Resident Evil 3 Interview – Return to Raccoon City

Capcom have been two for two with Resident Evil remakes so far, hitting the ball out of the bark on both attempts, and soon, they’re coming back for a third go-around- and this one promises to be, impossibly enough, the most intense. The bioweapon Nemesis has haunted RE fans’ nightmares for over two decades, but the remake, powered by the RE Engine, is bringing him to terrifying life better than ever before- and we, among millions of others, couldn’t be more excited about it. As the clock counts down to the game’s imminent launch, we recently sent across some of our questions about it to its developers. You can read our interview with producer Peter Fabiano below.

"Utilizing technological advancements and further customizing RE Engine, we could really punch up the graphics and visuals and were able to create a more fleshed out and vibrant Raccoon City during the early days of the outbreak."

Many fans have been surprised by how quickly Resident Evil 3 is coming out after last year’s Resident Evil 2– was there an overlap in the development of both games? Did ideas from Resident Evil 2 automatically flow into the RE3 project as well?

There was some overlap in the development of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, and both utilize RE Engine. Overall, Resident Evil 3 was in development for about 3 years. I wouldn’t say that ideas flowed in automatically, but we certainly took some elements that we learned. Like with the reimagined Resident Evil 2, the first thing players will notice is the over-the-shoulder camera angle to create a more immersive, personal experience. Utilizing technological advancements and further customizing RE Engine, we could really punch up the graphics and visuals and were able to create a more fleshed out and vibrant Raccoon City during the early days of the outbreak.

Resident Evil 2 took a very balanced approach while reimagining its source material- it wasn’t afraid to change things around when it felt the need to make improvements or adjustments, but by and large, it stuck to the larger and smaller beats of the original very faithfully. Can fans expect that same sort of balance from Resident Evil 3, or is this one perhaps going to take more liberties with the original game and its content?

We took a similar approach in developing the reimagined Resident Evil 3, but you’ll notice that we took more liberties this time around. It was important for us to keep true to the essence of the original but still keep things fresh for newcomers and legacy fans alike.

Given the fact that Resident Evil 3 overlaps with 2 in terms of chronology – and obviously this is something the original played around with a bit as well – but is there a chance that fans of last year’s remake will see some familiar stuff in RE3, not just in terms of locations, but also the story?

By now, if you’ve cleared the Resident Evil 3 Raccoon City Demo, you would have seen some familiar faces. I think players will be happy to see what might overlap in the narrative.

"It was important for us to keep true to the essence of the original but still keep things fresh for newcomers and legacy fans alike."

Everything that we’ve seen of Resident Evil 3 so far – whether that’s its trailers or what you’ve said about it or even just its promotional material – gives off the impression that Carlos is perhaps going to play a bigger role in the remake than he did in the original, in terms of the story and his playable section- can you talk about that?

Carlos will have his own playable portions. We’re almost at launch so we’re looking forward to seeing people play and experience those sections firsthand.

One of the most exciting things we saw in the Resident Evil 3 trailer was the sequence shows from Jill’s first-person perspective, where she runs through a building while being chased by Nemesis- obviously, it’s been made clear that the first person view was a stylistic choice, and used just for the trailer, but was there ever a conversation during development about what perspective to go with? First person, over the shoulder, perhaps even fixed cameras?

Development is an iterative process and we are always experimenting with things. Having said that, we knew that the reimagined Resident Evil 2 went with an over-the-shoulder camera and we took the same approach.

The original Resident Evil 3 was a much more action-oriented game than its predecessors were- how is the remake going to approach that? How are you looking to replicate the original’s action successfully, but still sticking to the series’ (and the original game’s) horror style?

Like its predecessor, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 3 expands on action elements. At its core, the game is still survival horror, but additions such as Perfect Dodge allow players to play it more like an action game without feeling like a hardcore shooter.

"Like its predecessor, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 3 expands on action elements. At its core, the game is still survival horror, but additions such as Perfect Dodge allow players to play it more like an action game without feeling like a hardcore shooter."

What advancements have you made to Nemesis while redesigning him for the remake? How’s the process of deciding what will and won’t work for him within the context of the game been?

First off, in terms of visual design, the art director Yonghee Cho wanted to make him feel like he fit in the reimagined and photorealistic Raccoon City and felt like a prototype model. Gameplay-wise, we wanted Nemesis to give players the feeling that they were constantly being pursued by a relentless bioweapon. He’s very agile in his movements.

Game pacing is important, and we worked on striking a balance between having players feel anxious and also giving them periods of respite. Nemesis is a formidable foe but not something that is completely insurmountable for someone as skilled as Jill.