Skin Deep

The perks of stepping into someone else’s shoes.

- Philippa Warr

In development for just three months at the time of writing, Brendon Chung’s new project, Skin Deep, is exploring some interesting FPS territory. The game sees you take on the role of an elite security guard, hired to travel in cryogenic suspension alongside valuable spaceship cargo. Your job is to protect that cargo, thawing out whenever there’s a threat.

Chung’s plan for your newly thawed state is that you will have a weapon but no shoes – basically the opposite of a nightclub dress code. The shoelessness ties into Chung’s interest in making your avatar’s body more of a meaningful presence than the default FPS setup where you’re essentially a floating camera wielding a gun.

From watching a stream of Chung working on Skin Deep you can already get a sense of how important consideration of your body is as a result. Walking on glass gets shards stuck in your feet. You can stand with your back against a wall and lean against it while you pluck them out, or leave them in, which blocks off a bit of your health bar and inflicts damage when you take a step.