Kazuhiro Aoyama, the Event Director for Resident Evil, System Planner for Resident Evil 2, creating ‘The 4th Survivor’ & ‘Licker’, and the Director for Resident Evil 3: Nemesis.
Crimson-Head 10th Anniversary Interview with Kazuhiro Aoyama [Not to be reproduced (c) Crimson Head Elder 2021]
What are the ingredients of survival horror?
KA: I believe that survival horror is only possible if the player’s humanity is reflected in the game. My ideal survival horror game would have a different experience for each gamer who plays it, as they try to survive their frightening experience.
If the key survival actions and story are the same for all gamers, then it's just a generic horror game. In one word, the emotion I want players to have is ‘sadness’. To explain further, I want gamers to feel sorrowful, melancholy, and tense emotions.
“At the start of Resident Evil 3 remake development, I was asked to participate as director, but the conditions were not right, so it didn't happen. I was expecting Nemesis to give me more of a deeper gameplay experience than I had with the Tyrant in Resident Evil 2. I would have liked to see Nemesis play a more active role. ”
— Kazuhiro Aoyama
CH: For Resident Evil to maintain its success and appeal to a wider audience did Capcom have to remove the classic survival horror game mechanics?
Resident Evil 1-3 are all adventure games, while Resident Evil 4-6 are more action focused games. They’re different types of games. I don't think they can be compared because they have different ways of evolution and different directions.
Action games are generally more popular with gamers, so I think the transformation of Resident Evil into more action based games has made it even more successful. What type of game do you think Resident Evil 7 is? I think it’s an adventure game.
But by using VR, it possesses a higher sense of immersion and fear. I do not think it is impossible to evolve further by using the third-person perspective, but I think developers avoid it because it makes development more challenging.
I do not deny that Capcom continues to create survival horror games. It’s testament to the hard work of the staff and their concept behind each game. I believe each title should have its own personality. It’s the loss of something that makes other elements in the game more impactful. It's natural for players who have played each title to have their own impressions of it, and part of the fun is to debate it with other fans.
CH: What were your ideas and techniques for adding atmosphere into Resident Evil 3 and what type of atmosphere did you want to create? What emotions did you want to illicit from players and what gameplay mechanics did you consider & create to provoke these emotions?
KA: As I explained, I want gamers to feel a mixture of emotions including sorrow, melancholy, and tension. There were many people living in the city - a college student who is nervous about starting school, office worker drinking at a bar after making a mistake, a couple about to get married, an old man smiling after making a huge profit on stocks, a child who was supposed to get a PlayStation for his birthday… But a viral disaster has transformed these ordinary days into a zombie apocalypse. Jill, who is in charge of protecting them, escapes for her own survival while hurting the people she loves. I wanted gamers to experience these emotions, although they are not fully depicted in the game. It’s a fun part of the game shooting and killing zombies, but I also wanted players to hesitate and think of other solutions. I think it can get more interesting depending on how you design it all.
The fact that the game is a remake, and yet they dared to remove an iconic setting from the game, makes me think that they made changes related to the setting and story, but I don’t feel those changes when I play it…
— Kazuhiro Aoyama
CH: When you designed Raccoon City's streets, what ideas and themes did you consider, and what were the inspirations behind these? What did you want players to feel when they battled to survive those streets? Did you take inspirations from any cities in Japan or Europe for Raccoon City?
KA: I designed it with the image of an underdeveloped American city. However, it wouldn’t look good as a game setting if it didn’t have any individuality, so I used cityscapes of San Francisco and Boston as a reference to create a background that would look somewhat pleasing to the eye. Many American cities have wide, bright and open streets, but the back alleys are dim and oppressive, and even give a sense of life (for example San Francisco Chinatown). I couldn't fully depict the drama of the people living in Raccoon City, but I could show the players the dull glamour of the main streets and the sense of life in the gritty back alleys.
I was hoping to show the players the dull glamour of the main streets and the back alleys to deepen their thoughts about the city and the people who live here. In the game, most of the city's main streets were blocked off and impassable, and many of the streets players would pass through were mainly back alleys. In Resident Evil, a third-person shooter, the gameplay and atmosphere is characterised by the loss of gameplay and atmosphere when large areas are used as the playing field. This is a device we use to balance the constraints of the game system and maintain the right atmosphere.
CH: What were your first thoughts when you discovered Capcom were remaking Resident Evil 3, and was your input sought in any way? Do you have ideas of how to improve the original and what game themes and mechanics would you have included in the remake?
