Unrecord
{{short description|Upcoming video game}}
{{mdy|date=August 2024}}
{{infobox video game
| title = Unrecord
| image = Unrecord_logo.svg
| alt =
| caption =
| developer = DRAMA
| publisher =
| series =
| engine = Unreal Engine 5{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Ben |title=Unrecord: The game that looked too real to be true — until now |url=https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/pc-gaming/unrecord-the-game-that-looked-too-real-to-be-true-until-now |website=Windows Central |language=en |date=21 April 2023}}
| platforms = Windows
| released = TBA
| genre = First-person shooter
| modes = Single-player
}}
Unrecord is an upcoming first-person shooter game developed by DRAMA. The game received media attention when the developers released an early gameplay trailer in April 2023 showcasing the photorealistic graphics.{{Cite web |last=McWhertor |first=Michael |date=2023-04-20 |title=Police bodycam shooter Unrecord shocks viewers with its unsettling realism |url=https://www.polygon.com/23691482/unrecord-bodycam-fps-steam-unreal-engine-5 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420202312/https://www.polygon.com/23691482/unrecord-bodycam-fps-steam-unreal-engine-5 |archive-date=2023-04-20 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}
A release date for the game has not been announced.
Gameplay
According to the game's press kit, Unrecord is a "tactical and narrative" single-player first-person shooter described as a combination of the adventure game Firewatch and the tactical shooter Ready or Not.{{Cite web |last=Killian |first=Zak |date=2023-04-20 |title=Indie Cop Game Unrecord Looks So Stunningly Realistic Its Gameplay Trailer Is Freaky |url=https://hothardware.com/news/unrecord-indie-game-stunning-graphics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426112511/https://hothardware.com/news/unrecord-indie-game-stunning-graphics |archive-date=2023-04-26 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=HotHardware |language=en-us}} Although realism is an "integral" part of the game, DRAMA have stated that Unrecord is not intended to be a simulation game.{{Cite web |title=Studios DRAMA // UNRECORD - Official website |url=https://studiosdrama.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422132700/https://studiosdrama.com/ |archive-date=2023-04-22 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Studios DRAMA |language=fr-FR}}
Players will assume the role of a tactical police officer viewed primarily through the perspective of the character's police body camera. According to the game's Steam page description, the game's story will be comparable to a "detective novel or a thriller" with the player investigating several criminal cases and interacting with various characters through a dialogue system.{{Cite web |title=Unrecord |url=https://store.steampowered.com/app/2381520/Unrecord/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614124010/https://store.steampowered.com/app/2381520/Unrecord/ |archive-date=2023-06-14 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Steam |language=en}}
Although the body camera perspective is stated to be a key part of the gameplay experience, the developers have noted that accessibility options and adjustable camera settings will be implemented to reduce motion sickness.
Development
The game is currently being developed by DRAMA, an independent video game studio established by French musician Théo "Foda C" Hiribarne of the French rap group {{Interlanguage link|Columbine (band)|lt=Columbine|FR|Columbine (groupe)}} and amateur Unreal Engine developer Alexandre Spindler. Michele Evangelista later joined the team as a level designer and environmental artist. Unrecord will be the studio's first official video game.
