Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Year before the new Millennium
Resident Evil - CODE: Veronica was released in 2000, and in development since late 1998 through 1999. This was the year that the Diet of Japan (relating to politics) held its first Question Time, allowing the lower levels of government to question the upper levels. Since Japan has a government system based of an 'infallible' emperor, the ability to question government is a big first. Also, there was a failed hijacking of ANA Flight 61.
Japan in 1998
During the development of Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Japan was fairly calm. They held a multitude of sports tournaments, and had a fairly quiet year. The only real bump in the media was a mass poisoning, taking place in Sonobe distict of the Wakayama Prefecture. One Masumi Hayashi poisoned the group curry with 1000 grams of arsenic, roughly enough to kill 100 people. Only 4 died, but it inspired a large amount of copycats due to the attention given to the incident by the media.
Japan around Resident Evil 2
Japan had a lot going on during the development of Resident Evil 2.
The production of the game began in 1996 shortly after the release of the first Resident Evil with a scheduled release of March 1997. During this year, the Padilla Car Accident occurred, and the beginning of Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. Both incidents stuck the Japanse public hard, each with militaristic overtones. The first incident outraged the Okinawins the most, since they were still raw about the Okinawan Rape Incident of 1995. Foreign military presence was grating on the Japanese public, and they wanted more than anything for the American Military presence to end.
When the release date for Resident Evil 2 began approaching, CAPCOM decided to take a risk and scrap the current version of the game in order to create a higher quality product. While this pushed the release date back a year, it was seen as a positive decision since the final product was a more developed, polished game. During this development period, the infamous episode of Pokemon, DennÅ Senshi Porygon was released, causing mass hysteria from the sheer number of seizures induced by this episode. This particular episode was never shown on TV again, and removed from all foreign releases. It created quite an uproar, and gave Japanese animation a terrible stigma that still exists today. This year also saw the end of the Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. All of the hostages were saved, and none of the guerrilla group were spared.
The production of the game began in 1996 shortly after the release of the first Resident Evil with a scheduled release of March 1997. During this year, the Padilla Car Accident occurred, and the beginning of Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. Both incidents stuck the Japanse public hard, each with militaristic overtones. The first incident outraged the Okinawins the most, since they were still raw about the Okinawan Rape Incident of 1995. Foreign military presence was grating on the Japanese public, and they wanted more than anything for the American Military presence to end.
When the release date for Resident Evil 2 began approaching, CAPCOM decided to take a risk and scrap the current version of the game in order to create a higher quality product. While this pushed the release date back a year, it was seen as a positive decision since the final product was a more developed, polished game. During this development period, the infamous episode of Pokemon, DennÅ Senshi Porygon was released, causing mass hysteria from the sheer number of seizures induced by this episode. This particular episode was never shown on TV again, and removed from all foreign releases. It created quite an uproar, and gave Japanese animation a terrible stigma that still exists today. This year also saw the end of the Japanese Embassy Hostage Crisis. All of the hostages were saved, and none of the guerrilla group were spared.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Resident Evil Movies
In recent times, Resident Evil finally hit the mainstream as a Hollywood movie series.
The first movie was released in 2002, and was not a true interpretation of the Resident Evil games. The movies in order are as follows: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, and Resident Evil: Afterlife. The last movie in the series is to be released September 2010 as a 3D movie. In theory, the movies follow the video game progression. The only real similarities between the two series are the fact that zombies created by the T-virus exist, and so do a few characteristic enemies and villains (mostly in namesake). Though the movie characters shared the names of the video game characters, their backgrounds and mannerisms differed enough to make them almost impossible to see as the same people.
Originally, the movies were scripted to be almost direct adaptations of the games into film media, but Capcom believed that the original script was simultaneously not close enough to the games to satisfy hard core fans, and not interesting enough to satisfy an audience just being introduced to the series. The final product, though successful enough to justify a full series of movies, was disappointing to the game's fans and generally received negative reviews by critics.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Afterlife
The first movie was released in 2002, and was not a true interpretation of the Resident Evil games. The movies in order are as follows: Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, Resident Evil: Extinction, and Resident Evil: Afterlife. The last movie in the series is to be released September 2010 as a 3D movie. In theory, the movies follow the video game progression. The only real similarities between the two series are the fact that zombies created by the T-virus exist, and so do a few characteristic enemies and villains (mostly in namesake). Though the movie characters shared the names of the video game characters, their backgrounds and mannerisms differed enough to make them almost impossible to see as the same people.
