there is no more health, one hit and you are down. We are really focusing in on that and seeing if we can push it that far.

Last time I saw the game it was known as Incognita. Now it is Invisible, Inc. Can you tell me about the rebranding of the game?

Sure, so whenever we would talk about it with our friends and media 80% of the time they would forget what the name was. They’d be like, “What is it that you’re working in?” and we’d have to remind them. The other 20% that would remember would say something like “Incognito” or something similar so it was just too much trouble that we were dealing with in marketing to get that straight. Coming up with a name that was easier for people to remember was important for us.

What is the background and lore behind Invisible, Inc. right now?

So Incognita is still in the game. It’s this artificial intelligence. It’s this dystopian, corporate future and you’re working for an agency that is investigating the corporations, and it’s been really hard to get in. You get this message that’s from the inside; someone has information they want to give you. So you bust in and you rescue them, but it turns out it’s this hard drive, this AI, and you install it and it takes over your base computer. It’s sort of holding you hostage and telling you it knows how to deal with the corporations and it is sending you on these missions to complete its main mission. That is the start of the game.