Ted Price interviews Harry Kruger, Game Director at Housemarque, about their recently released game Returnal. They discuss Housemarque's organic creative process, gameplay design decisions, procedural construction, combat, and the challenge of randomness in a roguelike. They also explore the nostalgic and magical experiences of arcade games, the evolution of roguelikes, changes for Housemarque post-pandemic, the concept of difficulty and the satisfaction of overcoming obstacles, designing off-screen enemy attack behavior, and the decision-making process behind allowing players to keep items after death in Returnal. They also touch on the marriage of design and narrative in the game.
