Prologue: Go Wayback! is an upcoming survival game from PlayerUnknown Productions, the team behind PUBG. It stands out for its enormous, randomly generated 100×100-kilometre map and tough survival mechanics like hunger, thirst, and temperature. The game’s scale and ambition make it an interesting project, but they also brought many challenges during development.
Brendan Greene, the creator of Go Wayback, shared in an interview with Epic Games that the most challenging part was figuring out if the game could work. “We didn’t have a serious plan,” he admitted. Early on, the leadership team lacked experience in game development and didn’t fully embrace Greene’s vision of a digital world on an Earth-scale. Greene came from a photography and graphic design background, so there was a steep learning curve for everyone involved.
After some initial hesitation, the team realized the vision was possible. Greene explained, “After 10 minutes of hemming and hawing, they were like ‘Oh wow, we can do this,’ and they came back with a plan.” The goal is to create a survival game where millions of players can experience a vast, realistic world that changes every time they play, thanks to generative AI creating new maps on launch.
Director Scott Davidson mentioned that Go Wayback will enter Early Access soon, with plans for an extended support period after launch. The Early Access phase will last over a year, followed by several years of post-launch updates. The team is still figuring out the details, but the main aim is to gather player feedback on the procedural maps and gameplay.
Greene also revealed that the revenue from Go Wayback is intended to fund their next project, Project Artemis, which aims to build a digital world the size of an actual planet. He hopes to protect the team from the pressure of making products to sell, which can sometimes stifle creativity.
Despite the challenges, Greene is optimistic about the game’s potential. He’s excited by emergent gameplay, where players create their own stories rather than following a set path. He imagines players becoming traders or warlords by controlling resources like iron in the vast world. From my experience playing the game, it’s more about survival and discovery than conquest, but the possibilities are intriguing.
Greene’s primary focus is to deliver a stable and enjoyable experience. “The gameplay is there. It still needs polish. It still needs balance. But I enjoy playing it, and there’s not a whole lot of games I enjoy playing,” he said.
Prologue: Go Wayback promises a fresh take on survival games with its massive scale and procedural generation. It will be interesting to see how players respond once Early Access begins and how the game evolves.
What do you think about the idea of a 100×100 kilometre survival world? Could you see yourself becoming a trader or warlord in Go Wayback? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
