Instruct: Given a question, retrieve documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Why is it called Resident Evil?
Resident Evil, known in Japan as Biohazard, is a media franchise created by Shinji Mikami and Tokuro Fujiwara and owned by the Japanese video game company Capcom. The franchise focuses on a series of survival horror games and incorporates live-action films, animations, comic books, novels, audio dramas, and merchandise. The story follows outbreaks of zombies and other monsters created mainly by the Umbrella Corporation.
When Silicon Knights began work on "Eternal Darkness", their intention was to create a game "that was in the horror genre, but not categorized as survival/horror", with then later labeling it as a "psychological thriller" during an early interview with IGN, as opposed to, what they referred to as, the "B-movie horror plots" of "Resident Evil". At the same time, Denis Dyack remarked during an interview about his decision to design the game with the intention of "messing with people's heads", after being inspired by media reports. The game was initially planned for the Nintendo 64 and to feature several characters, including "a Special Forces commando deep behind enemy lines", with the developers showing off the early builds during the 1999 E3 Expo; Silicon Knights later changed their mind and rebuilt the game in order to make it a launch title for the Nintendo GameCube. It never made it as a launch title, as development was delayed.
IGN has featured Leon on the list of things they would like to see in "Resident Evil 6", calling him one of the two main characters of the series along with Chris Redfield, and describing him in the article about the best zombie fighters as the "straight-laced hero" of "Resident Evil". The IGN character guide made another comparison between Chris and Leon, calling the latter the "determined guy clawing his way up the ladder". Gameplanet's Aylon Herbet wrote that if both Leon and Chris would share starring roles in a "Resident Evil" game it would be "awesome", believing both of them to be the main protagonists of the series. In 2010, GameDaily predicted that Leon, along with Claire Redfield, would be the protagonist of the next main "Resident Evil" title, citing the series' pattern of alternating protagonists and Leon's last such appearance in "Resident Evil 4". In 2013, GamesRadar staff included Leon among the 30 best characters in the three decades of Capcom's history, stating that "he’s been battling Chris Redfield for the top spot as resident "Resident Evil" lead, but to us there’s no contest between the cool, fashionable Leon and the bullish Chris."
Relic was started in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada by Alex Garden and Luke Moloney in 1997. Their first title, "Homeworld", was released on September 28, 1999 to critical acclaim and successful sales. Though they did not immediately continue working on the franchise (Sierra Entertainment, the game's publisher, owned the rights), the game did have a spin-off, "", developed by Barking Dog Studios and published by Sierra.
"Resonance of Fate" was first hinted at prior to April 2009, then announced as an untitled "mystery" RPG at the beginning of the month. According to Shimano, its codename "Project Cobra" had been bandied about prior to the reveal, but no-one had suspected anything about its true nature. Its official Japanese title, along with details such as tri-Ace's partnership with Sega, were unveiled on April 8, 2009. "Resonance of Fate" marked the first collaboration between tri-Ace and Sega—most of tri-Ace's previous games had been published by Square Enix. The reason for the choice was two-fold: tri-Ace wanted a different publisher due to the radical nature of their new game, and Sega wanted a title to break into the RPG market. As "Resonance of Fate" seemed unique enough to stand out in the market, Sega agreed to take up publishing duties. According to staff, the Japanese title was originally going to be either "Resonance of Fate" or "Resonance of Time", but Sega asked it to be changed to "End of Eternity". This fell in line with a trend among many Japanese games of referencing endings in their titles. It was officially announced for a Western release in May 2009. The game debuted in Japan on January 28, 2010 with a March release in North America and PAL regions. The European version came with text localization in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian.
Silent Hill is a survival horror video game for the PlayStation published by Konami and developed by Team Silent, a group in Konami Computer Entertainment Tokyo. The first installment in the "Silent Hill" series, the game was released in North America in January 1999, and in Japan and Europe later that year. "Silent Hill" uses a third-person view, with real-time rendering of 3D environments. To mitigate limitations of the console hardware, developers liberally used fog and darkness to muddle the graphics. Unlike earlier survival horror games that focused on protagonists with combat training, the player character of "Silent Hill" is an "everyman".
