BIO HAZARD Writer/Planner Kenichi Iwao Interview

[News Bot]

GamingMoe recently had the opportunity to interview BIO HAZARD planner and scenario writer Kenichi Iwao, the man solely responsible for spawning what fans have come to know as the universe of the series.

Special Thanks to cvxfreak for assisting with the interview.

Source: GamingMoe

[News Bot]

Out of curiosity — did you plan for Wesker to survive?

Yes, we had plans to use him again down the line, since the T-Virus can revive people from the dead.

"I'm not the kind of person to say atodaso but you know what? Atodaso. Afuckingatodaso."

[Grem]

So, he seems to imply that they originally planned to revive Wesker with the T-virus.

That means that, at the time, maybe Capcom thought that Wesker was infected by the T-virus after getting impaled by the Tyrant.

So perhaps, when they decided to bring him back in the original version of Code Veronica, his resurrection wasn't something Wesker himself planned and it was just an accident.

News Bot, I remember you writing something about the Tyrant being used to spread the T-virus throughout the world or something along those lines. Could it be that the T-virus inside the Tyrant mutated and could potentially create superhumans ? And perhaps that's why Wesker was brought back to life the way he is in Code Veronica ?

I'm still waiting for Iwao's explanations about the plan of Wesker in RE1. So much things remain unclear, particularly regarding the T-virus and the possibility to create superhuman.

Of course we can only speculate, but when I read this I'm really under the impression that since RECV complete edition and the Wesker's Report I Wesker's resurrection was handled very poorly and even contradicted the vision of Iwao.

[News Bot]

They originally planned and ended up reviving him with the t-Virus, the only change that was made was done in a way that didn't contradict BIO1's scenario or Wesker's actions. His shock becomes a feint to throw off S.T.A.R.S. yet doesn't contradict anything because that's logical. In Iwao's version, he could've been infected in any way, but most likely by the Tyrant. How exactly he would've returned is irrelevant and unlikely that they made any plans on paper, just thoughts no different from Sasaki's "every Ada appearance is a clone" one. It could've been planned, it could not have been. Same with whether superhumans entered the equation at that point, though Iwao did think about superhumans and you can see that in Parasite Eve II as well. The viruses were written in relation to the theory of viral-induced evolution, and forced evolution was always Wesker's goal. Iwao recycled it in PE2 since none of the BIO games at that point had elaborated on it, only hinted until BIO5.

In the end, Sugimura decided to tie Wesker directly to the superhuman plot points of the series, in which he received a t-Virus variant that exhibited a combination of Progenitor Virus and t-Virus characteristics while Sherry and Tony/Dante (at the time) would be his foils. His revival wouldn't have been possible with the Progenitor Virus, as that function only became possible in the t-Virus, and even that, it's not literal resurrection. If you injected a corpse with the t-Virus, nothing would happen. It has to be in the body before or at the moment of "death", before everything shuts down, as the virus has a rapid regenerative ability and can augment those functions before they shut down, preventing death and strengthening the host. A t-Virus host doesn't die easily besides destroying the brain.

Iwao already explained. They intended to use him in future, but didn't have anything concrete, otherwise he'd have told us or GamingMoe. They were spitballing and only knew that he survived. The resurrection is handled great in the end, and it doesn't matter if it contradicts Iwao's "vision" because it was blurry.

[Deathlygasm]

You said they had to be infected BEFORE death yet in Code Veronica the zombies appear to be busting out of graves at the beginning. Any explanation for that?

[Sly]

Iwao clearly states that "the T-virus can revive the dead", though.

[News Bot]

You said they had to be infected BEFORE death yet in Code Veronica the zombies appear to be busting out of graves at the beginning. Any explanation for that?

This is first explained in the drama albums. Zombies rising from graves were infected and buried unknowingly because the virus mimics the medical signs of death, as I explained.

Iwao clearly states that "the T-virus can revive the dead", though.

Clinical death. The same reason the above mentioned Zombies are buried. They meet the medical requirements of death and even lose consciousness in a similar manner, but they're actually in a coma, the virus sustaining their life while it modifies bodily functions at the genetic level and resuscitates the host. The use of leech DNA was conceived to explain how this would be possible, since leeches can survive without oxygen by digesting the lysate of dead cells--- incidentally also explaining why Zombies have more advanced necrosis compared to a failed Progenitor Virus host.

Clinical death is the medical term for cessation of blood circulation and breathing, the two necessary criteria to sustain human and many other organisms' lives. It occurs when the heart stops beating in a regular rhythm, a condition called cardiac arrest. The term is also sometimes used in resuscitation research.

The t-Virus circumvents this entirely by making circulation, breathing and heartbeat unnecessary to sustain life. It does not revive corpses. Iwao is being brief. His own descriptions go into more detail.

When Zombie is heard, the impression is that of a ghost of hell revived from a graveyard, but they aren't exactly dead.

As soon as the t-Virus enters a host, the host simply cannot die naturally, even if they meet all the criteria for what we define as death. The reason Crimson Heads are known for their red appearance is because the virus restores circulation, breathing and heartbeat in that mutation during a second coma. It's possible a Zombie can die via starvation, but we don't know how long this would take or whether they would be like The Walking Dead, which uses the same approach to clinical death and virus resuscitation. t-Virus hosts are biologically immortal, even more than lobsters since they are not susceptible to disease.

