[Game Club] Resident Evil (1996)

Sean and Alon bite hard and dig deep into the seminal survival horror classic. How does the game render reality? What’s at the core of the franchise? Why is your health never “good”? You have once again entered the world of survival horror. Good luck! Tune in next week for a conversation with Francisco Gonzalez of Grundislav Games about adventure games and his upcoming game Rosewater! — Support the show: ⁠https://www.patreon.com/wideflank⁠ Join the Discord and play along: ⁠https://discord.gg/ACbDjNhMpJ⁠All Wide Flank links: ⁠https://linktr.ee/wideflank⁠ — Timestamps: 00:00:00 – Cold open 00:00:53 – Intro / admin 00:01:58 – Resident Evil, baby!!! 00:05:06 – Sweet Home + Alone In The Dark = Resident Evil 00:09:36 – It is a very iterative game 00:11:48 – Knowledge of Resident Evil prior to Game Club 00:16:15 – Alon taking reviews to task 00:18:27 – Going hater mode on a game we love 00:25:26 – It wants to be an action game 00:27:33 – Sean's path to violence 00:30:19 – The core of the franchise 00:32:45 – What makes it a survival (horror) game? 00:38:26 – Door sequences as part of the pace of play 00:40:36 – Alon's mom tried to warn us 00:42:27 – The container of Resident Evil is gigantic 00:46:50 – Is this a survival game? 00:49:10 – Your health is never "good” 00:49:55 – The game is generous 00:51:23 – Camera angles + sound design + sympathizing with Jill 00:54:34 – Rebecca + Barry – the presence of side characters 00:57:57 – The acting 01:02:47 – Thinking about the map the way you would irl 01:07:23 – Shinji Mikami on having the game "becoming a comedy” 01:14:01 – "This key is now useless. Would you like to discard it?” 01:15:53 – Sean goes map mode 01:21:32 – Alon goes Rambo mode 01:24:33 – The camera 01:28:47 – The spooky people you meet towards the end of the game 01:30:29 – The Camera + Tank Controls = Resident Evil 01:37:12 – The disempowerment of the player 01:45:22 – The comfort of Resident Evil 01:51:41 – Bosses(???) 01:55:21 – The not knowing 01:57:23 – The graphics 02:02:18 – Next week! — Show notes: Shinji Mikami Tokuro Fujiwara Sweet Home Alone in the Dark Doom