Relic Entertainment is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver. The company was founded in June 1997 by Alex Garden and Luke Moloney. After its debut title "Homeworld" (1999), the company developed two more games, "Impossible Creatures" (2003) and "Homeworld 2" (2003), and signed a contract with publisher THQ for an additional two games. Before either game was released, however, Relic was bought by THQ in May 2004 for $10 million in cash; the company was renamed THQ Canada, with "Relic Entertainment" used as a marketing brand by the studio. THQ published the next five games by the company. A few months after being purchased, Relic released its first licensed title, "" (2004). It released two more original titles in 2006, "The Outfit" and "Company of Heroes", before transitioning to focus on further titles and expansion packs in the "Warhammer 40,000" and "Company of Heroes" franchises.
Silent Hill: Origins is a survival horror video game for the PlayStation Portable developed by Climax Action. It was published by Konami Digital Entertainment worldwide in late 2007, beginning in early November with the United Kingdom. A port for the PlayStation 2 was released worldwide in early 2008, beginning in March with North America. The fifth installment in the "Silent Hill" series, "Origins" is a prequel to the first game (1999). Set in the series' eponymous, fictional American town, "Origins" follows trucker Travis Grady as he searches for information about a girl whom he rescued from a fire. Along the way, he unlocks his repressed childhood memories. Gameplay uses a third-person perspective, and emphasizes combat, exploration, and puzzle-solving, similar to the previous installments.
A Nightmare on Elm Street refers to installments in the "A Nightmare on Elm Street" film series, an American horror franchise beginning with the 1984 film, "A Nightmare on Elm Street", and based on the fictional character Freddy Krueger, who stalks teenagers in their dreams and kills them. Most media within the franchise include the phrase, "A Nightmare on Elm Street", as part of their title.
Relic Entertainment was founded in Vancouver, Canada, on June 1, 1997, and began work on "Homeworld" as their first title. Relic co-founders Alex Garden and Luke Moloney served as the director and lead programmer for the game, respectively, while Erin Daly was the designer and Aaron Kambeitz the lead artist. Garden was 22 years old when he founded the company. Writer David J. Williams is credited with the original story concept, while the script itself was written by Martin Cirulis and the background lore was written by author Arinn Dembo. Cirulis and Dembo, credited jointly as "Marcus Skyler", were selected by the publisher, Sierra Studios, partway through development to expand the story concept of Relic and Williams. Sierra agreed to publish the game early in development based on, according to Garden, "two whiteboard presentations and no demo". The development of the game took over two years; the game systems were largely complete by the final eight months, which Relic spent polishing and improving the game, including adding the whole-map Sensors Manager view. The game was initially expected to be released at the end of 1998; Garden stated in a 1999 interview that the team found creating the core game itself much easier than getting it to the quality level they wanted, and that if they had known how difficult it was going to be they may have chosen not to do the project. Several ideas for the game, including ship customization, convoy routes, and different unit types for the Kushan and Taidann fleets were cut during development as they could not be done well enough for the project.
"Doom" has been considered the most important first-person shooter ever made. It was highly influential not only on subsequent shooter games but on video gaming in general, and has been available on almost every video gaming system since. Multiplayer gaming, which is now integral to the first-person shooter genre, was first achieved successfully on a large scale with "Doom". While its combination of gory violence, dark humor and hellish imagery garnered acclaim from critics, these attributes also generated criticism from religious groups, with other commentators labelling the game a "murder simulator." There was further controversy when it emerged that the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre were fans of the game; the families of several victims later unsuccessfully attempted to sue numerous video game companies - among them id Software - which the families claimed inspired the massacre. In 1994, Raven Software released "Heretic", which used a modified version of the "Doom" engine that allowed for vertical aiming, an inventory system to store and select items, and gibs.
Doom (typeset as DOOM in official documents and stylized as DooM in other media) is a 1993 first-person shooter (FPS) video game by id Software. It is considered one of the most significant and influential titles in video game history, for having helped to pioneer the now-ubiquitous first-person shooter. The original game was divided into three nine-level episodes and was distributed via shareware and mail order. The Ultimate Doom, an updated release of the original game featuring a fourth episode, was released in 1995 and sold at retail.
