In this column, we'll be interviewing with members of the development team behind the Dreamcast version of Resident Evil 3.
Tatsuya Minami, Director of Capcom Studio 3
Prominent works as Producer: Gaia Master (PS), Resident Evil Survivor (PS).
Has also been involved in porting many games, including RE3.
"When did you get the idea of porting RE3 to the Dreamcast?"
Minami: We had plans on porting the Resident Evil series to the Dreamcast when development of Code: Veronica first began.
"Was there a point where your staff had a hard time porting the game?"
Minami: I thought the porting process went relatively well. However, the hue (tint) is a bit different between the PlayStation and Dreamcast versions and it might had taken a bit more time adjusting that if we did.
"There are various kinds of fears, including those covered in the series such as 'claustrophobia' (in RE1) or fear of being chased. What is the most terrifying kind of fear in your opinion?"
Minami: Even though action-based fears seems to be the current trend, I personally prefer mental fear. I'm thinking
on fusing mental fear with visuals in the future.
"Who is your favorite Resident Evil character?"
Minami: I have no specific likes or dislikes, since every character is unique and important in their own way.
"And finally, what's your message to players?"
Minami: Here in Capcom, we are focusing on multi-platform developing and we would like to offer the same content to various
hardwares. Therefore, we aspire to please those who want certain games on their preferred platform and would appreciate to
hear your feedback.
"Thank you very much."
Studio 4 Leading Planner, Yasuhisa Kawamura.
"There's an unusually high amount of bonus outfits in RE3. On what critera were they selected for the game?"
Kawamura: I'm certain each outfit went through strict examination by Director Aoyama and underwent several tweaks.
I think it's fun to see Jill in attires that she is not usually seen wearing.
"Who is your favorite character in RE3 and why?"
Kawamura: That's a difficulty question for me. I must say that the three mercenaries characters are always on my mind.
Due to the diverging paths in the game, each of their motives can only be known through certain cutscenes,
so please try playing through the game with all the possible alternatives in my mind. And even though he doesn't play much of a role in the story, the voice actor (Tony Rosato) who did Dario Ross, the old guy in the beginning, does a fierce performance! By the way, he also did the voice of the Chaser (Nemesis).
"The boss who provides the reward at the end of 'The Mercenaries' minigame appears to be some sort of authorized personnel of Umbrella. What's the background on him?"
Kawamura: Here's the truth about The Mercenaries. The Mercenaries is a secret pay-per-view broadcasted by Umbrella to select subscribers, limited mostly to nobility and high-paying government officials, as it's a popular program among the millionaires of the underworld. The mysterious man who provides the instructions to the mercenaries and the reward is the producer and host of the program, who broadcast the mercenaries' actions live via satellite with a monitor installed by the supervisors and an advanced microphone (along with a small bomb) implanted into the mercenary himself. The timer atop the screen which shows the mercenary's remaining time increased in real time based on approval (viewer) ratings. The soldiers that fight heroically, the ones that save civilians and allies and destroy their enemies accordingly, are given extended televising time so they can have more time to escape. If one has enough approval and can reach the goal before the televising time runs out, then the mercenary is free to go. However, if the mercenary cannot get enough approval ratings and runs out of time, then the camera will be turned off and at the same time, the mercenary is killed off.
"Which scene in RE3 left the biggest impression in you?"
Kawamura: "Even though there were lot of good scenes, I think the climax, destruction of Raccoon City, was especially impressive, wasn't it? It's a very unexpected and overwhelming scene to watch, even bearing in mind that it's not real and just part of a game or a film. It's not just an ending to a story.
"Can you tell us what Jill's been up to since she escaped Raccoon City?"
Kawamura: She probably went to Europe, to put an end to the Umbrella Corporation. I cannot reveal the details. If you clear RE3, you will be given an Epilogue file showing what she's been up to. You'll be pleased.
"Are there epilogues in RE3 for supporting characters such as Barry and HUNK?"
Kawamura: Yes. They're unlocked in the same way, by finishing the main game. The game must be finished several times to view all of them since they're unlocked sequentially, but try to do everything in your power to get them. There are eight epilogues in all. If finishing the game eight times is too hard, then please get a friend to help you out.
"What's the relationship between the Nemesis and the Tyrant?"
Kawamura: The Tyrant was a Bio-Weapon developed by the American branch of Umbrella, while the Chaser (Nemesis) was made in Europe. There's an internal competition by the two branches within the company, with the brilliant Dr. William Birkin of the American branch being a step ahead in regards to the development of infrantry-type Bio-Organic Weapons (which serves as a substitute for human soldiers). The European branch was not happy at this, so they united to conduct repeated research on an original concept. The European 6th Laboratory finally succeeded by developving a "B.O.W that strengthens the B.O.W". That was the "Parasistic Organism Nemesis". The Nemesis was implanted into the Tyrant, which underwent training and adjustment in the European branch to become the Chaser. Even though its specs surpasses the regular Tyrant, it doesn't have the same elegance as a weapon and it isn't much of a commodity. At the end, the Nemesis in its present stage is merely an experimental bio-weapon.
"There's are a few new types of enemies in RE3, such as the Hunter Gamma and DD (Drain Deimos). Were there any BOWs that were rejected during the stages of development?"
