Since the launch of PS4 and PS4 Pro, several legendary franchises have been reborn for PS4, with rebuilt graphics and refined gameplay. But it takes a lot of hard work and technical know-how to reimagine these games for a PS4 generation.
To get more insight, we asked the developers behind several impressive remakes — including the eagerly awaited MediEvil and Resident Evil 2 — to provide an inside look at their development process.
MediEvil
It has been no easy task bringing Sir Dan back from the dead but Other Ocean Emeryville is always ready for a challenge.
To keep this remake as true to the original as possible, our first step was to extract all the level geometry from the original game and then place it into the new engine to serve as our map for the placement of every tree, building, wall, etc. Once placed, we get a very strange version of Gallowmere that doesn't quite feel like home just yet.
To make Dan feel more at home, we then review each piece of low resolution PS1 art, compare it to the PS1 concept art we have, and then develop our own concepts to update the visuals, all while keeping an eye on matching the tone of the original game. Every piece of art, from tombstones to timepieces and everything in between, has been reinterpreted, reconcepted, and remade. Thanks, art team!
Aside from the straightforward art updates, we also need to consider our draw distance is now no longer cut cut short from a black fog just feet away from Dan and our aspect ratio has shifted from a boxy 4:3 to a cinematic 16:9. This requires us to build out areas in the distance that didn't even exist in the original game – so much more for one-eyed Dan to see!
With all that extra space, we've had to fill in some gaps. In Enchanted Earth on PS1, for example, many of the trees you see are just bitmaps. We've created tons of trees and foliage to fill in those gaps and make this level really come to life.
In doing so, we hope to create a greater sense of the world of Gallowmere and all its fabled creatures, critters and creepy locations!
For Gallowmere!
-Bobby Hopper, Associate Producer at Other Ocean