The "Wolfenstein" series of video games started with the 1981 stealth-adventure video game "Castle Wolfenstein". It was developed by American programmer Silas Warner, a pioneer in the early eras of video gaming, especially the stealth genre. It was published by his (then) company M.U.S.E. Inc. (Muse Software). The player controls an unnamed American prisoner of war as he steals war files containing information about secret German war plans while avoiding or sometimes killing guards, and tries to escape the fortified Nazi stronghold Castle Wolfenstein, set during World War II. The game is often credited as one of the first video games of the stealth genre, since it focuses more on avoiding or disarming enemies, and killing them is considered a last resort.
Relic Entertainment, known as THQ Canada Inc. between 2004 and 2013, is a Canadian video game developer based in Vancouver, founded in 1997. The studio specializes in real-time strategy games and is known for series such as "Homeworld", "" and "Company of Heroes". Acquired by THQ in 2004, the company was sold to Sega on January 22, 2013 as part of THQ's bankruptcy. Relic is now a part of Sega West, which also comprises Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive and Amplitude Studios.
Clock Tower is a survival horror point-and-click adventure video game series created by Hifumi Kono. The series includes four games in total. The first entry, "Clock Tower" (1995), was developed by Human Entertainment and released on the Super Famicom exclusively in Japan. Human Entertainment developed two more entries, "Clock Tower" (1996) and "" (1998), which were released on the PlayStation and localized outside Japan. The fourth and most recent title, "Clock Tower 3" (2002), was by Sunsoft and Capcom for the PlayStation 2. Gameplay in the series generally involves the player hiding and escaping from enemy pursuers without any weapons to defeat them. Scissorman is a reoccurring antagonist and sometimes the sole enemy in the game.
Several RPGs called "Cyberpunk" exist: "Cyberpunk", "Cyberpunk 2020" and "Cyberpunk v3", by R. Talsorian Games, and "GURPS Cyberpunk", published by Steve Jackson Games as a module of the GURPS family of RPGs. "Cyberpunk 2020" was designed with the settings of William Gibson's writings in mind, and to some extent with his approval, unlike the approach taken by FASA in producing the transgenre "Shadowrun" game. Both are set in the near future, in a world where cybernetics are prominent. In addition, Iron Crown Enterprises released an RPG named "Cyberspace", which was out of print for several years until recently being re-released in online PDF form. CD Projekt Red is currently developing "Cyberpunk 2077," a cyberpunk first-person open world RPG video-game based on the tabletop RPG "Cyberpunk 2020".
In 1990, in a convergence of cyberpunk art and reality, the United States Secret Service raided Steve Jackson Games's headquarters and confiscated all their computers. Officials denied that the target had been the "GURPS Cyberpunk" sourcebook, but Jackson would later write that he and his colleagues "were never able to secure the return of the complete manuscript; [...] The Secret Service at first flatly refused to return anything – then agreed to let us copy files, but when we got to their office, restricted us to one set of out-of-date files – then agreed to make copies for us, but said "tomorrow" every day from March 4 to March 26. On March 26 we received a set of disks which purported to be our files, but the material was late, incomplete and well-nigh useless." Steve Jackson Games won a lawsuit against the Secret Service, aided by the new Electronic Frontier Foundation. This event has achieved a sort of notoriety, which has extended to the book itself as well. All published editions of "GURPS Cyberpunk" have a tagline on the front cover, which reads "The book that was seized by the U.S. Secret Service!" Inside, the book provides a summary of the raid and its aftermath.
After "Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake", Kojima planned to release the third "Metal Gear" game in 1994 for the 3DO Interactive Multiplayer in 1994. Besides changing the console, the game was renamed, and its subsequent sequels were given the word "Solid" as the series started using 3D computer graphics. Since then, the games were designed to be more realistic to further entertain the players. "Metal Gear Solid 3" was initially meant to be made for the PlayStation 3, but due to the long wait for the console, the game was developed for the PlayStation 2 instead. As previous game's settings were indoors areas due to difficulties with the consoles, since "Metal Gear Solid 3", Kojima wished to drastically change it despite difficulties. Since "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" had several plot points unresolved, it was originally meant to leave it to players to discuss them to come to their own conclusions. This has led to consistency issues in the English versions of "Metal Gear Solid" and "Metal Gear Solid 2" as they mentioned plot elements that were further explored in "Metal Gear Solid 4".
