Frank West’s 2006 zombie-slaying mall adventure Rise deadis being revived for the modern age, with a remaster — not a full remake — in September. Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster gives the original Xbox 360 game a nice makeover, but the new version is more than just a graphical upgrade.
The development teams at Capcom and NeoBards Entertainment are addressing some of the shortcomings of the beloved original game. In Dead Rising Deluxe Remasterrescuing survivors in the zombie-infested Willamette Parkview Mall will become easier (or at least less frustrating). Frank can now move and shoot while chatting via walkie-talkie. Players will even know if the trusty weapon in their hands is about to break from overuse.
But that’s not all that’s changing. Polygon recently spoke with the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster development team via email. We asked what is being addressed by the remaster of this zombie classic and why some elements of the game are getting an update.
You can read our Q&A with the Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster devs below.
Polygon: Revisiting the original Rise dead For this project, what were the first things the team looked at and said, “Oh, this has to change!”?
Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster development team: Compared to more recent games, Rise deadThe original control specs make it hard to say that the game is easy to play. This is the first thing we felt needed to be changed. For fans of the original game who are used to the older controls, Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster provides the ability to select ‘Classic’ controls from the Options menu.
Did the team make any fun or interesting discoveries while reliving Dead Rising?
When reviewing the original game for development, Dead Rising Deluxe Remasterwe found that many in-game items that were available to players had very detailed specifications that the average player might not be able to pick up just by playing. I guess you could say that the staff that worked on the original game paid an “insane” amount of attention to detail.
For example, when using the skateboard, players can accelerate by moving the left stick of the controller back and forth. We were both surprised and amazed at the level of detail that the staff of the original game had put into it and we have made an effort to reproduce this in Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster.
Rise dead has some pretty restrictive rules and the original wasn’t always player-friendly, but it’s loved for those quirks too. What was the approach to updating Rise dead to meet modern tastes while retaining the spirit of the original?
We consulted with several staff members who worked on the original game, hoping to improve playability and incorporate positive elements from the original game into the game. Dead Rising Deluxe RemasterWe also tried to add features that were necessary to make the game more enjoyable, while retaining elements from the original that initially seemed clunky and ultimately became part of the game. Rise dead‘s unique charm.
For example, we understand that some players want to play without having to worry about real-time progression. Making decisions about what to prioritize in a limited amount of time is one of Rise dead‘s core components, so we opted not to add a feature that would only stop the passage of time.
That said, having time progress at a fixed rate can lead to downtime, which doesn’t necessarily make the game more engaging. In response to this, we’ve implemented a feature that allows players to fast forward time at their own discretion.
Rise dead is known for its interesting performances (“Frank the Pimp,” “Zombie Genocider,” etc.). What was your general approach to “remastering” the performances this time around?
Several of the memorable achievements from the original game have been retained, but a handful of trophies/achievements have also been updated for the release of Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. One thing to note is that we’ve made adjustments to ensure that none of the achievements are ridiculously difficult to achieve.
you are Remove erotica points of photos. What was the reason behind this change? How will it affect certain quests?
We believe that the general themes of Rise dead are not focused on eroticism and therefore felt that the Erotica Points rewards were no longer relevant to the overall goals of the photography elements in Dead Rising Deluxe RemasterOf course, players can still take photos of anything they want in the game world.
We received some constructive feedback from beloved fans who loved the original system. One of them was the suggestion that Erotica Points could have been awarded for photographing male characters, but we decided that such an implementation is not possible at this time. We also adjusted Erotica-related quests from the original game so that they can now be completed in different ways. We hope that fans will continue to share their feedback with us after the game is released.
We’ve seen a number of new costumes, new control options, and new voice actors. What do you think are some other new additions that fans of the original game will enjoy the most?
Several new skill books have been added Dead Rising Deluxe RemasterCombining these with in-game items can create new gameplay experiences, so be sure to collect them and try them out for yourself.
What is the team most proud of? Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster?
Even 18 years after its original release, the first mainline game in the Dead Rising series remains an inherently entertaining and enjoyable game. We are proud to have Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will enable us to experience the charm of Dead Rise 1 with video game fans in a new and definitive way.
We have received warm words of encouragement and some criticism from loyal fans, which we take as proof that Dead Rise 1 has been a beloved game for years. We have nothing but sincere appreciation for all the fans who have supported the Dead Rising series. We hope that Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster gives new players a reason to become fans of the series.