I believe Mikami and associates probably wanted to see the pleasure of tension increase more by way of environment (graphics) and mechanics (capability of player + enemies), with original 4 plans. Simple enough to say but I also trust that meant more at first than making the enemies more weaponized, and the player more combat capable.
Their fresh perspective coming from the natural limitation partial intention of the classic REs and tank controls, pre-rendereds, led to a complete new take on player aim, camera, etc etc. So they made waves through that process, and thereâs no going back, and plenty good came of it.
But aside from the early SHs as you mentioned, assorted other one offs and indies, big budget trip AAA horror equivalents generally donât exist that
pedestal surroundings
allow mastery of movement only with time and self-application
incentivize enemy avoidance or dodging
keep plot and exposition light or for perusal
inventory and resource management
navigation expedience study
Iâm probably forgetting a good few things atm. Actually this does sound like one series but that still relatively aims to empower the player to a great degree.
Anyways maybe Toups is romanticizing some Mikami/early RE, maybe not. Between the Evil Within 1+2 I got the impression heâd like to get even wilder with immersive scares but is bound to making sure players donât feel too overwhelmed or at a loss toward their opponents.
If the insistence on keeping players feeling in control could be loosened, while being attached to their avatarâs disadvantage (and sold). That would be sweet.
Sure, Iâm not arguing that there isnât good in classic, RE-descended survival horror. I donât consider Evil Within to be all that successful, although it has a lot of good elements, but it feels like it cowers under the weight of Last of Us (from which it is most clearly derived) and canât figure out how to use that to create classic survival horror encounters nor RE4-derived action.
I think RE-derived survival horror died out for a good reason and the modern replacements, especially the Amnesia-descended focus on hiding and body immersion, are very strong in a lot of ways and cleaner designs, but there are definitely aspects of long-term anxiety that were modeled through scarce resources that weâre not getting.
Resource scarcity, like time limits, are brittle designs that work very well if players are meeting halfway but fail to a lot of player behaviors. Itâs a shame because theyâre so good at shaping with a marriage between player and game.
i remain wary of any âthis is what we could have hadâ based on snippets of footage. RE 1.5 fans have masturbated years to the idea of it being THE resident evil game, but we donât know what we donât know.
still, I donât think it was ever as visionary as the original, sorry.
also, as far as the campiness is concerned, most RE games havenât been campy by design, at least not that much as they come off in the western versions. they are quite self-serious. much of it has simply been a combination of awful localization and japanese being japanese. i have to find the sources, but if Iâm not mistaken, all the campy stuff in the series has been because of Shinji Mikami to begin with as well. there were even more ludicrous ideas thrown around for RE1 by him, for example. itâs only because they brought in some other members that the camp was significantly toned down and some internal consistency for the universe was sought for.
Just as an exercise I will disagree. Had RE-Remake been released on PS2, it would have sold like gangbusters and we wouldâve gotten the cool version of RE4. Also, the popularity of the Souls formula provides some evidence that old school RE Design is still viable with its emphasis on a slower pace, floppy combat, atmosphere and scouring every inch of a gated environment in search of scarce resources.
In my mind those games have a ton of old school survival horror in their DNA.
Hmm, Iâve never considered the Souls games to feel like survival horror, but dungeon crawls. This doesnât ring true to me but itâs worth thinking about the heritage.
(seriously though the âghost spooksâ in the early RE4 demo do not read like effective encounters to me, thereâs not effective escalation and itâd run out of tricks quickly)
(it could be. there is tension in managing your dwindling resources vs. trying to find another save point, which to me is the key in survival horrorâŚbut also in a good dungeon crawl. so itâs messy)
In my head Rain World is an inflection from Metroid 2, removing all aspects of player empowerment, rather than the back-and-forth of Metroid 2, but with the same world construction and hostility. The playerâs been reduced enough that it really sets in the âpreyâ mindset, but it does feel distinct from modern experiences moving towards that, like Amnesia or Alien: Isolation â itâs not built around moments of tension and hiding but a pervasive oppressive sense.
Like you say, Rain World or Metroid donât have a long-term resource game as much as a âtrek to shelterâ game, which is pretty different (and much more manageable).
" Youâre perhaps best known for your work writing the scenario for the original Biohazard. Can you tell us a bit about how you came to be involved in this project?
I joined the project in mid-development. Originally, there were no humans in the game, just cyborgs! It was supposed to be a horror game, still, but by having these Terminator-style characters, it just wasnât very scary at all. I decided to change up the characters. The initial draft had a mad scientist-like doctor who was doing freakish experiments. I ended up redesigning the characters who would wind up having defining roles in the game, like Chris, Jill, and Wesker, as well as creating the Umbrella Corporation as an enemy, and concepts like the T-virus. I also wrote all of the diary entries and files you find throughout the game."
Rain World is more long-term resource-y since you have to manage food vs. hibernation, plus your, uhâŚsymbol? that goes down every time you die.
I agree though, itâs not REALLY survival horror. It FEELS like it to me though, specifically because of the plodding enemies that quickly dart when in close range, the long warnings you get before even encountering an enemy (that sometimes fail and you just drop right into a screen and have to run like hell to get away), the dwindling resources in the world (that, yes, do respawn but slowly), and just like, being totally powerless. These all read survival horror to me, but in practice itâs much more dungeon-crawly.
In other words, instead of running in fear and managing resources, I generally find myself doing deeper dives into the âdungeonâ based on previous experiences and better knowledge.
IMO the obtuse puzzles in the early RE series are a big part of what made it good.
Everyone complains about them, but they did SO much to add an eerie, surreal filter to the environments which SHOULD have felt familiar to the player. Having to find a regular old key to get through the door to the kitchen feels normal, having to put intricately carved medallions into a statue feels strange and almost otherworld-y. Like this was a normal place once, but something else has made roots here and is affecting minds.
Iâm really good at pushing expensive purchases on people when I get enthusiastic but I donât know if itâd be nearly as good if you already played it through once
Itâs pretty much extra gravity, been hovering over that purchase button a while now aaannd I recently got a good deal on a Pro, so funds from selling the first PS4 will help justify it.