If Capcom came to you today and said...

[AsteroidBlues]

I was drinking my morning coffee (I hate the stuff... but it was already made and I had nothing else), and came up with an interesting thought. As much as people here give their opinions on how things should have been done, I thought it would be interesting to hear your input on a hypothetical situation; If Capcom came to you today and said the following...

"We want YOU to be the creative force behind the next RE game, we only ask that you uphold three conditions...

1. The story can take place at any point in the timeline, as long as it fits neatly with the strict canon- so help ye News Bot (No Gaiden)
2. The story must be original- Remaking previous RE games, Released or unreleased, is forbidden
3. If you end up showcasing a beta version before releasing a final version that differs slightly, don't release it for the lulz

We'll give you the sole control over the artists, programmers, writers, etc, to do with what you see fit. You can utilize any characters within the canon universe given that they are still alive at the point in time which your story takes place. You may implement the old RE control scheme, or newer control schemes; Pre-rendered graphics or fully 3D worlds may also be used. Crappy voice acting is optional, but not preferred."

So if this happened to you, what would your RE game be like? Use the example template below to fill us in on YOUR idea of an epic RE game.

Please use the template, it is your friend. Just blank out my creative game info and insert your own.
~~

Title: Teh RE:lulzor
Timeline: January, 1998
Setting(s): Raccoon Village, Canada, Uranus

Characters used: Leon S. Bacon, Chris "Stormin" Redpasture, Jill Sandwich

Basic Plot: SUPER ACTIONY OUTERSPACE CANADIAN BACON VIRUS PEW-PEW ADVENTURE!11! Also Chris and Leon are lovers.

Notable Gameplay Mechanics: You can steal apple juice from pre-schools to boost your dehydration levels, and navigate the fully sandbox environment (roughly the size of Ohio) on a magic Velocipede. Also, Dinosaurs with laser beams.

Extra Notes: Leon would probably be wearing a gimpsuit made of french fries, and all the enemies would be modeled after the Stay-Puft marshmallow man.

[Dracarys]

- RPG
- 3 or 4 man active party
- Modified FF XII battle system
- Openworld inside a city or possibly a small region with different towns or cities, but same kind of limits RPGs usually use to limit where you can go early on.

[AsteroidBlues]

- RPG
- 3 or 4 man active party
- Modified FF XII battle system
- Openworld inside a city or possibly a small region with different towns or cities, but same kind of limits RPGs usually use to limit where you can go early on.

Firstly, I'd like to commend you for seeing that there was a template to follow so as to keep the posts clear, concise and entertainingly informational overall, and deciding NOT to use it. xD I would appreciate it if you could flesh out your concept a little more so we can get a true look into what you're RE game would look like, preferably with the template.

Secondly, the concept sounds strange... But dammit, Capcom did give you the reins! An open world RE game is an intriguing concept, one I quite like actually, but I must admit that I've never been a Final Fantasy-esque RPG fan, so I would probably become a bitchy fanboy complaining about how we need to go back to the old school RE4 days. xD

[Guest]

Title: Resident Evil Memories
Timeline: December, 1998
Setting(s): Europe

Characters used: Rebecca Chambers.

Basic Plot: Rebecca is sent to investigate one of the Umbrella's headquarters supposedly making new virus experiments.

Notable Gameplay Mechanics:
-Camera selection (You can choose between static or behind-of-you style)
-RE3's gameplay tweaked
-No continues + Saving Limit (Ink Ribbon)
-Optional Multiplayer
-T-Virus Classic Zombies


Extra Notes: Since my game would be too much Survival Horror for them, they would probably not publish it and replace it for an action-oriented one.

[AsteroidBlues]

Title: Resident Evil Memories
Timeline: December, 1998
Setting(s): Europe

Characters used: Rebecca Chambers.

Basic Plot: Rebecca is sent to investigate one of the Umbrella's headquarters supposedly making new virus experiments.

Notable Gameplay Mechanics:
-Camera selection (You can choose between static or behind-of-you style)
-RE3's gameplay tweaked
-No continues + Saving Limit (Ink Ribbon)
-Optional Multiplayer
-T-Virus Classic Zombies


Extra Notes: Since my game would be too much Survival Horror for them, they would probably not publish it and replace it for an action-oriented one.

