ROUTINE: An Indie Horror Game Over a Decade in the Making – Developer Interview – IGN First

When Routine was first revealed at Gamescom in 2012, it immediately caught attention with its eerie sci-fi atmosphere and striking retro-futuristic visuals. More than a decade later, the long-awaited survival horror game is finally nearing release. Sitting down with two of its three developers—project lead and head of art and design Aaron Foster, and artist and designer Jemma Hughes—the mood was one of relief, pride, and quiet excitement.

“We’ll have gone gold in just a few days,” Aaron said with a grin.

The story behind Routine is a familiar one in indie development: a small team chasing a passion project, learning hard lessons, and enduring long stretches of uncertainty. What began as a solo effort evolved slowly, shaped by both creative ambition and real-world hardship.

“Routine started as a very simplified, atmospheric, slight-horror game,” Aaron explained. “I wasn’t a programmer at the time—I was an environment artist. I wanted to make a game using what I knew.”

"I grew up in the 80s watching VHS tapes, and that aesthetic never left me."

That influence is everywhere in Routine: the hum of fluorescent lights, weathered textures, boxy technology, and a deliberately lo-fi vision of the future. Aaron described imagining what the game might have looked like if it had actually been made in the 1980s—and building everything from that perspective.

When Hughes and programmer Pete joined the project, the scope expanded significantly. Early screenshots gained attention, audio support followed, and the 2012 reveal trailer cemented Routine as a cult favorite-in-waiting. Then, unexpectedly, development stopped.

“There was quite a long delay due to personal reasons,” Aaron said. “We were close to going bankrupt and had to step away and work on other projects just to survive.”

Development would not resume until 2020, and when it did, the team faced an entirely different landscape. The tools had changed. The engine had changed. Their understanding of the game had changed.

Originally built in Unreal Engine 3, Routine had to be restarted from scratch in Unreal Engine 5 using C++. Rather than seeing this as a setback, the team embraced the reset as an opportunity to refine their vision.

Combat was reduced. The narrative was rewritten. AI systems were redesigned. The goal shifted toward a more deliberate, tension-driven experience that emphasized vulnerability over power.

One of the most important changes centered on the C.A.T.—the Cosmonaut Assistance Tool.

Originally conceived as a weapon, the C.A.T. was transformed into a true multipurpose device. It’s now the player’s primary means of interacting with the world, evolving over time as new modules are discovered.

“We didn’t want a ton of modules,” Aaron explained. “We wanted each one to do multiple things. The ultraview module, for example, works as both a blacklight and a flashlight. Each module has tradeoffs.”

"The C.A.T. is kind of like your phone, a camcorder, and a flashlight all rolled into one."

Beyond mechanics, the setting itself became a renewed focus. Routine takes place on the moon, and the developers were determined to make sure players never forgot it. Earlier versions leaned too heavily on interior spaces, diminishing that sense of isolation. The revised design constantly reinforces the moon’s vastness, emptiness, and quiet menace.

That atmosphere is amplified by the game’s primary threats: the Type 5 robots. These towering machines patrol the station, activating unpredictably and forcing players to rely on stealth rather than confrontation.

“The Type 5s are repurposed riot control robots from Earth,” Aaron said. “They’re meant to be intimidating. The smaller service robots exist to help—that’s why they look friendly.”

Interestingly, only one Type 5 robot is active at any given time, a design decision tied directly to the game’s narrative. Many players won’t even realize this, spending long stretches hiding from inactive machines—something the developers admit they find amusing.

In a modern gaming landscape filled with constant tutorials and hand-holding, Routine takes a different approach. The game expects players to observe, experiment, and learn on their own.

“We don’t guide you through everything,” Aaron said. “We want players to figure things out themselves. There isn’t much like that anymore.”

As someone who spent a significant amount of time stuck on a single puzzle during the demo, that philosophy is very real.

Before ending the conversation, I asked what advice they’d give to indie developers just starting out.

“Work on something you genuinely care about,” Aaron said without hesitation. “If you care about it, you’ll see it through. It might take longer than you expect—but caring is what gets you to the end.”