Invincible Presents: Atom Eve is the first original game based on the comic books series written by The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman, and it does an excellent job at presenting a compelling tale centered around one of the most interesting characters of the series, Atom Eve.
Following our pre-release hands-on time with the game, we had the chance to talk with the game’s Creative Director Jill Murray, discussing the game’s excellent combat system, the influence the TV Show may have had on the game, the game’s choices system, and more.
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve is based on a popular comic book series that is now
seeing an increase in popularity thanks to the Amazon Prime TV Show. Did you feel the
pressure of delivering an adaptation that fans of the original work could fully embrace?
I’ve had the honour of working on a good number of dearly beloved IPs, and it’s always such a
joy to dig into everything that’s been created before, find out what fans love, and look for new
ways to surprise them. For Invincible Presents: Atom Eve, we’ve got a wealth of material to
work with, from the original comics, to the Prime Video series. Our priority with this game is to
bring you Eve’s world, from Eve’s perspective. We’re going to be looking at some familiar
events from the comics and the show, with the twist that now they’re seen through her eyes–
but we’ve also got a few surprises that are unique to her. This is a game for fans who want to
feel what it’s like to be Atom Eve.
Has the TV Show influenced development in any way?
The Atom Eve special episode came out in July, so we expect a lot of Invincible fans to be
coming into this already knowing a fair bit about Eve (or if you haven’t seen it yet, now’s your
chance!) At the same time, players who haven’t seen the show can also start with this game,
and hopefully get excited to see more of the Invincible story when they’re done.
The game features an in-depth choice system that influences the development of the
story. Does the game feature different endings based on the choices made throughout
the game, and if so, how easy will it be to experience all of them?
The game is set up as 10 episodes, and rather than saying “we have X endings, try to find them
all” we’re giving players layered ways to “choose” things. There are dialogue choices to
influence the course of Eve’s relationships and decide how she feels, there’s an RPG system,
where you can guide her growth along three different lines- Empathetic, Creative or Firebrand–
and finally there’s combat, where you interact with antagonists and gather XP, which play back
into the other parts of the game. So you’re talking to people, you’re fighting, you’re leveling up,
maybe you’re flirting with someone, then you’re fighting again. There’s a lot of variety, and you
have the most influence over Eve’s relationships and feelings. But at the end of the day, if
Universa wants to attack Earth, she’s going to attack Earth, and you’re just going to have to deal
with it. That’s kind of the job of being a superhero!
Invincible Presents: Atom Eve features some role-playing game mechanics that make
the game deeper than a regular visual novel and feel like an integral part of the
experience. How did this come about?
Atom Eve is such a complex, well-developed character. She’s powerful, creative, she has a lot
of empathy and always wants to do her best for humanity, but at the same time she has this
wonderful, spontaneous, sarcastic side. Our RPG system takes these qualities and puts them in
players hands, so you can decide “I think I’d like my Eve to play up her sarcasm” more or “I
think I want to lean in to her empathetic qualities.” (Or maybe you just want her to have a very
big sword!) The game is ultimately a coming-of-age story and the RPG system lets Eve and the
player try out different approaches to life together.
The game’s turn-based combat system is, in my opinion, one of the highlights of the
experience, being straightforward yet deep and challenging at the same time. It is also
one of the features that sets Invincible Presents: Atom Eve apart the most from other
visual novel titles. How do you expect the visual novel crowd to accept such unusual
mechanics, at least for the genre?
I’m so glad you noticed the combat balancing! That’s something our combat designers at
Terrible Posture Games, Christian Beckhäuser and Marek Zeman have worked on with a lot of
love and intention. We wanted it to be inviting, and to put Atom Eve’s powers in players’ hands,
and give them a chance to think like her when she’s up against enemies. We also wanted
combat to be a key way to share the character of our antagonists– how they move, what
weapons they use, and how they trash talk (thanks chiefly to our writer, Mary Arroz). The whole
experience is designed to keep you enjoying the story throughout the fights, even if you don’t
play a lot of games with combat.
Will the series continue after Invincible Presents: Atom Eve, possibly focusing on
other characters from Robert Kirkman’s series?
I don’t know what Skybound will do next. But maybe I could go rogue, turn green, age
backwards, and make a fangame about Monster Girl?
Thanks for your time!