The only problem I see with that is the Extra notes. Once you make the game, it must be published. They have no choice... *cracks knuckles*

xD Other than that, I like it. RE3 had some awesome elements that I'd love to see again, and the decision to give players a choice between camera styles is nice. I think that a game such as that would profit from having a 3.5 style camera set up... then again, that camera style may have been crap after dealing with it for extended periods of time.

Which characters would be available in your multiplayer option? (I assume you mean co-op)

[Guest]

The only problem I see with that is the Extra notes. Once you make the game, it must be published. They have no choice... *cracks knuckles*

xD Other than that, I like it. RE3 had some awesome elements that I'd love to see again, and the decision to give players a choice between camera styles is nice. I think that a game such as that would profit from having a 3.5 style camera set up... then again, that camera style may have been crap after dealing with it for extended periods of time.

Which characters would be available in your multiplayer option? (I assume you mean co-op)

Yeah, co-op. It would be Barry.
He would not take part in the plot, he would be just there for co-op.
The only difference in the story is that Barry was sent to help Rebecca.

[Dracarys]

Firstly, I'd like to commend you for seeing that there was a template to follow so as to keep the posts clear, concise and entertainingly informational overall, and deciding NOT to use it. xD I would appreciate it if you could flesh out your concept a little more so we can get a true look into what you're RE game would look like, preferably with the template.

Secondly, the concept sounds strange... But dammit, Capcom did give you the reins! An open world RE game is an intriguing concept, one I quite like actually, but I must admit that I've never been a Final Fantasy-esque RPG fan, so I would probably become a bitchy fanboy complaining about how we need to go back to the old school RE4 days. xD

I'm getting ready to out, I didn't have time for the template or in depth details. Maybe 6 hours from now or so.

[AsteroidBlues]

I'm getting ready to out, I didn't have time for the template or in depth details. Maybe 6 hours from now or so.

Alright, sounds good!

I've been tossing around an idea, lemme know what you think.


Title: Resident Evil: Operation Dark River
Timeline: 2006 (shortly after Spencer Mansion incident)
Setting(s): Lao Tsung (Think of something like Vietnam)

Characters used: Leon S. Kennedy- Chris and others in cameo appearances.

Basic Plot: The BSAA is alerted to a possible Biohazardous activity going on deep in the jungles of Lao Tsung, near an abandoned 1960's military facility near the region's only water source, Tối sông. (Dark River) Intel is fuzzy, but boots on the ground speak of rumors involving grisly murders and odd disappearances in the region. More concrete intel points to increased black market dealings in the country, dealings that are ultimately discovered to involve an hereto unknown virus strain being sold by high ranking researchers from the now defunct Umbrella Corp.

The BSAA is called upon by the UN to insert a covert five man squad into the region, to investigate, recover and/or neutralize any perceived biohazardous material. The team would be in the country without authorization from the Government of Lao Tsung (Due to the UN fearing corruption in the Government), therefore all knowledge of the operation would be disavowed should the mission fail.

The United States Government requests that Chris Redfield be instated as leader of the team, but due to recent events within the Spencer Mansion, the director of the North American branch of the BSAA declines the request citing that he felt Chris was not ready for active duty at the time. With few other people being experienced with this type of threat, US Government Agent Leon S. Kennedy is assigned to the team in a support/advisory role due to his performance under pressure in Spain and Southern America during operation Javier.

The team is inserted into the jungle via helicopter in the early morning hours, several miles south of the compound, near the Dark River. While approaching the compound, they meet with opposition, seemingly villagers infected with a Plagas-Type parasite- The sole difference being a higher amount of mutations (Origin of the C-Virus anyone?). Leon gets separated from the team (now two men down) as they're being savagely attacked from all sides by the hostile locals.

Leon, low on ammo, water and flashlight batteries must complete his mission with no communication from the outside world. His mission... Survive.

