Boundary interview with Surgical Scalpels

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Almost three years ago, Chinese developer Surgical Scalpels announced that they were partnering with PlayStation to bring the ambitious Project Boundary to PS4 and PS VR. Now the tactical, zero-gravity online FPS is back simply as Boundary ​and focused on a standard (non-VR) launch.  We recently spoke to Surgical Scalpels Co-Founder, CEO, and Technical Director, Frank Mingbo Li, about these changes and much more.

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by Sam Sant

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@SlamShotSam

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Interviewee
Surgical Scalpels
Co-Founder, CEO, and
Technical Director,
Frank Mingbo Li

Can you tell us about how being a part of PlayStation’s China Hero Project has impacted Boundary's development? Have Sony been involved in the creative process at all?

Without China Hero Project, it would be really difficult to reach where we’re at now, the support has been hugely vital to us as a small indie developer. Developing on console is different than on PC, [so] CHP resources definitely moved some of the hindering aspects for us in that respect and supported us through its funding initiative.

​Sony has been supportive but did not provide any [input in the] creative process, that’s been left to us and the ideas we want to bring to the game. This is why we love CHP, which supports and believes in bringing a developer's vision to life and to a much broader audience.

The game was previously demoed with full PlayStation VR support; was the decision to move to a standard PS4 release difficult for the team to make? Would you still like to see this as a VR-supported release later on?
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Boundary has always been designed from scratch as [a] standard PS4 multiplayer game. VR was one of our later prototypes we made back in 2016 when VR tech started becoming very popular. However, because we are a very small team, VR wasn't implemented primarily because time and studio resources . . . meant we could only really focus on one thing, which in this case was to make the game we planned  - a standard PS4 tactical multiplayer shooter.

​But never say never, we’d love to get VR back if we have enough resources. We are the type of developers who love any form of entertainment technology, including VR.

There's an incredible level of detail on display in Boundary's new trailer.

You’ve changed the game's title from Project Boundary to just Boundary since the original announcement - can you offer any insights as to why you made the switch?

Project Boundary​ internally [refers to] a [development] project and was more focused towards the game as [an] actual project we were working on, rather than anything related to a back story or some sort of secret initiative or organisation within the game itself. Changing it to just Boundary made more sense for the full release and kept it simple yet intriguing at the same time.

​What new ideas are you bringing to the tactical FPS genre? Is there anything in particular that PS4 players can look forward to that they can’t experience in other shooters on console?

Well, there’s the Gyro assist aiming system. According to some gamers who tried it [at] PSX in 2017 . . . it was one of the standout features, [since] console gamers can finally play an FPS without fearing PC gamers' mouse advantage.
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We also [have] a very cool feature which lets you customize the ammunition in your weapon clips between armor piercing, high explosive and EMP rounds. I haven't really seen that level of customization in a tactical FPS so that is something else we're bringing to the table.

Will we ever see Boundary on non-PlayStation platforms?

Yes, we have a vision to deliver Boundary to PC and other platforms if all goes well. We’d love to see Boundary on more than one platform if we’re able to, but right now we want to make sure we are delivering a solid player experience on PS4.

​Can we still just expect to see Boundary launch sometime in 2019, or do you have a more specific release window to share?
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The whole team is working very hard in targeting a 2019 street date. We know its a pretty big year in gaming this year and [there's] lots of work for us to do in the meantime, but we’re pleased with the progress so far. ​

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Thanks to Surgical Scalpels' Frank Mingbo Li for taking the time to talk to us.

If Boundary sounds like your thing, keep an eye out for its releases on PlayStation 4 later this year. In the meantime, get every details on the game fresh from its (re)reveal.