KA: At the start of the development of the Resident Evil 3 remake, I was asked to participate as a director. Unfortunately, the conditions were not right and it didn't happen. Since I declined to participate, I was not asked to provide any further input. In my previous answers to you about survival horror and the original game, I spoke about some of the things I would have wanted to do if I had been the director. Since the remake has already been released, I can't change it. I would be happy if I could express myself in a different way on a different occasion, so I dare not tell you everything because I have such hopes! I did buy the remake and played it quite a bit, finding a lot of hidden elements. In my opinion, it's a well made video game as entertainment. However, the remake of Resident Evil 2 was so good that it exceeded my expectations, and so if you ask me if the Resident Evil 3 remake was as good or even better, I would have to say ‘no’.
CH: Some fans describe the Resident Evil 3 remake as a re-imagining, not a direct remake, and are unhappy with the narrative changes, wishing instead for the original story to remain. Popular and iconic locations from the original game were removed. What is your opinion of this?
KA: I think that the way things should be is going to be different for everyone, because we all have different feelings about this. Also, whether there is a symbolic stage from the original or not, if you are satisfied with what you are playing and enjoy it, then I don't think this should be a strong criticism. The fact that the game is a remake, and yet they dared to remove an iconic setting from the game, makes me think that they made changes related to the setting and story, but I don’t feel those changes when I play it. I think the fact that it's a change of setting is what makes people dissatisfied with the game. I was expecting Nemesis to give me more of a deeper gameplay experience than I had with the Tyrant in Resident Evil 2. I would have liked to see Nemesis play a more active role in the Resident Evil 3 remake, not in the cut-scenes but in the game.
CH: The Hospital is a perfect survival horror experience, your direction made it one of the best locations in the series, can you tell us about its design? Did you plan for it to be larger and were there other areas in Resident Evil 3 that were removed or changed in scale?
“In the beginning, Raccoon City hospital was just where vaccines were stored & wasn’t even considered as a stage. Resident Evil 3 changing to a main title with the extra development time & resources, allowed us to expand it.”
— Kazuhiro Aoyama
KA: I had three themes in mind for the setting - locations that would amplify terror (hospitals, graveyards), locations that would give a sense of everyday life (streets, stores & offices), and locations considered to be peaceful or fun (parks, churches). If I had more time, I would have increased the size of the hospital and the park, and I would have allowed for players to interact more with the city’s survivors, to add increased drama.
CH: A beta scenario involving a mansion was part of Resident Evil 3’s early development?
KA: When Resident Evil 3 was first developed, it was not a numbered title, but a spin-off from the main series. At that time, because of limited development time and resources, we decided to develop a game without a scenario, just about escaping from a large mansion. The mansion contained randomly changing rooms, enemies and items, so the game featured a fresh survival experience no matter how many times you played it.
One key element was that the player could limit the number of zombies by preventing them from entering the room. However, the ‘gel monsters’ we designed, could pass through all doors and chase Jill. Also, these gel monsters were able to materialize by attaching themselves to people and to the zombies! Then there was a change of direction during the development stage, leading to the Resident Evil 3 we now have.
However, the randomness and constant chasing of enemies was a theme continued in the game. My strength lies in developing gameplay and experiences, so I create the situations I want the player to experience and then flesh them out with detailed gameplay scenarios. So that 'mansion scenario' was not developed into gameplay, but if it had, it would have had something to do with the Spencer Mansion...
CH: Another concept for Resident Evil 3 involved a cruise ship scenario. Can you provide further details on this beta and why it was not progressed? Do you think a cruise ship/boat is a good location for survival horror?
KA: Next to the spin-off product I was developing that then became Resident Evil 3, there was also a horror game, set on a luxury cruise ship, that was originally developed to be the main scenario for Resident Evil 3. It was developed as a horror game set on a luxury cruise ship, but as development progressed, the game became more action-packed. At that time the PlayStation 2 console soon became available, so it was re-developed for the PlayStation 2. This is what then Devil May Cry as you know it. I think the reason why the luxury cruise ship stage was removed was because the director in charge subsequently changed. If I’m going to go to the trouble of developing a game, I want players to be able to play it in the setting that I came up with. And yes, I think it's a good setting, in the middle of the ocean, because there's nowhere to run, and if it’s a luxury cruise ship, you can create a unique setting and scene.
CH: Did you originally plan to include two protagonists for Resident Evil 3 to utilise the same game features this provided for Resident Evil 2? If so, who would have been that co-operative character for Jill Valentine, for example it could have afforded Carlos Oliveira a larger role?
