'I Expect You to Die' DLC Release Date: Schell Games Talks Development of 'First Class,' Teases More Surprises
Now that the virtual reality (VR) downloadable content (DLC) for "I Expect You to Die" called First Class is out, the folks behind Schell Games talked about the development process.
First Class gives players the opportunity to take a much-deserved vacation after taking down Zoraxis, but before it could start, they are thrust in a dangerous new adventure when the journey there goes literally off the rails.
In an email to Games Beat, Schell design director Shawn Patton revealed that they have always wanted to include a train level in "I Expect You to Die" as part of the core game:
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Discussing the new level in April 2017, Matt Mahon, our vice president of engineering, suggested vacation gone wrong and the team liked that angle. Then we started talking about the Orient Express and the rest of the idea flowed from there.
Patton revealed that their initial concept for the "I Expect You to Die" DLC puts the player on a moving train, but it caused motion sickness so the idea was axed, which is why First Class ended up having a stationary environment instead.
It also brings in nonplayable characters to the fold and forced Schell to get creative since elaborate death traps cannot be used on a passenger train. Instead, they focused on integrating "external threats." As project director John Kolencheryl explained:
This important difference in the new level was not something we realized from the get go, but quickly became obvious as we started designing the level, and ultimately, made it a stronger level.
First Class is the first DLC released fro "I Expect You to Die," but of course it will not be the last, with Patton calling "I Expect You to Die" a "rich IP" for them:
We enjoy working on it and certainly would like to expand it. We have some exciting ideas for things other than just levels, but further development on the game really depends on how much continued fan support we receive.
