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Resident Evil scenario writer details the process of Resident Evil 4's various iterations before release
A portion of a Crimson-Head interview with Yasuhisa Kawamura, scenario writer on Resident Evil.
YK: Before answering, let me first define more accurately the context for which you use of the word 'version'. Usually, in the development of cinematic games, a game system is integrated into a world view & stories which are already defined, but this was not the case for biohazard 4.
Our priority was to build a 'game system & situation that induced fright & horror' first. Therefore, both the Hallucination and the Castle were essentially trial & error ideas that we thought of implementing – which ultimately didn't appear in the final version, of course.
In terms of the order in which things progressed, the Castle scenario came first – it was the most established - then the Hallucination element came second.
However, when the Hallucination was introduced into the narrative, the concept of the Castle, where Leon kept fighting while an illness was destroying him, was passed on. So although the Castle was replaced with the Hallucination, it remained in the game as an expression of Leon’s illness.
Also the mechanic where Leon could view a hallucinatory or spirit world and fight against its residents when the fog filled in the room, was considered then too. We had so many trials and errors in the development.
Shibata the director had a very clear concept which he described as “seeking the horror”. He had the image of 'the horror of mogaki' – or ‘struggling’. It can be difficult to directly translate this 'mogaki' word into its exact meaning, but it is a situation in which you try to wriggle with your whole body in fear, but cannot escape. He seemed to want me to create not just physical mogaki, but rather a state where Leon couldn't resist mental or psychological pains & difficulties. A kind of mogaki that’s similtaneously mental & physical.
Full interview here
Link
YK: Before answering, let me first define more accurately the context for which you use of the word 'version'. Usually, in the development of cinematic games, a game system is integrated into a world view & stories which are already defined, but this was not the case for biohazard 4.
Our priority was to build a 'game system & situation that induced fright & horror' first. Therefore, both the Hallucination and the Castle were essentially trial & error ideas that we thought of implementing – which ultimately didn't appear in the final version, of course.
In terms of the order in which things progressed, the Castle scenario came first – it was the most established - then the Hallucination element came second.
However, when the Hallucination was introduced into the narrative, the concept of the Castle, where Leon kept fighting while an illness was destroying him, was passed on. So although the Castle was replaced with the Hallucination, it remained in the game as an expression of Leon’s illness.
Also the mechanic where Leon could view a hallucinatory or spirit world and fight against its residents when the fog filled in the room, was considered then too. We had so many trials and errors in the development.
Shibata the director had a very clear concept which he described as “seeking the horror”. He had the image of 'the horror of mogaki' – or ‘struggling’. It can be difficult to directly translate this 'mogaki' word into its exact meaning, but it is a situation in which you try to wriggle with your whole body in fear, but cannot escape. He seemed to want me to create not just physical mogaki, but rather a state where Leon couldn't resist mental or psychological pains & difficulties. A kind of mogaki that’s similtaneously mental & physical.
Link