Ninja Theory’s Project: Mara is ‘a real world representation of mental terror’

Ninja Theory has announced Project: Mara, which studio co-founder Tameem Antoniades describes as “a real world and grounded representation of mental terror.”

The experimental project was revealed in the first in a new series of developer diaries from the Cambridge, UK-based studio which was acquired by Microsoft in 2018.

“It will be based heavily on research, interviews, and first-hand accounts to recreate the horrors of the mind as accurately and believably as possible,” Antoniades says in the video above.

“At the heart of it is the character that drives it. The game only features one character and one location. It is an experimental project and a showcase of what could become a new immersive storytelling medium.”

The developer diary also features details about two previously announced projects, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2 and The Insight Project.

The first is the Xbox Series X game revealed at The Game Awards in December 2019, while the latter is an exploratory project designed to treat mental suffering and encourage mental wellbeing within an immersive game experience.

With Ninja Theory gearing up to release Bleeding Edge in March, Antoniades says its three other projects will define the studio for the “next few years.”

“Each game will attempt entirely new experiences that push art, design and technology into new areas and each one will help lift the potential of the whole under one development umbrella,” he claims.

“What we are building is a new model for development, which we call Dreadnought, and just as we did with Hellblade, we want you to join us for the whole development journey, come what may.

“We have a new calling: to be different, to take more creative risks, and help inspire others to do the same.”

Commercial director Dom Matthews also says the studio’s 120 strong team has been rallied around a new mission: “To craft life-changing art with game-changing tech.”

According to Matthews: “With a 20-person team Hellblade proved that smaller, focused teams can deliver impactful games whilst delivering breakthrough technology. And this is a philosophy that we’re rolling out across the entire studio.

“The teams on all of these new projects combined will still be smaller than that of a typical AAA game.”