Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City began development in early 2010 as part of a Capcom partnership. It was built from the same engine as SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs.
Over the sixth console generation, Capcom launched an initiative to expand the reach of its IPs by publishing third party titles in a variety of styles not typical of their franchises. Despite internal concerns with partnership during the work of Grin's Bionic Commando game, they collaborated with Slant Six on Resident Evil, Ninja Theory on Devil May Cry and Armature Studio on an ultimately cancelled Mega Man X game. Slant Six and Capcom had contrasting visions of their Resident Evil game in the first weeks, which were ironed out over time. Work likely began around March 2010, as Slant Six began hiring Japanese translators for regular work.[1] Slant Six initially proposed a Resident Evil 2 remake done in the style of Resident Evil 4. Capcom however was already considering a remake, and instead wanted an original game in the style of Slant Six's SOCOM series. The two worked together creatively, with Capcom ultimately having the final say on matters. A storyline was conceived of by Capcom for the game, titled "Biohazard Raccoon City", which would follow USS operators fighting in the streets of Raccoon City during the 1998 outbreak. During meetings it was decided the game be set in an alternate continuity, allowing it the freedom to do anything up to and including the pitch promise of "Kill Leon".[2]
Programming[]
Slant Six built the game around their existing SOCOM engine, with the game sharing assets with SOCOM 4 which it was in development alongside. Among the original implements were tools to take advantage of three-way fights between the USS, US Army and the Zombie horde, such as the ability to make an enemy bleed and lure Zombies to them, or to turn Zombies into allies able to fight other enemies. By March 2011 the game was estimated to be 45% complete.[2]
Several multiplayer modes were developed for the game, dubbed "Team Attack", "Survivors", "Biohazard" and "Heroes", which pit two opposing teams against one another in a Zombie-infested environment. Microsoft secured an Xbox 360-exclusive mode, "Nemesis Mode", where teams would compete to active the Nemesis-T02 and send it against their opponents.
Story[]
Capcom conceived of the general story of the game, showcasing a series of levels that would showcase their reimagined Raccoon City. Slant Six writer Amanda Doiron was responsible for early drafts of ambient dialogue.[3] When the game was expanded further to include an extra campaign mode as DLC, Doiron handled all its mission scripts.[3] Due to the nature of the game's story, this resulted in both storylines being in distinct timelines where the player's team succeeded in finding Leon before the other.
Design[]
While the game is set in 1998, designs were made for a futuristic reinterpretation of the events of Raccoon City, with the USS operators given advanced technology as part of their character designs.[4] When the game was officially announced in March, the only characters confirmed were Vector, Beltway, Bertha and Spectre; Lupo and Four Eyes were revealed by Capcom Unity at E3 2011. An additional six characters were developed for the Echo Six DLC, themed around the US Army with less focus on futuristic elements. This DLC mode also included an original enemy, the "Parasite Super Tyrant".
