House of the Dead: Overkill Interview

Gaming Controversy

bit-tech: Were there any areas of the design where you were worried that you were going too far, perhaps? Anywhere you had to scale back?

Nathan: We had a lot of moral discussion about all this.

John: Mainly though I think we hit those walls and then just pushed beyond them.

Gwilym: I think there was one thing we didn’t do and that was fully naked zombies. We did have that discussion though.

BT: That would have been a great unlockable though.

N: Definitely! It was interesting that John wrote the script and, like, Detective Washington for example is really very sweary in the game and we thought it was hilarious that every other word he said was an elaborated version of mofo. That actually becomes a storypoint too, with an end-game conclusion and everything. A couple of times though John wobbled a bit and suggested censoring it all, but we decided to stick with it.


J: It was a deliberate choice to use it so much that it actually becomes ironic too. It’s fun and silly and even appropriate, I think.

G: We were lucky that we were able to make it an 18 and have it so no-holds barred too.

N: And I don’t think we’re picking on anyone in particular, no minorities or anything. It’s just how it is. When John wrote the script we actually all acted it out as a group to get a feel for it and it felt funny. That’s how we knew we’d done it right.

J: We got a lot of feedback too from people in the sound recording sessions and people were really laughing out loud. We actually got some great outtakes too.

N: Apparently the actors spent the entire day in character too, even when they weren’t recording. It let them come up with some great adlibs that we added into the game too.

BT: So, I guess there’s not going to be any uncensored version or anything like that then? This is how it is?


All: Yep.

BT: Are you at all worried that someone like The Daily Mail is going to pick the idea up and make a big controversy out it?

N: I’d be really happy about it if it did happen! It would mean we’d done it right. We’re not out to offend anyone, but this is what this game is about; leaving you shocked. At the end of the day, it’s an 18 Certificate anyway.

BT: So, what extra kind of stuff is in the Director’s Cut mode that is unlocked after you finish the game? The previous games always had the weirdest modes and power-ups. I remember there was one where you could shoot dead fish...

J: Well, yeah. I know the House of the Dead legacy and the way the games had unlockable routes and so on, but what we wanted to do was to make sure everyone who played was able to see the maximum content. We don’t want people to miss stuff. So, while we don’t have optional routes, the Director’s Cut does have longer levels and better areas. It’s more gory and more difficult too.

N: The credit system is different in DC mode too, so you don’t have infinite continues based on your score, you just have three lives.