Notable Gameplay Mechanics:
-RE6 style control scheme, heavily relying on stealth to survive
-Large open world jungle environment surrounding the Dark River Valley and Compound (possible village nearby)
-EXTREMELY limited ammunition, given the location.
-Thirst and hunger play a role in your survival. Being too hungry will weaken constitution, lack of drinkable water will make you hallucinate as well as weaken constitution. (Eating fish like in RE4 takes MUCH bigger role, as well as snakes, etc)
-Night/Day cycle, requiring flashlight during nigh time (eats battery) and sleep (which could be the save function).
-You can only carry so much weight, forcing you to carry only what you need and to stash the rest where you can find it later
-Local Animals are infected, making travel in the jungle during night cycle extremely dangerous.
-Different Armor types that are scavengable (A-la RE1.5), each with varying weights (causing fatigue) and breathablity (affecting water requirements)
-Multi-branch storyline, having several ways to complete the game (implementing several different endings depending on player decisions)
-Ability to make own ammunition, such as higher power "Magnum" type rounds (only usable once) versus lower power rounds that afford multiple reloads before being unreloadable. With limited amounts of shell casings in the game, one must choose wisely between the different types of ammo to make.
-Infected enemies that hunt you in large parties, deadly silent and highly camouflaged, can be anywhere at any given moment, though can be evaded with effort. Nemesis style enemies that are harder to shake, but are far fewer in number.
-Weapons could include the Grey Ghost, Combat Knife, assorted pistols common to the region, old military rifles, Claymoore mines among others.

Extra Notes: The game would rely on complete isolation, atmosphere, the constant fear of being hunted down and extremely limited ammunition to create a horror laden experience. There would be all sorts of cool locations; A few I had in mind were cave systems in the mountains to the north, possible Vietnam War Era plane crash grown over with vines and such, the compound, a village from which most of your enemies reside (when they aren't hunting you) and several others.

[Det. Beauregard]

I'll try for a semi-serious one...

Title: Resident Evil Awakenings (makes about as much sense as Revelations' title did)
Timeline: October-November, 2011
Setting(s): Possum City, a fictional small city on the US's east coast (Maine, perhaps?)

Characters used: Claire Redfield, Kevin Ryman, and several new ones; some existing characters would be mentioned

Basic Plot: A massive biohazard incident occurs in Possum City when zombies attack and decimate the local population. Due to the scope of the outbreak, TerraSave sends in a large crew to aid with relief efforts; among them is Claire Redfield. Her team becomes trapped in a quarantine zone, and during the intro, she becomes separated from her teammates. As she fights to survive the zombie-infested city, she witnesses the deaths of her entire team. She is able to survive due to her past experiences facing BOWs, unlike her TerraSave buddies.

In her travels, she encounters Kevin Ryman, a cop with the local department. Kevin, a survivor of the Raccoon incident like Claire, moved to Possum City after a nine-year career as a detective in Miami (he got sick of the humidity and crime). Throughout the game, Kevin shows up at random times to assist Claire (and vice-versa).

Claire eventually finds herself in a Tricell lab, which, on the surface, is just a normal building where everyday scientific experiments occurred. Underneath, however, is a secret sub-level where all the illegal shit went down. It is here that she uncovers the truth behind the outbreak, and aims to exterminate the source.

Notable Gameplay Mechanics:

- Old-school Resident Evil (manual ink ribbon typewriter saves, limited ammo, etc.)
- Can be played with either classic odd camera angles or the newer over-the shoulder feel
- Game length as long as RE4's main game
- Semi-open world (lots of hub areas)
- In addition to zombies, new BOWs based on Umbrella's past successes
- An insane arsenal of weapons to choose from, with skill points used to upgrade them (no merchants or money systems)
- Equally focused on combat and investigative elements
- Many puzzles that are heavily randomized to ensure a different experience each time
- Randomizer option to switch up locations of ammo, health, weapons, and key items (to ensure exciting replays)
- A knife is available (and always on the character, like RE4-5), but otherwise there is no melee combat that can damage enemies

Extra Notes:

- A "Separate Ways" type scenario starring Kevin Ryman that is as long as the main game (mostly areas not seen in Claire's game)
- RAID-type mode, with stages that are less linear
- Mercenaries mode, but with a new "elimination" mode with no timer where the objective is to kill all enemies
- Item Hunt mode, where the characters hunt down items (jewels?) throughout the maps
- Extra modes can be played in co-op; main game and Kevin's scenario are single-player only
- Over 30 past RE characters selectable for all side modes, each with their own skill sets

