Fatal Frame II - Keisuke Kikuchi Scares Us Again

Some people like their horror sprinkled with zombies, while others like their horrific video game experiences taken with more abstract monstrosities. Still others prefer a much more subtle, more sinister, more frightening experience. That is where Tecmo's critically acclaimed Fatal Frame excelled. Recently we had a chance to speak with Tecmo's Keisuke Kikuchi about that game's upcoming sequel, Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly.

Snackbar Games: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us regarding Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. Before we begin, can you let us know what your role is with this project?

Keisuke Kikuchi: My name is Keisuke Kikuchi and I'm the producer of both Fatal Frame and Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly. My responsibility is to set the game direction and lead the team.

SBG: Thus far you all have been pretty tight lipped on the story behind this game, which is understandable. However, are you now in a position to talk a bit about this game, and where you intend to take gamers with this sequel?

KK: Fatal Frame II is a story of twin sisters who found their way into a village that suddenly disappeared during a festival. The twins will face many deadly terrors.

Will Mio protect his sister Mayu and escape from the village? Here is the prologue so that you can understand the storyline:

Mio and Mayu have come to visit a place where they spent a few summers during their childhood. It is a secret play area nestled in a small canyon that looks like a charming little garden. The secret spot has not changed at all. This small mountain area will go under water after the summer when a nearby dam is filled.

While passing the time away, Mio remembers the incident where her sister Mayu was injured…They were briskly coming down a mountain trail after staying there too late into the evening. Mayu was calling Mio while breathing heavily. "If you don't hurry, I'll have to leave you here!", said Mio. Mio would turn to see Mayu time to time as if she was making fun of her sister. Suddenly, there was a short scream and the sound of something sliding down. "Sis, are you okay?", she uttered as she approached the small embankment next to the trail. Her heart began to beat louder and faster as Mio looked down the embankment. Her big eyes began filling with tears.

While contemplating on this memory, Mio has lost track of Mayu who is nowhere to be found. She looks for Mayu frantically and finally sees her chasing after a glowing crimson butterfly. It's leading Mayu deeper into the woods.

Mio chases after Mayu. As they travel deeper into the woods, Mio catches up and begins to notice a woman in a kimono slowly overlapping the rear view of Mayu. In a hallucination-like state, Mio reaches over and touches Mayu's shoulder when, instantly, images shoot through her brain:

An image of a girl who hung herself next to a deep hole, twin sisters holding hands and looking her way, a woman laughing uncontrollably in a sea of dead bodies... finally, her own hands grabbing Mayu's neck...

Mio abruptly takes her hands off of Mayu's neck, immediately finding herself standing alone on a mountain trail covered in fog. A sad singing voice is carried by the wind. Rows of lights are visible from between the trees. Is there a solemn event going on? Mio is drawn to the gathering and begins to walk towards it. As Mio passes through the trees and into this open area that appeared to have many people, she only sees Mayu standing alone surrounded by butterflies.

"Sis?...." Mayu slowly turns around to Mio's voice. All the crimson butterflies fly away.

"The lost village.... that disappeared from the map..."

SBG: Fatal Frame stood out as a unique, and arguably much more effective spin on the established survival horror genre. Was it a conscious decision to make the first game stand out from the competition, and was there an effort to make this upcoming sequel even more differentiated from other games in this genre?

KK: We didn't intentionally try to differentiate our game from others in the genre, because this game's concept and style were already unique. Fatal Frame strived to be the scariest game out there, and with that as the foundation, every stage, background, character, combat system, screen effect, and sound was developed. In other words, at the time the game concept was decided, most of the strategy was already in place. The remaining effort was spent on polishing and fine-tuning our method of expression. I believe that the superficial attempt to pro-actively differentiate a game from others is the cause of producing many bad games.

Also, while DreamWorks is in the process of making a movie based on Fatal Frame, I wanted to make sure that the movie and this game were different. This game heavily relies on story development and I was always clear about one thing -- that what I'm working on is not a movie. "Interactivity" that is unique to a game is what makes it interesting and adds value. I view DreamWorks' take on the movie to be my good rival.

SBG: Fatal Frame II seems to paint a picture of symmetry using such images as the two girls and butterfly wings. How does this sort of imagery play into the game?