On October 12, 2022, Spindler posted a video on Twitter of a then-unnamed "body cam style game" that he was developing.{{Cite tweet |number=1580225720361832448 |user=esankiy |title=I'm working on a body cam style game #unrealengine #gamedev #indiedev |first=Alexandre |last=Spindler |author= |date=October 12, 2022 |access-date=April 26, 2022}} The 45-second gameplay video went viral with 9.8 million views as of April 2023, with film director Neill Blomkamp praising it as "awesome".{{Cite web |last=Gech |first=Ethan |date=2023-04-20 |title=Police Bodycam Game Explodes, But Not Without Doubt And Controversy |url=https://kotaku.com/bodycam-fps-police-shooting-unrecord-unreal-engine-1850358473 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420183241/https://kotaku.com/bodycam-fps-police-shooting-unrecord-unreal-engine-1850358473 |archive-date=2023-04-20 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Kotaku |language=en}} The viral success of the video prompted DRAMA to accelerate the game's development and announce the game earlier than expected to avoid losing momentum.{{Cite web |date=2023-04-20 |title=Post-reveal: Response to questions and concerns from players |url=https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2381520/view/3731837715777257210 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420123846/https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/2381520/view/3731837715777257210 |archive-date=2023-04-20 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Steam News |language=en}}
On April 19, 2023, DRAMA officially announced Unrecord with an early gameplay trailer uploaded on YouTube.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvVNzsJyB0 |title=Unrecord - Official Early Gameplay Trailer |date=19 April 2023 |language=en |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230609004540/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qvVNzsJyB0 |archive-date=2023-06-09 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}} The trailer shows the player character slowly entering a dilapidated building before chasing after and engaging in shootouts with several unidentified gunmen whose faces have been pixelated. After fighting through a warehouse, the player confronts a surrendering man before being interrupted by a large explosion. As of 2023, the video has gained 20.8 million views on Twitter.
The same day, the game was also made available for wishlisting on Steam and a press kit with additional information was made available to the public. In a post-reveal blog post on April 20, DRAMA stated that Unrecord is only being developed for PCs but remain open to the possibility of console ports. The game however is not being considered for development as a VR game. Within a week of its announcement, DRAMA announced that Unrecord was wishlisted by more than 600,000 Steam users despite not having an official release date.{{Cite web |last=Kicevski |first=Angel |date=2023-04-26 |title=Unrecord blazes through 600,000 wishlists on Steam in just one week |url=https://www.futuregamereleases.com/2023/04/unrecord-blazes-through-600000-wishlists-on-steam-in-just-one-week/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Future Game Releases |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426133411/https://www.futuregamereleases.com/2023/04/unrecord-blazes-through-600000-wishlists-on-steam-in-just-one-week/ |url-status=live }}
Explaining how the studio achieved realistic-looking scenes, Evangelista explained that the environment was not scanned, but was created using megascans, Unreal Engine marketplace assets, and bespoke assets made by the developers.{{Cite web |last=Maiberg |first=Emanuel |date=21 April 2023 |title=Why Your Next Video Game Will Look Like a Body Cam Video of a Police Shooting |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/why-your-next-video-game-will-look-like-a-body-cam-video-of-a-police-shooting/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422001326/https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvjzkz/why-your-next-video-game-will-look-like-a-body-cam-video-of-a-police-shooting |archive-date=2023-04-22 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Vice |language=en}}
= Reactions to gameplay trailer =
The first official trailer of Unrecord garnered widespread media attention for its realistic graphics and presentation. Michael McWhertor of Polygon described Unrecord as "unsettlingly real", Tyler Wilde of PC Gamer deemed the graphics "freakily photorealistic",{{Cite news |last=Wilde |first=Tyler |date=2023-04-20 |title=The freakily photorealistic 'bodycam FPS' we glimpsed last year now has a trailer and Steam page |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/unrecord-announcemen/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420012522/https://www.pcgamer.com/unrecord-announcemen/ |archive-date=2023-04-20 |access-date=2023-04-26 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}} and Christopher Castellaw of Game Rant said the trailer was "nearly indistinguishable from real camera footage."{{Cite web |last=Castellaw |first=Christopher |date=2023-04-19 |title=Realistic Bodycam FPS Game is Causing Controversy on Social Media |url=https://gamerant.com/bodycam-fps-unrecord-controversy-social-media/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Game Rant |language=en |archive-date=2023-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420155643/https://gamerant.com/bodycam-fps-unrecord-controversy-social-media/ |url-status=live }}
