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GameInformer Talk With Siren: Blood Curse's Producer - PS3Forums
Quote: : We Talk With Siren: Blood Curse's Producer
by Jeff Cork
f youve downloaded Siren: Blood Curse and wondered why the installation process was so tedious, youre not alone.
The game consists of 12 episodes, which can be purchased simultaneously or in three chapters of four episodes.
No matter how you buy them, though, each episode has to be downloaded and installed individuallya process that can take nearly an hour.
What gives?
The benefit for allowing this is to allow for players who have limited space on their hard disk drive, says Tsubasa Inaba, the games U.S.
Producer. We are aware that a lot of players are complaining about this, and what the DRM enables us to dothank godis to keep track of who has purchased this already.
Providing they have purchased it once, they have the freedom to go and delete whatever episodes they have already played and do not wish to sit on their hard disk drive.
Say they played episode three already, they delete it once because they want space for some other game or what have you, but then they want to revisit that episode.
They can always go back to the store and download episode three again whenever they wish.
If we stuck to a one through four, five through eight and what have you, they would have been stuck to a larger chunk.
So in order to maximize on that flexibility, weve kept it to a per-episode structure.
While the explanation doesnt make the process any less tedious, it makes sense.
The games total size is right around the 9 GB mark, which is a large chunk of hard-drive space by nearly any measure.
We talked to Inaba about episodic gaming, how the game was tweaked to appeal to American audiences and much more.
Game Informer: Was there any specific reason you decided to release Siren: Blood Curse all at once instead of staggering out episodes on a scheduled basis?
Tsubasa Inaba: This was something that I sat down with marketing, and we discussed this a lot, whether or not to roll it out more like a television show design.
That was something we leaned on at one point, but at the same time, having played this so many times and taking it from the users perspective, once you get started youre going to want to play the next episode.
And once youre through with that one, youre going to want to proceed to the following one.
Although the game has been designed very nicely with the episodic sequences and keeping the players hanging each time, it already has the trailer that starts off the episode and theres another trailer that hints at what happens next.
With all that coming to you, the end user is going to want to instantly play the next one.
Before we released the game, we did receive feedback from media and users saying, Are you going to keep us waiting months and months and months for the next batch of episodes? We realized that was going to be a concern, so we leaned on making all of the episodes available at one time, at the sake of keeping our users happy.
[laughs] There was good feedback from our audience, and that seemed like the best decision for us to make.
GI: In Japan, people can buy the game as a Blu-Ray Disc.
If hard-drive space is a big concern for consumers, is there any plan to bring the game in that format to the United States?
Inaba: I do not believe so.
I believe were sticking with the PSN distribution method.
We are very happy with how the PSN store has been very successful for us in the U.S.
Market. In general, we have a very different market trend.
Whereas in Japan, the PSN may not be as strong and they have had to lean on BD, for the U.S.
Market especially, the PSN store has been very great for us.
Our users our liking it, and going back to the way that the game has been designed, it fits perfectly on the PSN store as well with its episodic nature, in-game commercewhich takes you directly to the store if you dont have the episode.
And even in the bigger picture, it is broadening the portfolio for the PSN store.
Maybe two years ago, people would refer to it as a place to download simple games, whereas now were bringing more rich content.
Were giving full PS3 gaming experiences over the PSN.
Were pretty comfortable with where it is now.
GI: So you think Western audiences are getting more and more comfortable with the idea of buying full-fledged games as downloads?
Inaba: I certainly think so.
Taking the example of Siren, Ive been reading a lot of positive feedback in terms of price points as well.
By putting it on the PSN store, weve been able to minimize cost.
In those terms, people have been very positive and are very much appreciating the lower price point.
And, of course, not having to go to the storethey dont even have to get off the sofa.
GI: Do you think the original version of Siren was too Japanese for American audiences?
Inaba: Its funny you ask that.
In my history of working at Sony, for a brief time I worked on that project when I was based in Tokyo, and I helped these guys bring it into the U.S.
And Europe. My honest opinion is probably yes, which is why they revisited the core concept of the game.
Obviously, the story has been completely rewritten, only keeping the setting of Japan.
As you can see, theyve taken into factor that most of the playable characters are, indeed, American.
I think this has brought the game to a new level, especially from the U.S.
Market point of view.
The players here in America will relate much, much better and easier to the characters in the game, because the story is being told from the U.S.
Perspective. Being in a very mysterious environment over in Japan, that itself is already a mystery on its own, and the storyline being so strange kind of adds to that horror aspect as well.
And again, by keeping those characters American, it keeps it at just the right distance for people to be able to hang on, whereas if I think if all the playable characters were Japanese, it may not have been that way.
It may have been a little too distant maybe.
I think this version works very nicely, even from the European perspective, I would assume.
GI: How have the Japanese responded to the changes?
Inaba: From a Japanese point of viewbeing Japanesethat doesnt feel too awkward.
There are just so many movies and TV shows that are based in the U.S.
And Europe. For example, the Japanese love the series 24 and Lost.
They have a very strong following for that.
I dont think theyre drawn away necessarily because most of the playable characters arent Japanese.
Rather, they probably will enjoy seeing how a story is told in a setting that they are more familiar with than Americans, but will probably be able to understand the feelings that the American TV crew will be going through.
They can imagine being in a distant location and being completely lost with whats going on.
I think it works for even Japan.
GI: Siren is interesting because its one of a few games where the creatures who are attacking you retain a shred of humanity.
In the beginning of the game, you run into the police officer, and you can get his notebook, with a drawing and a thank-you letter from a little kid.
Then you Sight Jack the Shibito and see some of them singing or humming to themselves.