Originally, the movies were scripted to be almost direct adaptations of the games into film media, but Capcom believed that the original script was simultaneously not close enough to the games to satisfy hard core fans, and not interesting enough to satisfy an audience just being introduced to the series. The final product, though successful enough to justify a full series of movies, was disappointing to the game's fans and generally received negative reviews by critics.
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
Resident Evil: Extinction
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Fear in Japan
An interesting point to note about the Resident Evil series is that during its development, Japan was in a state of fear. 1995 was not a good year for Japan, beginning with the Great Hanshin Earthquake which caused the equivalent of $102.5 billion in damages and claimed 6,434 lives with roughly 300,000 left homeless.
Later that same year a controversial religious group known as Aum Shinrkyo (now called Aleph) terrorized Japanese citizens with a string of Sarin Gas attacks on the Tokyo Metro. These attacks first began in June of 1994, but the attack in May of 1995 was of the largest scale. 12 people died, with 1,034 people injured (50 severely; 984 with temporary vision problems). Before this, Japan had never really had a terroist attack, never mind one of bioterrorism.
I bring this up because a large number of the people working on this game were Japanese. Capcom is a Japanese company, the producers were Tokuro Fujiwara; Masayoshi Kurokawa; and Masayuki Akahori, while the director was Shinji Mikami. All of these people would have been aware of the attacks during the development of the game. Considering a huge section of the plot line is actually about bioterrorism, the original game title being Biohazard, these attacks must have played some sort of role conciously or not.
Later that same year a controversial religious group known as Aum Shinrkyo (now called Aleph) terrorized Japanese citizens with a string of Sarin Gas attacks on the Tokyo Metro. These attacks first began in June of 1994, but the attack in May of 1995 was of the largest scale. 12 people died, with 1,034 people injured (50 severely; 984 with temporary vision problems). Before this, Japan had never really had a terroist attack, never mind one of bioterrorism.
I bring this up because a large number of the people working on this game were Japanese. Capcom is a Japanese company, the producers were Tokuro Fujiwara; Masayoshi Kurokawa; and Masayuki Akahori, while the director was Shinji Mikami. All of these people would have been aware of the attacks during the development of the game. Considering a huge section of the plot line is actually about bioterrorism, the original game title being Biohazard, these attacks must have played some sort of role conciously or not.
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Monday, March 1, 2010
Fixed View
One of the most memorable features of the original Resident Evil game was its game play. It combined the traditional RPG vibe (inventory included), with mind-bending puzzles, real-time puzzles, and of course the fixed camera view. Players controlled their character, either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, from a third-person view with every area having its own unique camera angle.
While the camera first appears to be just another part of the system, it adds a lot to the feel of the game. Enemies could appear from any point, but the fixed camera kept the suspense high as you can hear the enemy far before you are able to see it on screen. This greatly affected interaction, making the game much harder with a feel that no other game had at the time of its release. The Resident Evil series had kept this fixed camera position as an iconic part of their games, appearing in every incarnation of the series until Resident Evil 4 in which the viewpoint was changed to the over the shoulder view. This change was most likely due to the increase in the popularity of first-person shooters at the time of Resident Evil 4's creation, 2005.
Though the fixed camera views was a staple of the series, and dictated gameplay for all who attempted the game, not everyone was so enthused....
Video by G4 back in the day.
While the camera first appears to be just another part of the system, it adds a lot to the feel of the game. Enemies could appear from any point, but the fixed camera kept the suspense high as you can hear the enemy far before you are able to see it on screen. This greatly affected interaction, making the game much harder with a feel that no other game had at the time of its release. The Resident Evil series had kept this fixed camera position as an iconic part of their games, appearing in every incarnation of the series until Resident Evil 4 in which the viewpoint was changed to the over the shoulder view. This change was most likely due to the increase in the popularity of first-person shooters at the time of Resident Evil 4's creation, 2005.
Though the fixed camera views was a staple of the series, and dictated gameplay for all who attempted the game, not everyone was so enthused....
Video by G4 back in the day.
Blogged with the Flock Browser
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Why this Exists
This blog is a dedicated personal research blog exploring the culture around the ultimate zombie survival video game, Resident Evil. I will uncover everywhere this game has touched in culture, from the Video Game realm all the way to your everyday shopping experience.
I will be exploring the impact of the entire series, starting with the first Resident Evil game all the way to Resident Evil 5. Keep an eye on this place for some in depth analysis, and some interesting cultural finds.
I will be exploring the impact of the entire series, starting with the first Resident Evil game all the way to Resident Evil 5. Keep an eye on this place for some in depth analysis, and some interesting cultural finds.
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