The realistic depiction prompted accusations that Unrecord's gameplay trailer was faked using actual body camera footage or a pre-rendered tech demo. Crytivo founder Alex Koshelkov called the trailer "very, very fake" and accused the developers of simply overlaying assets on a real video.{{Cite web |last=Simmons |first=Nathan |date=2023-04-20 |title=Unrecord's Hyper-Realistic Graphics Are Blowing People Away |url=https://www.svg.com/1263731/unrecord-graphics-blowing-people-away/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=SVG |language=en-US |archive-date=2023-04-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420174709/https://www.svg.com/1263731/unrecord-graphics-blowing-people-away/ |url-status=live }} In response, Spindler posted a video showing the game's environment within the Unreal Engine user interface to prove that the game is a first-person shooter with free movement, and not an interactive film or a rail shooter.{{Cite news |author1=Wilde |first=Tyler |date=2023-04-20 |title=Unrecord dev posts noclip video to prove the realistic bodycam FPS isn't 'fake' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/unrecord-dev-posts-noclip-video-to-prove-the-realistic-bodycam-fps-isnt-fake/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230420185533/https://www.pcgamer.com/unrecord-dev-posts-noclip-video-to-prove-the-realistic-bodycam-fps-isnt-fake/ |archive-date=2023-04-20 |access-date=2023-04-26 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}} IGN also independently verified that the gameplay trailer is real by downloading the same Unreal Engine 5 level assets used by Unrecord for the 2022 trailer, which were compiled by BlueDrake42.{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.ign.com/videos/the-unrecord-gameplay-looks-unbelievably-realistic-so-we-played-the-ue5-level-it-was-built-on |title=The Unrecord Gameplay Looks Unbelievably Realistic... So We Played The UE5 Level It Was Built On |date=2023-04-23 |language=en |access-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230423171243/https://www.ign.com/videos/the-unrecord-gameplay-looks-unbelievably-realistic-so-we-played-the-ue5-level-it-was-built-on |archive-date=2023-04-23 |url-status=live |via=IGN}}{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU7YX5SY8zY |title=This game looks like REAL LIFE... and now its FREE TO DOWNLOAD!? |date=16 October 2022 |language=en |access-date=2023-04-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614124614/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CU7YX5SY8zY |archive-date=2023-06-14 |url-status=live |via=YouTube}}
Criticism was also levied at the game's realistic presentation for being almost too similar to real life body camera videos of police shootings, particularly in the United States. Twitch streamer Trainwreckstv commented that trailer made him as "uncomfortable" as if watching a real leaked video of a military or police operation, adding that the game's graphics may legitimize political opinions arguing that video games condition young people towards violence.{{Cite web |last1=Mwamba |first1=Ramazani |last2=McCrum |first2=Kirstie |date=2023-04-24 |title=First-person bodycam shooter Unrecord has some gamers concerned |url=https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/gamers-concerned-over-realistic-first-8383292 |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=HullLive |language=en |archive-date=2023-04-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230425220108/https://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/gamers-concerned-over-realistic-first-8383292 |url-status=live }} Keza McDonald of The Guardian noted that because the game exists in the context of real-world police violence, it is still inevitable that players will bring their own interpretations to the game.{{Cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Keza |date=2023-04-26 |title=Pushing Buttons: Is the brutal new police 'bodycam' shoot 'em up game too indistinguishable from reality? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/apr/26/pushing-buttons-unrecord-game |access-date=2023-04-26 |issn=0261-3077 |archive-date=2023-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230426113814/https://www.theguardian.com/games/2023/apr/26/pushing-buttons-unrecord-game |url-status=live }}
Responding to allegations that Unrecord had either a pro-police or anti-police agenda, DRAMA posted a statement on Steam stating: "As a French studio addressing a global audience, the game does not engage in any foreign policy and is not inspired by any real-life events." The studio further added that Unrecord will avoid "undesirable topics such as discrimination, racism, violence against women and minorities" and "will have no biased or Manichaean take on criminal acts and police violence."
See also
- Bodycam, another first-person shooter game notable for its realistic graphics
References
{{reflist}}