Kawamura: During the development stages, we did considered bringing back some of the bio-weapons from previous games. These included the Neptune and Chimeras. In RE3, there are experimental BOWs like the Nemesis and Hunter Gamma, as well as mass-production BOWs such as the Hunter Beta that were designed based on actual combat data. In addition to BOWs, there are also irregular mutants that were created from unexpected mutations (such as the zombies, brain suckers, drain deimos and grave diggers). The Bio-Weapons that were abandoned during development don't appear here.
"What's your favorite BOW?"
Kawamura: I'll say the Hunter Gamma. I can't hate it, even when it swallows me whole.
"The Nemesis is quite a fascinating enemy. What was in your mind during the character making process?"
Kawamura: Regardless of whether it was a man or a monster, we come up with a simple concept for the character,
then we draw a design or two, but we don't use until we can visualize whether the character has any "promise" for
the game. After that, the character designer does his thing, the model and motion animator does his thing, the event and battle
planner does his thing, the programmer does his thing and then everyone start throwing themselves at each other
every day and the whole thing escalates to a war zone.
"What is the most terrifying type of fear for Kawamura-san (doesn't have to be game-related)?"
Kawamura: When my boss utters to me "your scenario isn't quite good yet", followed by "you're not attractive to women because of that".
"What message do you want to give to players?"
Kawamura: I used to hate zombies before working for this game. So I'm saying to everyone who hates horror and gore. It's like tasting a very hot dish and finding out it has a delicious interior. The Resident Evil games may seem hard and scary at first, but it has plenty of good on the inside. If you never touched the genre and is unfamiliar with it, please give this game a single try at least. You'll be saying to yourself, "is this really a horror game? A RE game?" while digesting it. I've gained a new love for zombie films, which has grown to the point where I'm strong enough to shamelessly eat roast meat while watching a zombie. Everyone please play Resident Evil to become a man of strong mind and a strong stomach.
Kazuhiro Aoyama, Capcom Studio 4 Director
Joined Capcom as a member of Studio 4 in 1995.
Prominent works: Resident Evil (Saturn), Resident Evil 3, Fushigi Deka, etc.
"How many people were involved in the project and how long was the developing period?"
Aoyama: We began with a total of 20 members in our staff when we began development, but then it kept increasing during the development phase until we had more than 40 people at the end. The development period lasted around a year.
"What made you introduce the emergency escape system in the game?"
Aoyama: Whenever they're attacked by the enemy, player usually tend to get overly nervous, so we planned out a stylish emergency dodge move for those moments.
"In the previous interview with Kawamura-san that the costume variety were based on your preference. Please elaborate?"
Aoyama: Because the game was set in a city, I wanted to envision Jill wearing casual clothing, we started with something cool and sexy that stands out.
Look at Jill very closely. We purposely designed her to cause a man's heart to tickle (perhaps partly based on my preference) and made her easy on the eyes.
"What was your idea behind The Mercenaries project?"
Aoyama: Because having a minigame in each RE game has become something of a tradition in the series, we intended to please everyone with this project. We were thinking hard everyday, since the concept behind RE3 was to have high replay value, so we designed a way of unlocking more stuff by linking the main game with the bonus game. Please enjoy The Mercenaries and fight hard.
"Was there ever a point during development where you had a hard time?"
Aoyama: While working on the game itself was fun, there was also some intense moments during all the fun. I thought the creative process was very fun, but the production policy of the company side kept changing back to back and my worries didn't cease. However, everything worked out at the end.
"What's your message to fans?"
Aoyama: I've consulted several times with the core RE fans and I hoped they were truly pleased with the results. For those who haven't played the game yet, we're adding new elements exclusively to the Dreamcast and hope that they become RE fans too.
Shinji Mikami, Resident Evil creator
DOB: August 11, 1965
Hobbies: Watching moves, collecting clocks.
Prominent works: Goof Troop, Aladdin, the Resident Evil series and the Dino Crisis series among others. He was in charge of developing the original Resident Evil as the Director, which showcased his rare talent. It was a worldwide hit and established a new genre known as "Survival Horror". Afterwards, he took an active duty of handling the Resident Evil series as the Producer.
"RE3 has finally come to the Dreamcast. What did had to faced doing RE3 and was is your involvement with each episode and such?"
Mikami: Even though the director does most of the work, I have to remind them to make every new RE game as appealing as possible.
"Who is your favorite character in the series and why?"
Mikami: I like Chris and the Zombies. The zombies because they're the symbol of fear that can be considered as a pronoun for Resident Evil. Chris, the protagonish, because he has an unusual boorishness that is quite charming at this age.
"What kind of challenge do you see for the future?"
Mikami: Something I personally want... I want to return to the field and create games. I really like the Kadogawa film Sengoku Jietai (G.I. Samurai) and I want to adapt it into a game with online play very much. Like I said before, it's a personal wish of mine.
"Please what does the future holds with the Resident Evil series on the Dreamcast?"
Mikami: We're actually putting out the Complete Edition of Code: Veronica on the Dreamcast and PS2 to commemorate the series' fifth anniversary. In this new version, there'll be new cut-scenes where Wesker is greatly involved and the game's graphics and messages will be retouched a bit. I think fans will enjoy it.
"And finally, it appears you have a hot message to our loyal Raccoon Times reader."
Mikami: For RE4, I want to make a new kind of horror that exceeds the progenitor RE1 and I'll try my best to accomplish this. It's been on my mind for awhile, so wait for it!
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