Dino Crisis and Survival/Horror games (1 Viewer)

[bryanthunder]

Surely by now atleast some of us have come across this article on IGN.com: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/112/1128727p1.html
In short, it explains how both the Onimusha series and the Dino Crisis series are effectively on the back burner over at Capcom, and may very well be there for many years.
The general consensus seems to be that no one has a "burning" desire to work on the series, and that there's not a lot innovative anyone can think of doing with them.

I'm a huge Dino Crisis fan, so this sits odd with me. While it is nice to get a straight answer for once, it's a bummer it's on the back burner.
I've been giving it some thought; how could one make a reboot/sequel/whatever of Dino Crisis, and I can't help but think I've got a few good ideas.

First, bring it back to it's roots: in two ways: Reboot the series with an enhanced remake of the original, and also make sure it's survival horror. I know that tank controls and fixed camera angles aren't considered innovative, but I think they'd work better than what the current alternative is... because do we really want another over-the-shoulder-shoot-everything-that-moves game like RE4 or RE5?
I say keep the tank controls, the limited controls actually help add horror to the game. And as for the camera, well, an ideal solution to those that hate the old cameras, and those that like it, would simply be to have two camera options: fixed camera, and free camera.

Furthermore, Dino Crisis had "Danger Events" in which the word would flash across the bottom of the screen, and you'd have to mash the buttons to survive. Resident Evil 4 "revolutionized" the survival horror genera through the overuse of Quick Time Events... That are now in every game and are often considered simply annoying.
There should be a sense of danger in a cut scene, a sense that you are never safe. However QTE's and button mashing aren't the only way to act in a cut scene. I propose something much simpler: In a game like this perhaps playing on the primal instincts of fight of flight would be ideal.
Let's say Regina is walking along, and out pops the t-rex. You're prompted that the situation is dangerous, maybe by a flash on screen, or the borders of the screen turning red, something simple. At this point pressing either the Run button, or the Attack button will choose Regina's course of action, like wise you can choose to do nothing to take a third action. Depending on the situation running of fighting may be more ideal than the other. It'd be simple and not very evasive; you think: "I need to run" and usually you'll find yourself sliding your finger over the run button... no on-screen prompt of "Press X To Not Die!"

I dunno... just seems like a no brainer to me: Old fans want a classic RE/Survival Horror game, new fans may want to try something different. RE is an action game, DC could be a survival game.

I wonder what your thoughts are on all this...
Oh, I would have talked about Onimusha, but I regret to say I've yet to finish even a single game in the series, so that topic is better left for someone else to cover.

 

[noice1]

While it is true that today's gaming world is all about action/adventure, you can't blame companies for delivering on what people are hungry for. Currently I'm playing Fallout: New Vegas, and I have to say, the series is the closest thing to a horror game I've played in a long time. If you ask me, it's a dying breed of game, because horror games don't have the same pull that action does. It's all about guns, explosions, magic and skipping around on platforms. I know horror itself is not dead, but it seems the only way it's done now is with tons of firepower and technology. If you drop the new generation of gamers into a world like old Resident Evil, they'd probably ask questions like, "When do I get a minigun?" or worse.

 

[bryanthunder]

It is true that most "horror games" are actually action games in "survival" drag and that's sad really. Companies who try to pass off an action game as a horror game are only limiting themselves. Which is why I'm saying one series, or at least one game, using modern technology, dedicated to horror isn't going to break a company, especially one like Capcom.
And considering how much they are outsourcing, I'm half surprised they aren't taking in indy studios to further keep their IP's fresh... hell they could easily draft a small internal team of fans to help brainstorm new innovative ideas for old unused IP's, such as Rival Schools, Darkstalkers, and the like.

But, if you want a good modern horror game though I do have one for you:
Demon's Souls on the PS3 is a fantastic horror game; and it doesn't even advertise itself as one.
It naturally becomes scary when you realize that death has a major penalty in the game, and that you aren't as strong as you think you are. You jump at every new sound, dread rounding every corner, and pray that the next room you walk into isn't going to be a trap.
It's not impossible to make a good horror game; and if From Software can do it, hell Capcom is more than capable.

 

[eyeteeth]

i guess one thing i do not like about the old clumsy controls is that it makes the game not as immersive. i mean Regina is supposed to be this highly trained awesome commando but she moves like a drunken whale. same with the RE series, all of the characters you play except maybe Rebecca are not just cops, they are basically SWAT guys. so it is strange that they move so slowly.

from my perspective i have to say that i do not usually mind qte because they usually come with one or more unique death animations if you fail. so failing is okay to me. though it is really annoying when they are hard and the character is not a girl, for instance i did not really care for them much in Prince of Persia.

 

[d£t]

I have no real tie to survival horror games. The first RE game I actually managed to get decently far into was RE5. I was sort of young when the first RE and Silent Hill came out and, to be honest, they freaked me out quite a bit and never got the courage to play them by myself. Sad, I know. xD

If you're making the case that games are becoming increasingly cookie cut, well I think we all noticed that awhile back. I was never fond of QTE's but as you mentioned, they seem to be in almost every game now. Your idea for the choice to fight or run seems a lot like what they were going for in Heavy Rain, which was an interesting concept that was probably the game's saving grace in terms of replay value. It also really gave you that feel you were dynamically interacting with the game in a cinematic setting.

As far as the death of the horror genre... I sometimes think it might just be the general gaming crowd being heavily desensitized to what the developers come up with. They're trying to use the same shit to scare us that they used 10 years ago, and a lot of the new things they try feel gimmicky. The last horror game I tried to play through was Dead Space. I didn't last long, not that the game was particularly scary. It's honestly just stressful trying to play that game. The lights flicker on and off constantly giving you a headache, when you zoom in to shoot your body takes up nearly half the screen, and your character moves around like his space suit is stuffed with molasses. If I was playing the game 10 years ago I'd probably be shitting my pants, but right now... I don't know. Maybe we're all just a little too old to be seriously freaked out anymore.

