PlayStation.Blog » Drew Haworth

The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct Out Now, What We Learned

Drew Haworth — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 13:59:02 +0000

When we became aware of The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct opportunity with Activision and AMC, we leapt on it. We devised a first-person survival-horror strategy approach and pitched it. Our game was planned as a labor of love: an endeavor to create a relatively intimate The Walking Dead game experience for fans like us… as well as players new to the series who were looking for a different type of zombie game. Our goal was to create an authentic and compelling experience worthy of the name.

Since then, of course, Telltale has released all the amazing episodes of their deserved Game of the Year, and AMC’s series has consistently shattered broadcast television records! So while ‘pressure’ may be an understatement, we’ve stayed the course. And Activision and AMC have been steadfast, wonderful partners in us making the game we set out to make in the first place: a new type of zombie game experience for players that want to take on The Walking Dead’s world for a while!

Here are some of the lessons the team learned while developing The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct, which is out today on PS3!

I was skeptical, but I learned that you can create a game that uses one fundamental type of enemy and still maintains challenge, intensity, and intrigue throughout. There are no super-zombies or acid-spitter zombies in The Walking Dead universe, but we found that by adding lots of behavioral and physical variations within the accepted Walker ‘spectrum’, we were able to keep players scared and surprised throughout the game. –Russell Mirabelli, Lead Programmer

I learned that smashing zombie skulls sounds alot like smashing various fruits and veggies. It gave us some great audio for the sound department. The lingering fruit-salad fragrance in the studio was an added bonus. –Brian Fieser, Lead Sound Designer

I learned, or relearned, that you simply cannot overestimate the value of a headline actor that gets the material, is excited about the game, and brings their own expertise to the character. As Norman Reedus and Michael Rooker have been credited multiple times with shaping the characters of Daryl and Merle Dixon — the only major characters that don’t appear in Mr. Kirkman’s comics. These two know those characters as well as anyone: what they would and wouldn’t do, what they would and wouldn’t say, and were incredibly generous in sharing that with us. In terms of authenticity, what higher authority is there? –Drew Haworth, Creative Director

Well-defined parameters work really well to help bring out creative solutions to problems. For example, one of Survival Instinct’s points of focus is on replayability, rather than a single static campaign where you see everything the first time you play. So that helped inspire elements like the Travel System and its unpredictable Road Events, catering to unique playstyles and results based on player’s weapon loadouts, flexible and dynamic Walker AI, and branching paths on the Georgia map. –Jason Alexander, Primary Level Designer

Walkers don’t wear shorts. You’d think they might, in Georgia, but no. Long pants, maybe a nice skirt. We learned that fact from Greg Nicotero. –Robert St. Aubin, Concept Artist

A key lesson for me during the course of development was to see the importance of Daryl’s crossbow. Our initial builds only allowed melee weapons and firearms, so there was no real way to kill a walker from a distance without drawing the entire street to your location. When TRI introduced the crossbow, it opened up all kinds of possibilities in strategically pacifying an area of walkers. Add the ability to reuse ammo and we have a great candidate for the ultimate zombie weapon. If you gave me a choice between Daryl’s crossbow and two bolts, or an assault rifle with a full 30 round clip. I’ll take the crossbow every time! –Matt Hohl, Activision Producer

One thing I learned through extensive hours of playing The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct is to always, always CLOSE DOORS BEHIND YOU! It seems like something so innocuous that it wouldn’t be a big deal, but trust me: it is. I can’t count the number of times where I get into an altercation in a room that only had one or two walkers in it, only to have a flood of them hear the noise and pour out of the door that I haplessly left open behind me (d’oh). This is especially significant when you’re entering a building since the dead pretty much run rampant in the streets — an open door might as well be a neon sign inviting them in after you. Metal doors are the best since the walkers can’t break through them, but even those flimsy wooden doors are enough to delay the herd and buy you a few precious seconds to GTFO. So, for heaven’s sake, shut the dang door on your way in and out! –Dino Verano, Activision Associate Producer

If you didn’t preorder the game, don’t worry, The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct will be getting a DLC pack containing a Herd mode and backpack full of new weapons on April 18th!

