VGTimes Interview with Producer of Steel Seed at TGS 2024: Cyborg-girl, Variable Gameplay, and What Tomb Raider and Uncharted Have to Do with It

Recently, a large-scale gaming exhibition Tokyo Games Show 2024 was held in Japan, which was attended by VGTimes editor-in-chief Rodion Ilyin. There, he talked to developers of not only large AAA games, but also visited the stands of small studios with very promising projects. One of these was Steel Seed from the developers of Storm in a Teacup, creators of Close to the Sun. Our editor talked about it with Alexander Kudishov, executive producer of the publishing company ESDigital Games.

VGTimes: Tell us more about your project, what is it?

Alexander Kudishov: Steel Seed is a stealth action adventure from the Italian studio Storm in a Teacup. The game's gameplay mechanics can be called a fusion of Tomb Raider and Uncharted, only with a touch of science fiction. The main character is a girl named Zoe — initially she is presented as a cyborg, but later, according to the plot, she learns her real history and finds out whether she is a robot or something more.

VGTimes: Is the game played alone, or will gamers be able to enlist someone's help?

Alexander Kudishov: Zoe will have a drone assistant, Coby, with a very important role — almost like R2D2 for Luke Skywalker in Star Wars. This companion can be controlled, passing through holes, making his way through various streets and bypassing levels, opening doors and hacking panels. He also helps in battle, he can be upgraded, like the main character. Coby will be constantly present — even when Zoe boards the ship, the drone connects and provides energy for flights.

VGTimes: How varied will the gameplay and combat be in Steel Seed?

Alexander Kudishov: Players will be able to complete the action in a variety of styles. You can either simply level up and destroy everyone in your path, or complete the same levels stealthily, using a strategy to eliminate opponents. There will be many enemies, including bosses. You will have to find your own approach to some opponents — stealth is applicable to some, it is better to kill someone from above, someone can be set on other enemies and then eliminate everyone by simply sneaking up from behind.

VGTimes: How is the game different from previous Storm in a Teacup projects?

Alexander Kudishov: Even though there are five people working on Steel Seed, it will be a AA-level project, no less. If you remember, the studio's previous game was the PC-exclusive Close to the Sun, which is now available on Game Pass, by the way. And Steel Seed will be a cut above.

VGTimes: What would you like to say to VGTimes readers in conclusion?

Alexander Kudishov: Add our game to your Steam wishlist, play the demo version — it is already available. And of course, we are waiting for your feedback, it is really important and necessary for us!

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So far, Steel Seed looks like a small but quite promising project, the release of which is planned for this year. So very soon we will find out whether Storm in a Teacup will manage to surprise the audience.

Interview conducted by Rodion Ilin.

VGTimes has been operating since 2011 and during this time has visited dozens of exhibitions and festivals, where our journalists have collected many exclusive materials. For example, in 2019 we got to a closed screening of Cyberpunk 2077 at gamescom, in 2017 we prepared a photo report from WG Fest, in 2020 we were at the largest gaming event in Central Asia CAGS, and also visited IgroMir several times, where we saw Hideo Kojima and other famous developers.