KK: As a focal point into what causes fear, we used "symmetry" in Fatal Frame2. This idea came from the director of this and last Fatal Frame project, Mr. Shibata. As we focused on the story with Fatal Frame II, we defined "symmetry" as something that is perfect when two parts are combined, but when both are separated, there is a feeling of sadness and fear. For example, twins and wings of a butterfly are said to be in perfect condition when they're symmetrical, but then bad news happens when this symmetry is broken. This idea became the inspiration of the story.

SBG: Can you talk a bit about the new characters you are introducing in Fatal Frame II? How do this game's Mio and Mayu compare and contrast to the original Fatal Frame's Miku?

KK: The main character of Fatal Frame II is comprised of both twin sisters who get along great. The younger sister, Mio Amakura, is an outgoing individual but feels guilty for the incident that caused her older sister to become crippled. Because of this, Mio is always protective of Mayu. The older sister, Mayu Amakura, has a stronger sixth sense but she is physically weak, so she relies on Mio quite a bit.

There is a big difference between Miku from the previous Fatal Frame -- with Miku, we only had to portray the personality of one character. This time, since the Twins are like one character, we still had to try and show them individually and how they relate to each other. We also had to show how they changed as their situation changed… basically their fear of being alone after being together. I also want the players to sense fear as the twins begin to slowly change as the story develops.

SBG: Fatal Frame, arguably more than any other game in the genre, seems to excel at disturbing the player with some truly haunting imagery. From a design standpoint what are some of the challenges that this type of game mechanic presents? Along this line how has Fatal Frame II challenged the design and development teams?

KK: We've made numerous "base" screen effects. To create all the effects used in the game, we had to merge these multiple "base" screen effects. Assuming that we have high- quality modeling, we need to know and decide what to show and what to hide. Do we show the shadow, show the spirit, or not to show anything (make it hard to see) in order to stimulate the players' imagination? Doing this is a critical point and objective of the game. As to what degree it is accomplished, Director, Mr. Shibata, continues to fine-tune this balance from beginning to end.

SBG: From strictly gameplay standpoint, is Fatal Frame II a departure from the original game, or will players familiar with the mechanics of the first Fatal Frame feel at home with the sequel?

KK: It's staged in Japan and the camera is the weapon. These remain from the previous game. However, the story and the combat system are all new. Those who played the last Fatal Frame should enjoy these changes much more. Also, only if you are familiar with the first Fatal Frame, you'll notice something here that will make you smile.

SBG: Is there something you feel the team has achieved or will achieve with Fatal Frame II that for one reason or another was unable to be achieved by the first game?

KK: I feel that an addictive nature was lacking in the last game because I heard that some players quit playing the game. Perhaps we focused too much on the fear factor and that it lacked necessary elements of an action adventure game. I believe that this new title has addressed these issues of story and game balance successfully.

SBG: As a game in the survival horror genre, a comparison to franchises such as Resident Evil or Silent Hill is inevitable. How do you feel these games compare to the Fatal Frame series, and this upcoming game in particular?

KK: I've been asked this question many times. I think that both of those games are made very well. Each one of these games, including Fatal Frame takes a different approach to create fear. That is because each development team has a different idea of what is fearful. The fear factor varies drastically depending on the culture and the experience of the person. So what a gamer likes is totally personal. There are many elements of fear. Silent Hill does a great job in creating biological fear, and Resident Evil is good at creating the element of surprise.

Fatal Frame focuses on the use of special effects, shadows, and sounds to create a scary atmosphere. Fatal Frame II further enhances the story development for players who will be able to enjoy this world of horror. Regardless, I'm certain that Fatal Frame II will be the scariest and most engaging horror game out there.

SBG: In closing, thank you again for your time. Once Fatal Frame II is completed, and in the hands of players, what do you hope for a reaction from them?

KK: I want the gamers to enjoy this Japanese- style horror thoroughly. I hope that the game will generate interest amongst gamers about the architecture and culture of Japan. Most of all, I want people to experience the international language of fear that derives from our own human instinct.

Aug 21, 2003 - 12:00 am | 0 comments
Jason Dobson