Terminal Reality’s The Walking Dead: Norman Reedus is Daryl Dixon

Drew Haworth — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 20:14:04 +0000

SPOILER ALERT: Be warned, there are spoilers for seasons 1 and 2 of The Walking Dead TV show in this post, so if you haven’t watched them, steer clear!

When we first decided that The Walking Dead videogame would be built around a single-player action-adventure prequel to AMC’s insanely popular series, there’s only one character that checked every “must have” slot. We needed somebody who was rugged and capable of surviving alone in the ruins of civilization, but also sympathetic to the needs of others in a world where it only makes sense to help yourself. We needed a protagonist who is tough enough to take on a swarm of raging walkers, but smart enough to know that there are probably safer alternatives. Finally, we wanted a fan-favorite character who you can’t wait to learn more about.

Photo by Scott Garfield/AMC

Welcome to the stand, Mr. Daryl Dixon. Really, who else would you want to play as in The Walking Dead? We’ve spent a lot of time with Daryl recently, really getting to know him. We’ve reviewed every scrap of his series footage, pored over interviews, and most importantly, gotten insight and guidance—but still no Season 3 spoilers–from the ultimate authority, actor Norman Reedus.

It’s been surprising for some of us to dive deeper into a character we thought we knew from the show. Did you know that even though Daryl has pulled a gun (and crossbow, and knife) more times than you can count, the only living person he’s actually killed is Dale, in a very clear-cut mercy killing? That’s the kind of attribute we’re interested in exposing beneath the leather-tough exterior.

I traveled to Atlanta recently with our Audio Director Kyle Richards in order to work with Norman Reedus, who plays Daryl on the show. He recorded Daryl’s in-game dialogue during a pair of recording sessions. We’re big fans of the series, but once you work with an actor in the flesh you really get to know him. Norman is super-cool, generous, and a real joy to work with. And man, does that guy deliver! He gets the scene, the line, and what you’re going for instantly and then doubles down on it, effortlessly ‘Darylizing’ lines for maximum punch. He’s the kind of actor that really makes writers look good. When you finally hear the lines you’ve been shaping and reshaping in your head for months spoken in that voice – and sounding way better than you even hoped? Well, that makes for a pretty good day. And he really got into the game, which is especially gratifying.

Kyle, our audio director, wanted to chime in here as well:

“Norman’s a badass. One second you’re talking to this cool, laid-back guy, and then he clears his throat, and there’s Daryl, larger than life. You’re suddenly checking your back to make sure walkers aren’t creeping up on you. This is actually the first video game he’s ever worked on, but you’d think he’d been doing it for years! Also, he has excellent taste in motorcycles.”

Our goal is to shape Daryl authentically, chronicling everything that happens to him from the initial Wildfire Global Outbreak until he joins with Rick Grimes’ group at that quarry near Atlanta. And on the way, we’ll reveal a couple of our own interesting backstory surprises that fans haven’t already gleaned from the series.

Photo by Scott Garfield/AMC

As a bonus, we get to recreate that original dark blot of violence on mankind, Merle Dixon. The relationship between the Dixon brothers is complicated, to say the least. We get to illustrate from Daryl’s point of view the conflict created when the toughest, most capable-of-surviving-zombie-apocalypse person you know is also the most volatile, uncontainable force of nature left on the planet. Also: he’s your older brother. All fun all the time!

What I find fascinating about AMC’s The Walking Dead is the way that they’ve been able to take an epic, global story and focus it on the human equation. The main story arc involves the outbreak of walkers, but the show is really about morality and the choices people are forced to make in unusual circumstances. How far would you go to protect your family? Is life still worth living and protecting? Who do you trust and how much is that trust worth? These are all questions that drive the story and while there is a visceral thrill in watching the interaction with the walkers, there is an emotional connection with the characters that really forms the heart of the show.

We’re really looking forward to letting everyone see how we’ve taken our appreciation for the series (and Daryl in particular) and turned it into an interactive experience. Players will have the opportunity to meet some interesting characters and have a hand in deciding their fate.

Oh, and there are some really cool zombies.