Inaba: Its a very awkward situation that you confront immediately as you play.
Like you say, these villagers are cursed.
Obviously, your ultimate goal is to undo the curse or at least get to the bottom of the mystery.
I think the team has done a very good job of designing the enemy or opponent characters, where they arent too distant.
They leave that strand of humanity in the characters, so that theyre not too sci-fi, for example, or what have you.
Again, it just adds to the horror theme and the mystery.
GI: I was talking with a co-worker about this, and we both agreed that movies dont really scare us anymore.
Theres something about games, though, that really get to us.
Do you think thats a pretty common experience?
Inaba: I would say so.
I would say for a movieespecially a horror-themed moviethe tendency is to see a few trailers before you actually get yourself to a movie theater.
Those trailers are designed to draw you in, and youre going to want to see the rest of the story.
So you kind of go to the theater assuming that this is going to freak you out.
So youre kind of ready to be scared.
Now we have demos out there, we have trailers to communicate the game, so people know that theyre getting into a horror-themed game.
I think its that interactive bit that really gives us that advantage, where its not a one-way story.
Just the nature of games allows us to play with that and not necessarily give players a one-way scene or a one-way story, where every time they watch it its the same thing.
In a game, we can design it where an opponent character will pop up from behind you instead of in front of you.
Just that one factor adds to that spookiness.
Ive mentioned this to many people that Ive been talking to.
Ive been working on this game for months now and playing this game at the studio just to check the levels or what have you.
Sometimes Ill get caught off guard completely and Ill raise my voice because of it.
Games in general give you that edge, and it really helps to give users a great experience.
GI: You mentioned previews in horror movies, which I think is pretty interesting.
Blood Curse has previews for each episode.
Was it challenging to maintain that balance of getting people excited to play the next episode while not necessarily giving too much away, since youre trying to scare them?
Inaba: Of course.
Absolutely. Its been challenging, even with these interviews.
[laughs] A lot of people ask about what happens in the story, and I dont want to talk too much about it, but I want people to at least be interested in the game.
For the same reason, each of the trailers that the team has put together, weve had to be very careful with putting enough bits out to keep people on their toes and wanting more yet without giving away the story.
If they saw each of the 12 trailers, would they understand the entirety of the game?
I hope not. Its definitely not an easy task.
GI: One of the things thats particularly interesting about Siren is how different characters have their own distinct gameplay types.
When youre playing with Bella, you know that its probably going to be tough and also pretty creepy, because youre helpless.
Is there a particular character that you think sums up the Siren experience?
Inaba: I think Bella is a very good example, and Im happy that you brought her up yourself.
She is the most vulnerable of the seven characters that you play throughout Siren.
The core theme of the game is survival horror, where you dont come out loaded with weapons and blast away your opponents and plow through.
Rather, you have to kind of think about your objectives and how to do them.
The other characters are able to go into combat with the Shibito, be it a metal pipe or a gun that you picked up, but with Bella youre on your own, youre a little girl and youre scared as hell.
And if you are found, its the end of the game.
I think that really takes you to the edge, and I think it best portrays the experience that all of the playable characters are going through to get to the end of the story.
I think Bella is probably the prime character here and best fits the theme of the game overall.
GI: And so much of the story centers around her, too.
Inaba: Oh yes, absolutely.
I mean, as in everyday life, kids are always the center of peoples lives.
I think the team really designed the character of Bella really nicely, and she fits in perfectly.
GI: Another interesting thing with Bella is that the voice actor actually sounded like a young person, whereas in a lot of games people will use a grown woman trying to imitate the voice of a young child, and the end result is almost always terrible.
Inaba: Thats something we always confront.
Again, its something the team focused on, and we just tried to stick to our original concept and theme.
GI: Going through the archives, you unlock ID cards and other paraphernalia with photographs of the characters.
Were the characters modeled on actual people and you simply photographed the real-life inspirations, or did you find photos to look like the models later?
Inaba: I believe its the former, where we did have people that we modeled off of, and we pretty much stuck with thembe it animation, be it ID photos for the archives or what have you.
So those seven characters do exist in real life.
GI: Siren 2 never made it to the U.S.are there any plans to revisit the game in a similar way on the PSN?
Inaba: As of now, I believe not, but well have to see how Siren: Blood Curse does on a global basis.
Well probably have to take it from there.
Hopefully. I certainly loved this experience working with the team and Id love to see a sequel, but I cant confirm anything as of yet.
Source
I should be getting this game hopefully by the end of next week, i'm quite excited.
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I've the game already, and it a hell of a fun.
Can't beat episode 5 but I'll get it.
I love the differnent gameplay with all 7 characters.
Give it a try u'll love it
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Very nice read. Please work on a Siren 2 remake or a new Siren game!
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To anyone who's played Siren Bloodcurse, how does it compare to the Silent Hill games?
What makes it better or worse?
On a scale of 1-10, how is the scare factor?
Right now I'm sitting on the fence(on this game) and any answers would be greatly appreciated.
I may buy it if I get some good answers!
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Yeah, my Gameinformer came in this week.
Was reading it on the toilet.
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Release this bloody (no pun intended) in Australia already.
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No replies to my previous post yet anyone?
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Quote: : To anyone who's played Siren Bloodcurse, how does it compare to the Silent Hill games?
What makes it better or worse?
On a scale of 1-10, how is the scare factor?
Right now I'm sitting on the fence(on this game) and any answers would be greatly appreciated.
I may buy it if I get some good answers!
8/10, the only bad thing about this game that some episodes are quite short.
Other than that, it's scary.
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And it couldn't fit on a DVD.
Hilarious.
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Godofspeed, thanks for your reply.
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