 

[Black Lion]

I'm telling you right now, Capcom does not dedicate themselves to one genre, or even have one team work on it. From what I've seen, they work on a game until they release it, then they add some DLC right away and abandon it. Most of their less popular series get the shaft because of this. They've done this before and they'll probably do it with Dino Crisis. I'm not trying to kill your excitement, but I'm warning you now not to expect much.

 

[bryanthunder]

The last horror game I tried to play through was Dead Space. I didn't last long, not that the game was particularly scary. It's honestly just stressful trying to play that game. The lights flicker on and off constantly giving you a headache, when you zoom in to shoot your body takes up nearly half the screen, and your character moves around like his space suit is stuffed with molasses. If I was playing the game 10 years ago I'd probably be shitting my pants, but right now... I don't know. Maybe we're all just a little too old to be seriously freaked out anymore.

Yeah... Dead Space's so-called "horror" was mostly just jump scares, and grotesques monsters. I tried playing it, hearing about how people got scared playing the game... after about 6-8 hours I shut it off because I was so bored: I started calling the scares before they happened.

Horror games simply need a different mentality from the old days. You can't count on jump scares, and creepy enemy designs to create a horror game; you must also now create an atmosphere of dread, and make the gameplay work to better enhance the fear.

On the aspect of gameplay for example: "Death" in a game isn't as scary as it was before; a player is well aware that if they die the worst that happens is they stay "dead" for a few second and reload a previous save, or load a checkpoint. This is a difficult hurtle to over come now a days; players expect check-points, or save often, and thus don't really worry about dying.
Demon's Souls, which I mentioned before, managed to induce true horror on the player, self-inflicted actually: Dying in DS means your health is decreased by half, you loose all your money and EXP, and you are sent to the start of the level. Add this to just how utterly easy it is to die, and the game becomes very frightening.
You also don't get to save, the game auto saves which means if you screw up and die; you are forced to accept it and continue on.

I don't think the horror genre is completely dead; they just need to be refocused. Conventional horror methods simply don't work with new tech, and new players... developers have to think of new ways to scare a player, and it just seems that most don't want to, or know how to.

 

[noice1]

As far as the death of the horror genre... I sometimes think it might just be the general gaming crowd being heavily desensitized to what the developers come up with. They're trying to use the same shit to scare us that they used 10 years ago, and a lot of the new things they try feel gimmicky.

Maybe it's the newer generations of gamers? I recently went back and did official play-throughs of RE games (1-3) and they are honestly still every bit as scary as I remember them. Though, to be fair, part of the reason is because the games themselves are enemies. You have a fixed, third-person perspective, no cross-hair, you move like a tank and it's very difficult to dodge (actually introduced in RE3 if I'm not mistaken). However, the atmosphere, the story and the enemies are all scary because of good presentation. Silent Hill was much the same.

The reason I haven't really played much horror since then? Nothing has really made me feel the same thing. Everything feels too modern and clean. I don't know what it is, but games designed today don't have cult appeal. The most important thing to me in just about any realm of enjoyment is believability. I really believed Harry was at Silent Hill, and I really believed I was Leon or Claire or Jill and I had to survive. There's no atmosphere today, it's just another "game".

 

[Mardion]

Maybe it's the newer generations of gamers? I recently went back and did official play-throughs of RE games (1-3) and they are honestly still every bit as scary as I remember them.

The reason I haven't really played much horror since then? Nothing has really made me feel the same thing. Everything feels too modern and clean. (...) There's no atmosphere today, it's just another "game".

Horror games simply need a different mentality from the old days. You can't count on jump scares, and creepy enemy designs to create a horror game; you must also now create an atmosphere of dread, and make the gameplay work to better enhance the fear.

I don't think the horror genre is completely dead; they just need to be refocused. Conventional horror methods simply don't work with new tech, and new players... developers have to think of new ways to scare a player, and it just seems that most don't want to, or know how to.

I don't want to sound like a broken record, but after comments like this, I can't help but say : PLAY FATAL FRAME! There you'll see a modern horror game that knows how to scare you with its atmosphere alone (especially the second one) in a way hardly ever seen in videogames. Also see the trailer for an upcoming 3DS game called Time Travelers here.

The horror genre is not as dead as you might think..

 

[EvilDraconis]

The only recent good horror game I know of is Amnesia: The Dark Descent. It's a psychological horror and you really have to get into it a bit. Play at night, headphones on, in the dark all alone, etc, but it's quite the experience. Alot of people stream it and listening to them is pretty hilarious.

 

[pirajacinto]

As someone who is into the Dino Crisis series, I have to say I think the series kind of messed itself up with the release of Dino Crisis 3. Funny enough, I always saw Parasite Eve and Dino Crisis as more together than the other Capcom games that more or less play the same way.

Either way, what I really want to say is that Dino Crisis itself has really stopped being part of the "Survival Horror" into just "Action". In fact, it wanted to just be that as a way to be different from the Resident Evil series. I think if it's going to return, it will not be "Survival Horror" as you would like. It would stay more true to what it wants to be, which is an action game as to Dino Crisis 2. I don't think Dino Crisis would be the series to lead to a "Survival Horror".

 

[maxmansupa]

Parasite Eve wasn't developed by Capcom.

 

[pirajacinto]

I know that, it's developed by Squaresoft (which is now SquareEnix, making Parasite Eve 3). What I meant is that I don't really relate Dino Crisis with Resident Evil or Onimusha, even though they have very similar gameplay styles. I relate it to Parasite Eve because of the timing of my childhood on the release.