KA: If Resident Evil 3 had been planned as a numbered main title, yes we would have used two or even more protagonists, to make it as big as possible, to avoid scaling down from the previous game. However, Resident Evil 3 had a different origin, so we had only planned for one protagonist, Jill, from the beginning. So instead we focused on creating a wide range of situations and emotions for each player to experience. Personally, if there had been two main characters, I would have chosen Brad as the other, not Carlos. Yes he did become a zombie, but I think there could have been interesting alternative story for him. If I could do that then I would be able to make him appear in some form in the following series. So I may have been the felon who took his breath away!
CH: The original prologue for Resident Evil 3 was removed, but to this day is still beloved by fans. An interesting picture from it shows S.T.A.R.S. members arguing with Police Chief Brian Irons, but Brad Vickers remains silent. Is this because he was too cowardly, maybe he wanted to keep his job safe? Can you tell us more about this iconic picture, and do you think it was a mistake to remove these prologue pictures?
KA: I remember the prologue was a simple opening demo hastily created for a playable exhibit at an overseas game show. At that time, there was no opening CG movie, so the game started after the prologue. We used the prologue for a while after the CG movie was completed, but its inclusion now made it too long a wait for the game to start. So we decided to cut a part of the prologue to shorten this waiting time. I don’t see this as a mistake, as it was a decision made to keep the overall pace and tempo of the game in check.
“I remember the image of the S.T.A.R.S approaching the Chief of Police very well. I also think it’s regrettable it had to be removed. It is an image that shows the personalities of the S.T.A.R.S members very well, and as for Brad, it is just as the questioner guessed, he’s a coward!”
— Kazuhiro Aoyama
CH: You were Event Director for Resident Evil, System Planner for Resident Evil 2, and the Director for Resident Evil 3. As the series progressed into a trilogy, how would you describe changes to the narrative & gameplay, that occurred through those three games?
KA: Resident Evil focuses more on the player’s actions being directly reflected in the story, and the story changes with each play. In some cases with Resident Evil, the ending of the game may not follow the developer's ideal storyline, and the game may even end without following the ideal storyline on the first playthrough. Therefore, the game didn't represent the story of the characters or the full path of the intended narrative. Resident Evil 2 is designed to improve this, with every playthrough ending with the perfect, immersive storyline. There are two characters to play as, and there's also a zapping system that allows you to differentiate between each playthrough based on factors other than the story.
Resident Evil 3 is basically the same as Resident Evil 2, but we did tried to make each game as different as possible. With Resident Evil 3, this is due to the fact that there is only one character in the game, Jill. This change was naturally the result of our team’s efforts to provide a better experience for everyone who plays the game. However, it was also necessary in order to proceed with development more quickly due to changes in the development environment and available resources.
CH: Were there themes and elements from Resident Evil 2 that you wanted to improve on and include for Resident Evil 3?
KA: Resident Evil 2 was developed with the aim of gaining a large number of fans and making it accessible and enjoyable for everyone who plays it. As long as the player's skill is not too bad, the game will not be over, and if the player just keeps on playing, he or she will be able to enjoy the dramatic story and see the ending. Resident Evil 2 is a game with these characteristics.
It's a noble thing, but I think there were core fans of Resident Evil who felt that the game was too basic. It's survival horror, so you want to play it with the serious mindset of survival. So for Resident Evil 3 we tweaked the game system to give players that sense of challenge and to give them plenty of opportunities to think about their gameplay. It's difficult to develop, but if we can keep the story and game development changing regularly for gamers, then I think the sense of survival horror will be enhanced.
CH: Who at Capcom decided to revisit the RPD building, and did the success of Resident Evil 2 play a part in that decision? As Director were you worried about bringing back such a major location from a previous game for this new instalment?
KA: I also believe that fans want new stages and games, and I did want to give players a new location to enjoy. However, for a spin-off product I wasn't given the time or resources to develop many new locations , so I diverted the data to increase the size of the game. Many fans had played Resident Evil 2 and I wanted the RPD to be the stage where the player first encounter Nemesis and are chased by him. I thought it would be a fresh experience while still bringing back fond memories of the original visit to the RPD.
CH: The Resident Evil 3 Epilogue files are iconic, presented with very atmospheric music which evokes a feeling of sadness. What was the origin and concept behind the epilogue files? When each file was devised, did you specifically consider the games that would proceed Resident Evil 3?
KA: The epilogue files were a great incentive to play the game again, and at the time we were developing Resident Evil 3, we had plans to introduce all those characters to other platforms. It was our way to introduce them. It also helped to expand the world view of Resident Evil by presenting a single viral incident in a multifaceted way.
