7 Behind The Scenes Facts You Never Knew About Capcom's Canceled Resident Evil: Alien
Back in 2012, Creative Assembly pitched a Resident Evil game to Capcom and no one knew about it until about five years ago. Three images on the concept art used during the pitch were leaked online and message boards went insane with speculations on what this game was going to be about.
This mysterious game that never came to be was nicknamed, Resident Evil: Alien. Why was it called that? Who are the characters featured in the pictures? What on earth was this game going to be about? Little is known about what this game could've been, but here's what's known about it so far.
7 It Was Part Of A Shotgun Pitch
During this pitch meeting, it's possible that Creative Assembly didn't have much faith in their Resident Evil pitch because they pitched at least three other games with it. Along with Alien, they also pitched an adaption of Quentin Tarantino's hit film, Django Unchained, another game based on the Marvel Universe organization, S.H.I.E.L.D and a game following the Jason Bourne storyline.
While it is disappointing that none of these games made it out of the head office, we did end up with the Red Dead Redemption series and the upcoming Marvel's Avengers, so all's well that ends well... hopefully.
6 The Artist Went On To More Prestigious Work
The man behind these concept art photos is named Bradley Wright, an artist who specializes in environment and character design. The name may not be ringing any bells in your head but the man has an impressive line of work under his belt.
Previous titles he's worked on include Syndicate, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on the Dark Athena and Halo Wars 2. Wright also created the concept art for Halo Wars 3 which, like Resident Evil: Alien, never made it off the bargaining table.
5 This Was Likely Going To Continue The Revelations Storyline
Back in 2012, years after the commercial success of Resident Evil 4, Capcom released Resident Evil: Revelations with many similar mechanics with the over-the-shoulder aim. It starred series veterans Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield attempting to stop a virus from spreading through the Earth's oceans. Despite not garnering high praise, the game did find enough success to earn a sequel that starred Claire Redfield and Moria Burton, Barry Burton's daughter, trying to survive on an unknown desert island. Some sources (Most that have been deleted) heavily speculate that the female soldier in the picture is Jill. If that is the case, it's probably safe to assume that the other male soldier character is Chris.
It is also heavily believed that the little girl in the pictures is Natalia Korda, who was a prominent character in Revelations 2. From the pictures, it looks like the plan was that she would go through the same character arc but with Jill and Chris instead of Claire and Moria.
4 The Pitch's Setting Looked City-Based
At the end of the Revelations 2, while Claire Redfield is driving, she receives some intel that revealed her brother, Chris was spotted in China. From what can be seen in the revealed photos, it looks like Jill and Chris are in a battle on top of a city building.
The signal tower in the background, with the air-conditioning units, seem to reflect that. Whether or not the plan was that the game take place in China is still unknown because the first Revelations game took place on the Mediterranean Sea and, most likely, the ending of Revelations 2 was just to set up Resident Evil 6. However, a crowded city setting for a next-gen Resident Evil game would have been an interesting change of pace from the more than familiar rural, sewer and laboratory setting we're used to from this series.
3 Rejection Was A Blessing In Disguise
Don't worry, there was never a plan for Resident Evil to jump the shark and introduce aliens like a secret ending of Silent Hill. The reason this pitch was nicknamed Resident Evil: Alien is because, soon after their shotgun pitch was rejected, Creative Assembly teamed up with Sega to breathe new life in the Alien franchise with Alien: Isolation. After 2013's Alien: Colonial Marines was panned by critics and players alike, not leaving much hope for a new installment, there was an idea to switch the atmosphere of the games. Instead of using James Cameron's action-oriented Aliens as a guide, Creative Assembly decided to look at Ridley Scott's original Alien for inspiration.
This led to gameplay that relied less on first-person action and more on stealth and strategic movement, which has become more popular with recent horror video games.
2 Creative Assembly Didn't Like Resident Evil's Direction
During the development of Alien: Isolation, the director Alistair Hope, in an interview with Edge, stated that both Resident Evil and the Dead Space franchise were beginning to lose what made them special, to begin with. His exact quote was, "I think this team really got a lot out of Dead Space 1 and Resident Evil... but those franchises moved in a direction that isn't... well, I think that fans of those originals have been marginalized and sometimes it feels like these days, they're just a couple of degrees away from being Gears of War."
This was possibly coming off the criticisms of Resident Evil 6, which was heavily panned for its lean onto over-the-top action rather than horror, something the Resident Evil series was once praised for. It's possible that they wanted to bring that kind of thinking into Resident Evil: Alien, but that's unknown.
1 Creative Assembly Continues To Influence Resident Evil
Alien: Isolation changed the game for the horror genre. Pitting you against an unkillable monstrosity in a tight environment with nothing in the defense but a few hiding places and limited bullets. Sound familiar? Sounds eerily similar to the gameplay style of the recent Resident Evil 2 remake, trying to escape the clutches of Mr. X's meaty right hooks. This seemed to work so well that Capcom's upcoming remake of Resident Evil: Nemesis will probably also borrow this formula, once again revolving around the player trying to avoid an unstoppable enemy in a closed environment.
You can even argue that Resident Evil 7 followed this trend with not only having the Baker family stalk you through their home but also the first-person style gameplay. Hopefully, Capcom doesn't get too comfortable with this idea because after Resident Evil 7 introduced so many new ideas to the franchise, fans might appreciate that kind of creativity to continue into a possible Resident Evil 8.
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