MCV tells an awesome story about the founding of the upcoming PS4 exclusive game UNTIL DAWN, as well as thoughts and quotes from the makers of the game!

Originally Posted on MCV, by Matthew Jarvis:

It’s not safe to come out from behind the sofa yet.

The last year has seen horror rise back into the charts, as a mixture of beloved franchise sequels and remakes, big-name licensed titles and indie efforts draw scores of gamers seeking a fright.

Whether it’s Alien Isolation’s 2.1 million worldwide sales, The Evil Within reaching number one in the UK charts or the HD remaster of Resident Evil, which became the fastest-selling digital game ever released by Capcom in Europe and the US, scary titles are seeing a heyday reminiscent of 15 years ago.

It may seem like we are seeing the next generation of horror games, but these are ideas we’ve seen before. Resident Evil has been a consistent presence in the industry over the last two decades, while Alien was backed by one of the most iconic movie franchises in history. Even The Evil Within, while technically a ‘new’ IP, had the legacy of Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami behind it. However, this month will see a completely new IP step into the fray.

Soaked in blood and punctuated with the shrill screams of teenagers, Until Dawn aims to recreate the feel of classic horror movies like Halloween, Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street.

The game’s cinematic qualities are hardly surprising; indie horror film-makers Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick helped write and advise on the title. Its cast, too, is plucked from the heart of cinema, including Hayden Panettiere from TV show Heroes, who also starred in slasher sequel Scream 4.

“Hayden is not the only famous actor in the mix,” adds Joe Palmer, product manager at Sony.

“Until Dawn also stars Peter Stormare of Fargo and Prison Break and Rami Malek of Need for Speed and the Twilight Saga; it’s a real benefit to have such strong Hollywood talent in a cinematic game like this.”

Much like its cinematic siblings, Until Dawn relies upon building tension and fear in the player to pull off its story twists (See ‘Don’t Go That Way’). As with any film, the portrayal of emotion goes a long way to making characters relatable – a vital requirement if players are to want to move them out of harm’s way. Games have long been criticised for their inability to capture nuanced facial expressions and movements, but Supermassive has utilised the Killzone Shadowfall graphics engine, combined with its own custom-made systems, to bring its live-action cast to life.

“We wanted to make it feel like you were participating in a horror film,” Samuels states. “For a number of reasons, in horror games, that’s quite a new approach.

“Horror films have such a huge fan base and we’re massive fans, so we know that you can pull off good tension, fear and scares in that kind of photographic, cinematic medium. That was the challenge – can we do that in a game?

“By moving from first-person in the PS3 game to the current third-person cinematic, we are creating that horror film atmosphere and tension, where you desperately care for the characters, no matter how stupid they might be – which is very typical in a horror film. You can see the stress, the pain and the fear.”

Perhaps it is Supermassive, rather than its players, that should be quaking in its boots. By entering the horror genre with Until Dawn, the developer will find itself head-to-head with some of the most venerated games of all time.

Samuels perceives Until Dawn to be the offspring of, rather than a rival to, titles like Resident Evil and Silent Hill, as well as the mastersof the macabre in other mediums.

“We’ve been inspired by pretty much every game,” he enthuses.

“We wouldn’t want to pick one thing out as inspiration because we don’t want to give too much away about the game. People will recognise a number of influences, in both small moments and big scenarios.

“I wouldn’t say nothing has influenced us because everything has. As a team, we watched about 1,500 hours of horror film in research for this and read I-don’t-know-how-many horror short stories and novels, from Lovecraft through Wheatley to Stephen King – the whole spectrum. They’ve all had an influence in some way.”

With its unique take on terror, it could be that Until Dawn becomes the next big horror hit – and Supermassive the next indie developer – to strike it big in the mainstream market.

“We wanted to do something new because we wanted to make a great horror game, and we needed to create our own,” recalls Samuels.

“We feel very blessed that we managed to come up with a concept and that Sony has stuck with us, even through effectively stopping production on one platform and moving it over to another.”

Palmer concludes that there has rarely been a better time to make a splash with a horror title. It may be that Until Dawn was worth the long wait – for Supermassive as much as its players.

“The recent success of titles like The Evil Within is hugely encouraging and proves that there is still a healthy appetite for games in the horror genre,” says Palmer.

“This gives companies more confidence to give horror games the attention they deserve.”

‘DON’T GO THAT WAY’

“Until Dawn has a classic horror movie setup,” says Sony product manager Joe Palmer.

“However, the way you interact with the story and characters is completely unique. You make all the decisions and shape the relationships. For once, instead of just shouting ‘Don’t go up the stairs’, you can actually make that decision for yourself.”

Until Dawn will allow players to tell their own scary story. A huge range of different endings will be available through the branching ‘butterfly effect’.

“The ‘butterfly effect’ turns what could be trivial split-second decisions into moments of grave peril,” explains Palmer.

“Anyone can die and anyone can survive. It’s an incredibly complex narrative design, with thousands of unique pathways.”

This means that fans should be driven to complete the title multiple times.

“No two stories will be the same,” says Palmer.

“I genuinely think gamers will be intrigued to know how much their choices impacted their story by playing through again and again.”