Hell is Us Interview - Creating Language to Envision Something New

·23 min·2 clips

Jonathan Jacques Belletet explains why he quit AAA games after 26 years to start a studio from scratch.

The episode is an interview with Jonathan Jacques Belletet, creative and art director on the game Hell is Us. He begins by recounting his career in AAA studios like Ubisoft and Eidos Montreal, where he worked on Deus Ex, Final Fantasy 15, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Belletet describes feeling unchallenged and deciding to leave to start a new studio with his friend Eve. They aimed to shift Rogue Factor from licensed games to original IP with a clear philosophy. He critiques the video game industry's trend toward massive budgets and unsustainable growth, advocating for studios to specialize like From Software or Platinum Games. The conversation turns to Hell is Us's design, where Belletet introduces 'player-plattering'—a term he coined for letting players figure things out without hand-holding. He explains how enemy design is metaphorically based on human emotions, with 'haze' representing emotions and 'hollow walkers' as their carriers. The game avoids traditional RPG stats, opting for progression through other means due to team feedback. Belletet details the setting: an invented country in 1993, mixing Eastern European civil war elements with English countryside for an eerie, fantastical feel. He acknowledges game tropes, like the protagonist finding gear that fits perfectly, with a wink to players. Combat is described as mid-core, currently being balanced based on playtest data, with planned difficulty options. The interview wraps with reflections on the game's development journey and the studio's focus on iterative design.

As heard by us

Hell Is Us ties emotion to enemy design and a combat balance still being tuned.

Jonathan Jacques Belletet's interview traces the path from long AAA experience to Hell Is Us, then narrows in on the game's core pitch: themes and allegory shaping both presentation and play.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You get a candid design-room look at how Hell Is Us lets emotion shape its enemies, puzzle flow, and still-moving combat balance.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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