Silence in the kampung

Local studio Spacepup Entertainment ventures into the unknown to deliver us a bone chilling tale set in rural Malaysia in their upcoming game, Tell No One. 

MALAYSIANS love horror stories. After all, there’s no shortage of folk stories passed down generation to generation of ghastly creatures like the Pontianak, Orang Minyak, Langsuir and Hantu Kum Kum. 

Hoping to make their mark on the global game scene, local independent studio Spacepup Entertainment is looking to give gamers a good scare in their upcoming survival horror game, Tell No One — but with a local twist. 

SPOOKY LIGHTS: It is not everyday that your typical Malaysian kampung gets featured in a horror game.

The studio’s founder Yuen Wai Leong explained that it was their vision to deliver a horror game that reflected South-East Asian culture, something that has not been explored in games. 

While most horror games are primarily set in your typical American city or abandoned town, Tell No One is set in a remote kampung (village) in Malaysia where strange incidents and ghostly apparitions plague the village folk. 

According to Yuen, players will need to explore the village to find clues as to why these strange incidents are occurring. 

Investigative reporting 

You play as a female journalist tasked with investigating the mysterious disturbances in the kampung. 

But as is the wont with these horor games, all is not as it seems — the deeper your investigation takes you, the more sinister forces menace the once tranquil village and turn it into a living nightmare. Trapped with nowhere to run, you have to solve the mystery before it is too late. 

DON'T LOOK BACK: Ghosts like Pontianaks will pursue you throughout the game.

As a journalist, your character will not be equipped with any weapons of any sort. Not that conventional weapons will work against the supernatural anyway, but you are not provided with any means of defence against the dark forces. 

Your only option? Run away as fast as you can! 

“You will come across several kinds of ghosts and entities — some are just messing around with you while others are really out to harm you,” Yuen says. 

Virtual reality 

Tell No One is also one of the first Malaysian videogames to support the upcoming Oculus Rift virtual reality.

Yuen likens the experience of playing Tell No One with the Oculus Rift to stepping into a virtual haunted house, heightening the heart-thumping scares. 

 

“When we showcased the game at the last Comic Fiesta convention in Kuala Lumpur, many people were eager to strap on the Oculus Rift headset to be fully immersed in the game. Some even came back to play the game multiple times despite it being a three minute demo,” he said. 

Spacepup Entertainment plans to release Tell No One by the end of next month, though it plans to give players advanced access to the game by early February. 

No price has been set yet but the game is said to be playable on both PC and Mac. 

Tell No One by Spacepup Entertainment is one among several other games under the 1337 Accelerator programme, which is being funded by the Ministry of Finance.