I requested music for the epilogue that would be a little heavy and sad, and I wanted a track that expresses people whose daily lives had been taken away by a sudden disaster. I am grateful for the composer's ability in achieving that. Thanks for liking the epilogue files. This was an element that we added because we had some extra time to spare in the final stages of development.
CH: Is it true that because you wanted Jill Valentine as Resident Evil 3 protagonist, she had to be removed from Resident Evil Code Veronica? Why did you want to feature Jill, what does her character lend to the survival horror experience?
KA: I always thought Jill was needed for Resident Evil 3. But it’s not so much that Capcom had to remove Jill from Code Veronica, more likely that the game was developed before Resident Evil 3 and Jill was simply not chosen. Jill's personality is very strong because she is a member of the special forces, but she looks feminine. I thought it would be more terrifying to have a female facing a monster than a strong male. Also, because she is a woman, the sentimental expressions in the prologue are not jarring, and can be expressed as Jill’s tenderness and sadness. As a horror game, I wanted to have images of women and monsters. Rebecca was an option, but I thought her character had the disadvantage of not being particularly tragic.
CH: In an interview Yasuhisa Kawamura said Jill Valentine was inside the Raccoon Police Station (RPD) at the beginning of the virus outbreak, with other police helping to protect the building. Can you provide more information about this?
KA: Jill loved this city and the people who lived in it. So she stayed in the city and tried to help them. But as it turns out, she is able to escape but is unable to help anyone or anything and loses everything in the city. That's why I created the prologue and the epilogue was born. The reason why the song has a heavy and sad atmosphere is because I wanted to portray Jill's strength in overcoming that unbearable pain.
CH: Working for one of the world's largest video game companies must have been challenging, especially as our time with Capcom coincided with the release of games that defined survival horror? How did you cope with the pressure, during this fast rise to success for the series?
KA: I was fortunate to work for Capcom at that time, but rather than feeling pressured, I felt a great deal of joy and anticipation. When I was in college, I was a member of an independent film and theatre club and was very active. Naturally, the production costs and equipment were cheap, so even with all my enthusiasm, the quality of my work was impossible to improve, and I had no place to present it if I wanted to surpass that level. On top of that, I was always ambitious, so working at Capcom was an ideal environment for me. It was the complete opposite of that time when I was in college, because I had the right equipment, the right staff, a suitable place to present my work, and a good salary. Also, if I did a good job, I was treated accordingly. Even if you falter and end up failing, the knowledge and experience gained can always be used somewhere else.
If you worry about your surroundings and constantly try to protect yourself, you will feel pressurised. At that time I was in an environment that was ideal for me, I didn’t worry too much about my surroundings, and I was eager to improve my work. I never felt pressured. I was busy with my work, and I thought it would be better to relax and have time to sleep, than to worry about it all. The best way to deal with pressure is to immerse yourself in what you have to do and what you want to do, without worrying about the people around you.
CH: Many fans of Resident Evil 3 champion its gameplay as the pinnacle of the series, because it took everything good about Resident Evil 2 and improved on it. What do you think Biohazard 3 does best? Do you have any advice for gamers who play Resident Evil 3 for the first time, and a message for the entire Resident Evil community?
KA: That's a very nice comment that Resident Evil 3 is the best of the series, thank you. There are many games then and now in which the player relives the story, but I don't think there are many games in which the player has to think carefully about the changes in the situation and his or her own game-play style. I think the fact that we gave particular attention to this aspect of the game is what makes it so popular. My personal reflection on Resident Evil 3 is that it would have been better if those combinations were simpler and more fun.
If you want to relive a story, you can easily get the best experience by watching a movie or reading a novel. Nowadays, VR is also a wonderful thing. I believe that the characteristic of the game medium is not just one-way information given to us, but also our ability to express our own thoughts and opinions from that information. In order for games to continue to develop, I would like to ask fans to share their enjoyable experiences and emotions, gained by playing games with as many people as possible. You might think the fan community was created because they liked a particular game, but from my point of view, the Resident Evil community was created and continues to exist because gamers spoke up and talked about their favourite games together. I think that enthusiasm is a precious thing that cannot be replaced by anything else.
When I was developing Resident Evil 3, I never thought I'd be talking to people from all over the world. Thank you so much. Now that the coronavirus is causing problems all over the world, I would like to wish all the fans long health and happiness. As a game creator, I am on an extended leave of absence, but I hope to be able to discuss new games with you all someday. Please look forward to that…
SPECIAL THANKS: Kazuhiro Aoyama, George Trevor, The Oracle Dragon, BSAArklay, welsh