First-person mode, a fixed camera, and a freaky new enemy
Continuing the Resident Evil 2 developer roundtable discussion, Capcom has shared more insight into the remake’s production. This time, they’re talking heated discussions, Easter eggs, and cut content.
On the former topic, the artists were at one point envisioning a more military-themed aesthetic for the Tyrant, but they eventually settled into a look more befitting a city environment. Thank goodness!
An unsettling new “jump-scare” enemy type, the “Condemned,” was also explored. It would’ve tied into the remake’s orphanage, but the idea never progressed beyond temp design and animation.
Beyond that, there was once a rough concept for a driving sequence (“We all thought: Why don’t you just drive off?”) and a scenario with cable cars descending from the mountains.
Capcom also toyed with first-person for Resident Evil 2 and using a fixed-camera perspective more in line with the original 1998 release. As the team explained over dinner, “We were thinking of the fixed camera as a sales point, but [over-the-shoulder] was great, so we thought we didn’t need two types.”
Other scrapped ideas include a more fleshed-out sequence with the alligator that involved a crane and a more elaborate G2 fight with “breaking pillars, electrocuting, and so on.” Both were simplified.
If there’s one main takeaway from the team, it’s this: “With over three and a half years on this game, I think the good part was that we tried the ideas instead of just brainstorming them. All of them.” Assuming the next Resident Evil game is given that much breathing room, the future is looking bright.
As teased at the end of the discussion, the next roundtable video is going to bring Resident Evil 2 (1998) director and Platinum Games co-founder Hideki Kamiya into the fold. That’s gonna be a blast.
