From Idea to World: The Origin Story of World Soul
Have you ever been so lost in a game that its world followed you into your dreams?
For me, that moment came on a frustrating night in the mid-90s, stuck on a puzzle in Myst. After hours of trying, I went to bed defeated, only to wake up the next morning with the solution crystal clear in my mind, a victorious echo from a dream. That feeling still gives me goosebumps, the feeling of a world so immersive it becomes part of your subconscious, of a challenge so satisfying it becomes a defining memory. This is the seed from which World Soul was born.
My own journey began outdoors, riding horses and exploring farms where fruit ripened on the stem. Video games were what we did when weather drove us inside, a different kind of adventure. From the simple joys of Pitfall on the Atari to my family gathering around our first Macintosh to solve the text-based puzzles of Forbidden Quest, games were always a shared experience. That shared experience is something I knew I had to build upon.
The Spark of a New World
My mind is rarely quiet. For years, I’ve been processing the news of our world: climate change, conservation issues, scientific advances, and the powerful motivations that drive humanity. A question began to form: What if, instead of reshaping the world to fit us, we were reshaped to fit the world?
For three years, that "what if" grew into a story in my head. A world where the U.S. government’s Habitation Expansion Act led to the creation of human-animal hybrids , and an extremist group, The Anthropocene Solution, responded by releasing a virus to wipe out pure humanity. In this new world, the surviving hybrids face a new threat: the gradual loss of their own humanity over generations. This became the central conflict of World Soul: a quest to reclaim the human soul before it disappears forever.
A Promise of Human-Crafted Soul
When I realized this story was too big to build alone, I started Wolfpack Game Design as a volunteer studio. The timing of this coincided with the beginning of a period of global volatility in the gaming industry, where layoffs are now happening on a weekly basis, to which many attributed to the rise of generative AI. It left a bad taste in the mouths of artists and developers who felt human creativity was being devalued.
Our team decided early on to make a stand. AI is a powerful tool, like the shift from typewriter to computer, but it should not replace the human spark. Our core philosophy is to create a game that is 100% human-crafted, from its art to its narrative. We believe this is essential to the game's central theme: that the human soul, the human spark, is precious and worth preserving.
And we're channeling that passion with discipline. We’ve built, and continue to expand, a comprehensive Game Design Document to guide our development in Unreal Engine 5. In an industry currently navigating the complex legal questions of AI-generated content, we believe our absolute commitment to human-crafted assets is more than just a philosophy—it's our commitment to quality and integrity. It’s our promise to players, partners, and ourselves that the soul of this world is, and always will be, genuine.
A Different Kind of Wolfpack
As the concept for World Soul grew, so did the team. Today, Wolfpack Game Design is a global collective of over 30 volunteers. They are junior professionals, students, and passionate creators who have come together to learn, to grow their resumes, and to build something special.
I am constantly amazed when I check our Discord after a few days away and see the collaboration unfolding—brilliant textures being shared, a character's backstory receiving praise, and our shared mood-board filling with inspiration. When I hear my peers say that younger generations don't want to work hard, I can only think of the dedicated people building this world with me, voluntarily.
Here at Wolfpack, we are trying to make a different statement. Together, we want to create something that benefits the whole, where every teammate is a valued collaborator, no more or less important than any other.
That, to me, is the real soul of this project.
What makes a game world feel truly alive to you?
Be sure to keep an eye out for our next post, where we'll explore how we're crafting a world that challenges players to think, not just fight. If you are interested in learning more, check out our other devlogs, or follow us on our socials!
