While some inspirations for Penguin Colony are obvious (shout-out to The Thing’s title drop), it’s always interesting to dig below the surface and find lesser-known works that stick with developers. Director Naphtali Faulkner has a lot of stories on his mind when it comes to his mind-bending penguin-sliding experience, so today we’ll focus on a very specific one in particular.
We love to talk about Lovecraft’s influence, but some of the horror in Penguin Colony can be directly attributed to Siren, created by legendary director Keiichiro Toyama and the team at Japan Studio.
Also known as Forbidden Siren in Europe and Australia, this cult-classic PS2 title is remembered for its punishing difficulty and somewhat confusing, nonlinear navigation. Following the success of Silent Hill 2, Toyama left for Japan Studio, where he would create the Siren and Gravity Rush series.
Siren's influence can be seen in Penguin Colony’s sprawling, desolate arctic environments. The game’s HUD is minimalist, and as a penguin, you cannot change the world around you. Your only move is to slide, swim, or waddle your way out of danger as you observe the horrors and madness unfolding before you.
“Siren’s setting is fascinating. Seemingly out of nowhere, the rivers up high in the mountain become blood. Fog rolls in as the ‘curse’ of the shibito returns," explained Faulkner.
“The shibito begin as parallels to mindless zombies, but begin to become more bug-like as the game progresses. This traditional gore brings us to the origin of the curse, Datasushi, a beautiful god-like being which glows blue. I hope you see the parallels to this in Penguin Colony.”
(Image of Shibito via Siren Wiki)
Players of Penguin Colony’s demo will remember the mind-blowing sign of madness inflicted on the humans who have gotten close to something deep inside the Arctic. What could be causing these abnormal events? There’s only one way to find out this October, and it starts with wishlisting Penguin Colony on Steam today!
If you’d like to learn more about Penguin Colony’s inspirations, check out this interview with Naphtali over at The Guardian!