[foreverx01]

Title: Resident Evil: Cogita ante salis (Think before you leap in latin)
Timeline: May 2013
Setting: A large island far out from California
Characters: Billy Coen as the main character (You have the option to play as a new female scientist halfway through the game after first play through, and a co-op prequel
side story where you play as all 4 scientists after first playthrough) Several new characters, Rebecca Chambers, 5 survivor scientists in the lab building, where 1 follows with
you to the shore/city once you escape the island)

Basic Plot: Billy Coen is being held prisoner in a 2 floor underground prison facility that is part of a large laboratory on an island, Billy doesn't know who he is but it's heavily implied by his tattoos and revealed once you escape the prison when his I.D is found by one of the survivor scientists in the lab (There was a virus incident involving the personal situation of the founder of the new corporation, who is an ashford descendant, who tried to bring his dead daughter back to life but he went crazy and released the virus) The scientists have been there for 7 days, while billy escapes the prison and finds them in the laboratory and they explain that him and his team (Which is now dead) came to investigate.

Billy and the scientists have to escape the island (Which has a small town like village that is used to house the researchers on the island) and Billy and one of the scientists explore the laboratory, underground prison, the town, then the mountains of the island, and in the mountainous forest , they find a recreation of the Spencer mansion, than they take a helicopter to the mainland and find that the virus has escaped days ago) Throughout the game, you are pursued by Ashford's recreated daughter, who is bald, strapped on a bed with hydraulic-spider like legs. Zombies are now like classic zombies, but they can run sort of like crimson heads and slowly develop intelligence. BOW's are present (New ones mostly, but lickers like RE2 are there and zombie dogs).

Notable Gameplay Mechanics:

-Game play similar to Silent Hillownpour/Resident Evil 4:Hookman version
-You have to choose between equipping the flashlight or weapon
-3 different endings (And some major characters and locations don't even appear depending on certain choice you make, such as the main antagonist being already dead before you meet him)
- A 4 player online Co-op side story, where you play as the 4 scientists before Billy arrives.
- You play as one of the scientists halfway through the game if you choose
-Ink ribbon save system
-Stealth based mechanics, such as crouching to hide from advanced zombies or enemy forces

Extra notes:

-Atmosphere similar to that of the Siren games
-When indoors, it's a fixed overview with a camera that follows you similar to RE4:Hookman beta but switches to over the shoulder view when you knife/aim
-Music from RE1 plays when you're in the Spencer mansion re-creation to add nostalgia, and exploration and figuring stuff out on your own is a large element
- Memos are essential for figuring out puzzles (Unlike Resident Evil 5)

[[STARS]TyranT]

Resident Evil: Origins

You start, alone with nary but a flash light with limited battery. You begin in a bedroom, a typical looking bedroom, but it becomes clear you've slept too long. For some reason the power is out. No lights respond. You've no weapons, no nothing, other than yourself and your flashlight.

You are weakly man, you put on a lab coat, and exit the room leading to a room where you notice a deer head mounted on the wall, you exit that room and to your immediate left and right is a lengthy corridor, as you move you hear a shuffle, you are not alone, and you only have your torch.

It becomes apparent to the player that there is no health bar, nothing, so you feel very vulnerable, indeed one attack will probably be enough to finish you off, but your persist.

You eventually find a way downstairs, and yet it all feels familiar, you know your way, there are pictures on the right as you descend, a chandelier on the ceiling. As you reach the ground floor, you notice the doorway to the storage cupboard under the stairs is ajar. As you look in, you are suddenly grabbed by a zombie, and killed slowly as it bites into your flesh, as you peer into the room you see a large chest, on the floor a bag of fertilizer.

The game over screen appears, instead of game over, it's an obituary. [Player name] passed away June 2nd 1998.



Yep, it's an Amnesia/Slender style game, set in the Spencer Mansion, after the outbreak. And there is no combat, no nothing, just you, hoping to try and escape. Each playthrough is different, with zombies being in different places. Etc. The game released as £10 through Steam. Makes millions, and gives Resident Evil fans the horror they deserve, as well as perfect nostalgia.