Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City is an expansion for Capcom's historic survival horror franchise with a clear focus on cooperative multiplayer. The game's development is also unique for the franchise as the reins have been handed to a Western developer: Slant Six Games. In an in-company interview Resident Evil: ORC producer Masachika Kawata called Slant Six “efficient”and praised the collaboration between the East and the West.
“What impressed me about working with Slant Six Games is how efficient they are in development. Japanese companies tend to be very particular about each specific aspect. However, most companies in other countries clearly establish what they need to focus on and what they can cut out during the development period. This is definitely an aspect of product management that we should adopt,” Kawata said.
“This kind of tie-up was something new for us, so it was kind of a test run for the series,” Kawata said. “North America is the market where tons of major titles are born, and one of the most popular genres there is shooter games. Slant Six Games has established themselves as one of the leading producers of quality shooters, which is why we chose to team up with them. At Capcom we are really eager to soak up new development ideas that will make us competitive in the global market.”
Kawata noted that Slant Six brought a perspective to the title that was missing within Capcom's Japanese development houses.
“For this title Slant Six Games was responsible for the character design, and I was pleasantly surprised with the character designs they gave us. They were unlike anything people at Capcom would normally come up with. One that really struck me was their suggestion to include a bearded, well-built middle-aged man. That's a type of character you hardly see in Japanese games.”
Operation Raccoon City continues Capcom's ongoing effort to work with Western developers on titles. Certain games in this strategy haven't fared well, like GRIN's Bionic Commando, but other games like Blue Castle's Dead Rising 2 have been more profitable for the company. Can ORC break new ground for Resident Evil?
