A new behind-the-scenes Resident Evil Village video explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and internal struggles among developers and quality assurance. Though the game has performed exceptionally well since its release earlier this month, it seems that there were some significant kinks to work out along the way.
Fans have gotten several looks into the making of Resident Evil Village that have provided captivating insight into the game’s development and production. Just a couple of weeks ago, a behind-the-scenes look at the process behind the game’s motion capture performance was released, showing side-by-side comparisons between production and the final cut scenes. Resident Evil’s official Youtube channel also released a video detailing the creation of the game’s theme song, “Village of Shadows,” as well as several videos showcasing new content and other announcements ahead of the game's release. This newest addition serves as a continuation of the behind-the-scenes content from yet another intriguing angle.
The latest video, which features interviews with the game’s director, Morimasa Sato, producer, Tsuyoshi Kanda, general manager, Makoto Kadono, project manager, Tatsuo Isoko, and quality assurance manager, Shutaro Kobayashi, reveals that production on Resident Evil Village came to a complete halt due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Sato explains that after a month of self-isolation, the team returned with the realization that the game needed a lot of work - and with a shortened timeline to boot.
If the impact of the pandemic was not enough to deal with, it turns out that the game’s developers and quality assurance team were not seeing eye-to-eye. Though developers were initially confident in what they had created, a focus test with a group of players revealed that the game quickly became frustrating and boring due to the enemies being overly aggressive. When quality assurance provided developers with critical feedback, it was initially not taken well, and tensions rose due to the fact that such substantial changes needed to be made so close to the deadline.
Fortunately, after a crucial meeting between developers and quality assurance, the two teams were able to resolve their differences and work together to fix the issues in a short timeframe. They realized that by trading in outright aggressive enemies for paranoia and the urge to second-guess decisions at every turn, they could achieve the “struggle to survive” that they had been aiming for since the beginning.
The video does not explicitly address whether the COVID-19 pandemic directly affected the internal struggle that transpired during the game’s development. Based on the commentary, however, it seems possible that the delay may have created an opportunity for reflection that would have otherwise been lost. Perhaps there was a small silver lining to this whole panorama after all.