Indie developer Lucas Pope, known for Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, is withholding details on his upcoming projects out of concern over AI. He shared this stance during a recent podcast appearance. Pope hopes the situation changes soon.
Lucas Pope explained his reluctance to discuss work in progress on the podcast Mike & Rami Are Still Here, hosted by No More Robots co-founder Mike Rose and Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail. He said the current climate makes him wary of sharing ideas too early, fearing they could be 'slurped up by AI' or copied by others. 'It's not a hard rule. It's just I got a feeling about that,' Pope noted, expressing hope that 'that sort of breaks' so he can open up more freely in the future. He remains fond of talking about his projects but feels the situation has changed recently. Pope has a history of successful indie titles, including browser games like The Sea Has No Claim and Unsolicited, as well as Mars After Midnight for the Playdate console. He described his hits Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn as pushing his luck and pondered whether to end on a high note. 'Do I really want to maybe just go out on a high note? Why drag myself down with the next thing that people may not like?' he asked. Pope feels fortunate with those games' focus on narrative, gameplay, and mechanics. No details have emerged about Pope's next project, and his comments suggest information may not surface until it nears completion.