Along with attending an exclusive presentation, GamePro Germany also held an interesting interview with Operation Raccoon City’s producer Masachika Kawata. The interview is translated below and ready for your reading pleasure:
Source: GamePro Print Magazine Issue 05/11 (GamePro.de)
GamePro: What makes Resident Evil special for you?
Kawata: The most interesting thing about Resident Evil for me always was its individual characters. They are what makes the series attractive.
GamePro: Which Resident Evil game is your favourite?
Kawata: I mainly enjoyed the first Resident Evil back in the day because you could use a real big rocket launcher for the first time (laughs). In addition, the original had a very bloody and brutal ending. Resident Evil 4 also delivered a lasting impression, because it’s an extremely well thought out game.
GamePro: How difficult is it to bring innovation into a series thats existing for such a long time already?
Kawata: At one point i knew that we needed to make a decision and therefore go for the risks to have a new challenge. Operation Raccoon City is not a real sequel to the series, instead it’s a spin-off. Thus we could risk a bit more. Hopefully we will leave behind some kind of legacy in the Resident Evil universe.
GamePro: How did it happen that Capcom hired Slant Six to develop the game?
Kawata: There where a few potential candiates for the job with different technologies and expertise. The decision of Slant Six however was flexible enough to fullfill our expectations. On top of that, the Slant Six team consists of many huge Resident Evil fans. That has kind of finalized our deal in the end.
GamePro: You have talked about going into risks with this spin-off. Survival Horror and Tactical Shooters aren’t really related. How did you come up with the decision to move the series into that direction?
Kawata: We worked 4 years on the last series title, Resident Evil 5. From a developer point of view such longtime projects are bound to be met with big restrictions. At the beginning, a solid groundwork has to stand. During the process of development genre trends can change, but then we cannot react to it or work arround it anymore. This can indeed be very frustrating. We wanted to create a modern game within the Resident Evil universe, so we decided to choose the spin-off Operation Raccoon City. Afterall it is no survival horror game, instead its a true-bread shooter. We want to guide the series into a different direction.
GamePro: Resident Evil 5 was heavily critized by many fans because it swept away too much from the Horror principles. Will the shooter mechanic of ORC even have place for Horror?
Kawata: There still are some horror elements in ORC. But Horror afterall is not the main topic of the game. Corresponding to this, hardcore fans of the series may not see it as a true Resident Evil title. Critic always happens. In terms of the entertainment value I am however confident that Operation Raccoon City will appeal to many people. Not just RE fans, but also shooter fans in general.
GamePro: What has changed about the horror in Resident Evil since dogs jumped through a window at an abandoned mansion in 1996?
Kawata: Not that much actually. Today alot depends on the setting of a game, on the environment in where the player is being put in. That of course doesn’t apply to the Resident Evil games, because the groundwork already stands on solid ground. ORC will not be the type of game where players will be afraid of what happens in the dark backyard, they rather might shoot into that dark backyard.
GamePro: The main claim of the game is: “Kill Leon Kennedy!”. Incase this works out it would send the series continuity into adsurdity. How does ORC re-write these canon Resident Evil events?
Kawata: The storyline is based on Resident Evil 2 and 3. The well known story will be expanded with new background informations. The player will have the potential and mission to kill Leon Kennedy. In the end the happenings in ORC will however not affect the main plot of the franchise.
GamePro: In ORC, zombies purposefully attack wounded/bleeding humans. How will this element be deployed during the course of the game?
Kawata: Instead of killing them via the conventional method, player have to rejoice. It can be helpfull to first observe the undeads as long as they haven’t discovered you yet. Where they are heading there could possibly be human enemies. I can also use the zombies for my own purposes by hurting human enemies and then relinquishing them to the humans, who in the meantime are distracted by me.
GamePro: Cruelty against humans? We are sceptic if the USK will agree to it.
Kawata: We are currently working on that with our lawyers. Didn’t they (USK) introduce a new system? Even GTA IV got a rating.
GamePro: GTAIV went through due to its satirical context. Recently there where massive problems with Dead Space 2 though. USK’s system sometimes is a bit obscure.
Kawata: I’ve worked on Resident Evil 5 and Darkside Chronicles which both got a rating from the USK, so hopefully that will also apply to ORC, since all good things come in threes! (laughs)
GamePro: ORC will already be released at the end of this year. How long is it in development already?
Kawata: Since over one year.
GamePro: Since we’re discussing progress: Can we expect a more horror orientated approach for Resident Evil 6? Like, we knew from Resident Evil 4?
Kawata: Right now, i cannot say anything about Resident Evil 6. I don’t even know if its in development. (the whole room full of Capcom employees begins to laugh). But: As you know, i am also working on Resident Evil: Revelations for the Nintendo 3DS and that will definitely focus on Horror. So on the handheld, the series walks on classic paths.
Source: GamePro Issue 05/11 ; GamePro.de
