They say inspiration comes from anywhere. But, as much as we might believe this, some sources of inspiration can still surprise. Case in point, The Callisto Protocol took inspiration from a certain pineapple-living sponge from under the sea.
Although Nickelodeon isn't above the very rare creepy and scary SpongeBob SquarePants episode, you don't typically associate the squishy yellow rascal with gore. However, Glauco Longhi, the game's director, told The Sun that he used cartoons for inspiration. Specifically, he used SpongeBob as an example of what the studio used for the animations and enemies in The Callisto Protocol, saying:
Even some cartoons, like SpongeBob. We look at cartoons on stylization and movement because, although it's super real and immersive, we stylized a lot of things to make them more appealing. So some of the movements, and in the case of the gore, the blood, and how we remove the limbs, there's a push of style to emphasize some of these actions. Cartoons do that very well. Disney, Pixar, or whatever – they give you the message right away. If there’s a fast character, you get it right away [from the] strong silhouettes.
It's certainly interesting to hear the perspective of someone using something we commonly associate with children and applying it to something literally banned in other countries.
The Callisto Protocol is the brainchild of Glen Schofield, who co-created Dead Space. It will serve as Schofield's first game with Striking Distance Studios, a subsidiary owned by Krafton.
In the lead-up to The Callisto Protocol's launch on December 2, we're starting to learn more about the game. Unfortunately, not all have been good. For example, while you could argue it's good news that The Callisto Protocol is banned in Japan due to excessive gore and violence, the developers are also locking some of the death animations and violence behind a paywall. The latter is making fans worry that it will start an unsavory trend in the gaming industry this decade.
Speaking of Dead Space, The Callisto Protocol's forefather is getting a remake launching on January 27.
