When Capcom revealed Resident Evil: Revelations 2, a decidedly more survival horror take on the franchise that first coined the term back in 1996, most fans were pleased. The game is an attempt to return the series to the genre it once pioneered, but it’s also more than that. This is a stab at introducing a little innovation into a series that’s grown stale over the years. It’s an experiment, and Capcom isn’t afraid to call it what it is.
Polygon recently had the chance to glean some information from one of the game’s producers, Michiteru Okabe, who shed some light on their decision to break the game up into four episodes that will release a week apart starting early next year.
According to Okabe, the decision to break the game up into bite-sized chunks was made to provide enough of an incentive for players to want to finish each episode, as well as to keep it on their minds after the fact. Capcom looks at hugely popular TV shows like Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, and specifically at how their respective audiences turn to social media to discuss each episode after the fact.
Capcom wants us to do that with Resident Evil: Revelations 2, they’re just not completely sure how to get it to happen. One idea they have is to take a page out of the latter show’s book with a Talking Dead style recap show.
“It will be like watching a TV drama so people can talk,” Okabe said. “I think our format is a bit different, but we definitely had an eye on Telltale and the games they put together. One thing they do really well, and we took inspiration from, even though their episodes are really spread out, people remained very interested because they talked about the game with each other.”
Capcom is doing some really smart things here. They’re looking to successful TV shows and video games for inspiration, while at the same time experimenting on their own. We won’t know how it turns out until next year, but I have high hopes.
Resident Evil: Revelations 2 is scheduled to hit PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One