Wesker was basically a Super Zombie, but the variant he received maintained and augmented organ functions due to a superior regenerative ability. He's a perfect Zombie in other words. Sugimura did actually retcon one of Iwao's ideas regarding how the virus and Zombies work when leech DNA was incorporated. Originally, in Iwao's notes the advanced decomposition of Zombies was explained by decreased metabolism. Since leech DNA explained it better while addressing other concerns about the virus, Zombies were instead given increased metabolism, which added another reason to their insatiable hunger. Sugimura improved it, overall.

[Sly]

If zombies do not breath, how can they moan ? If their blood circulation is stopped, why do they bleed heavily when injured ?
If a zombie does not need heartbeat, circulation and breathing, why does it die when its head is detached from its body ? In some zombie movies, this is not the case : every bit of a zombie corpse can act independantly even when dismembered. But in Resident Evil, zombies need their brain to stay "alive" : why ? And how can it work without oxygen ? Why can't the head survive on its own ?
If a zombie's bodily functions are stopped, how can it secrete substances like the acid it sometimes vomits on your shoes ?
The slow metabolism explanation would better account for some of these questions, I reckon.

[Ultimacloud123]

Decay produces gases like methane and carbon dioxide. Lungs don't necessarily need oxygen. Think helium when breathed in causes the vocal cords to vibrate higher causing high squeaky voices. Oxygen is only needed for the living. Also keep in account that lungs are involuntary and function on it's own in a sense, pretty much why you can't hold your breath forever or to the point of death.

Also realistically the body can't function without the brain. Severed limbs will always be severed limbs.

[Drake]

So, why did Wesker require those injections in 5? Was it to adapt to uroborus or so?

[News Bot]

If zombies do not breath, how can they moan ? If their blood circulation is stopped, why do they bleed heavily when injured ?
If a zombie does not need heartbeat, circulation and breathing, why does it die when its head is detached from its body ? In some zombie movies, this is not the case : every bit of a zombie corpse can act independantly even when dismembered. But in Resident Evil, zombies need their brain to stay "alive" : why ? And how can it work without oxygen ? Why can't the head survive on its own ?
If a zombie's bodily functions are stopped, how can it secrete substances like the acid it sometimes vomits on your shoes ?
The slow metabolism explanation would better account for some of these questions, I reckon.

Zombies only bleed in gameplay, in order to let the player know they're defeated. Zombies also go down from 4-5 9mm bullets in gameplay because it wouldn't be a fun game otherwise. There's always been a disconnect between story and gameplay on this point. As for moans, I doubt they thought about it. But since V-ACT can restore lung function to original levels it's likely the lungs weren't completely nonoperational, only reduced in function as we know the virus cannot revive dead cells, only regenerate those damaged. I think there are also many Zombies in the series that don't moan at all... particularly ones severely damaged.

The brain can't function on its own unless under very special circumstances. It needs the body for energy, temperature regulation, cerebrospinal fluid, etc. Suddenly separating the brain from the body would induce catastrophic shock that would lead to brain death not unlike having a bullet destroy it.

Not all of a Zombie's bodily functions stop. Some do, some are augmented. In this case, stomach acids are strengthened to digest raw flesh.

Honestly it really just sounds like you're trying to create holes in the plot point because you personally don't like it.

So, why did Wesker require those injections in 5? Was it to adapt to uroborus or so?

The experimental t-Virus variant he received was unstable. PG67A/W was a stablizing agent that prevented side-effects. He only needed these after a number of years just as some people are genetically at risk of cancer. In this case, his modified genes contained at least one error that put him at risk of side-effects. PG67A/W likely targeted those genes and suppressed their expression.

[Sly]

Honestly it really just sounds like you're trying to create holes in the plot point because you personally don't like it.

Not at all. I'm just asking questions.

This is first explained in the drama albums. Zombies rising from graves were infected and buried unknowingly because the virus mimics the medical signs of death, as I explained.

I remember you wrote earlier in some other thread that the t-virus in Rockfort Island was Alfred's attempt to recreate the t-veronica virus, and that this particular strain could, in fact, revive the dead, unlike the original t-virus.
So, the graveyard zombies in RE3 would be just like you said, reanimated corpses from "clinical death", whereas those from CVX would really be dead prisoners coming back to life. Which, honeslty, made more sense, since the anatomist knew very well what the virus could do, so obviously he would not bury infected people that could rise from their graves at any moment. That's why he usually burnt them.
Do you still hold that this is the case, or did you change your mind ?

[News Bot]

I remember you wrote earlier in some other thread that the t-virus in Rockfort Island was Alfred's attempt to recreate the t-veronica virus, and that this particular strain could, in fact, revive the dead, unlike the original t-virus.
So, the graveyard zombies in RE3 would be just like you said, reanimated corpses from "clinical death", whereas those from CVX would really be dead prisoners coming back to life. Which, honeslty, made more sense, since the anatomist knew very well what the virus could do, so obviously he would not bury infected people that could rise from their graves at any moment. That's why he usually burnt them.
Do you still hold that this is the case, or did you change your mind ?

That's my current standpoint. CV and DC information on those specific Zombies says they were infected by the virus leaking into the soil, so they certainly weren't infected prior to death. There's also the Zombie in a body bag, though I think the one in the iron maiden was always a Zombie-- a defense mechanism. Different t-Virus strains have different effects. The t-Virus combined with Nemesis secretions has a vastly superior regenerative ability for example. It's true that the viruses do whatever the writers want them to, but everything is justified, even if after the fact in many cases, and based on how a virus of such nature would act in real life.

The ones in BIO3 and the Fate of Raccoon City albums were buried after being declared clinically dead by the hospital, but were admitted in the first place for infection. So they were still alive when buried, only in a virus-induced coma.