A novel adaptation of the original "Metal Gear" was published in 1988 as a part of Scholastic's "Worlds of Power" line of novelizations, which were based on third-party NES games. It was written by Alexander Frost. The novelization is not based on the game's official storyline, but rather on Konami of America's localization of the plot. The book takes further liberties by giving Solid Snake the name of Justin Halley, and by changing the name of Snake's unit from FOXHOUND to the "Snake Men". In Japan, a "Metal Gear" gamebook was published on March 31, 1988, shortly after the release of the game on the Famicom. It is set two years after the events of the original "Metal Gear" and is part of the "Konami Gamebook Series". A novelization of "Metal Gear Solid" was published in 2008. It was written by Raymond Benson, the author of nine James Bond novels. Benson also wrote a "" novelization, which was published in 2009. Critical reaction to Benson's novelizations has been generally positive, with Bookgasm.com writing that "Benson does a fine job translating the game to the page" with "Metal Gear Solid", and MishMashMagazine.com calling "Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty" "a great companion to the game". A Japanese-language novelization of "" by Project Itoh was published on June 12, 2008. The novel was translated into English by Viz Media and was released on June 19, 2012.
Vulcan was sold by SCDP Systems. The founders needed to change the name of the software, because Harris Corporation already had an operating system called Vulcan. Hal Pawluk, who worked for their advertising agency, suggested "dBASE", including the CamelCase. He also suggested that the first release of the product "II" would imply that it was already in its second version, and therefore would be perceived as being more reliable than a first release. The original manual was too complex from Pawluk's perspective, so he wrote a second manual, which was duly included in the package along with the first. Pawluk created the name for the new publishing company by combining George's last name with the fictional Ashton surname, purportedly because it was felt that "Ashton-Tate" sounded better, or was easier to pronounce, than "Lashlee-Tate". In reality, George Edwin Tate did not have a pet parrot named Ashton, until after Hal Pawluk named the company. Because people kept calling the company asking to speak to Mr Ashton, this hidden tidbit of information became a PC industry insider joke.
A fighting game sequel, "Persona 4 Arena", known in Japan as "Persona 4: The Ultimate in Mayonaka Arena", was developed by Arc System Works, the company known for creating the "Guilty Gear" and "BlazBlue" series, and released in 2012 for arcades, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. As with the anime, the protagonist is named Yu Narukami. , Mitsuru, Elizabeth, and Akihiko from "Persona 3" are also featured in the game. Set two months following the True Ending of the original game, the members of the Investigation Team are pulled back into the television and forced into a fighting tournament called the "P-1 Grand Prix" hosted by Teddie.
Metal Gear Solid is an action-adventure stealth video game developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and released for the PlayStation in 1998. The game was directed, produced, and written by Hideo Kojima, and serves as a sequel to the MSX2 video games "Metal Gear" and "", which Kojima also worked on. The game started development in 1996 and was officially unveiled in the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1997, before eventually releasing in late 1998.
Wolfenstein: The New Order is an action-adventure first-person shooter video game developed by MachineGames and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was released on 20 May 2014 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game is the seventh main entry in the "Wolfenstein" series and the sequel to 2009's "Wolfenstein", set in an alternate history 1960s Europe where the Nazis won the Second World War. The story follows war veteran William "B.J." Blazkowicz and his efforts to stop the Nazis from ruling over the world.
Tyrant is the code name of a series of boss characters in the "Resident Evil" horror video game series by Capcom, introduced in the original "Resident Evil" in 1996. Tyrants are towering, biologically engineered supersoldiers created and used by the sinister Umbrella Corporation. Tyrant creatures make appearances as boss characters in most "Resident Evil" games and the desire to create an obedient bioweapon lies at the core of the series' storyline. Tyrants also appear in other media and merchandise of the "Resident Evil" franchise, as well as in some unrelated games.
"Resident Evil Gaiden" is an action-adventure game for the Game Boy Color featuring a role-playing-style combat system. There have been several downloadable mobile games based on the "Resident Evil" series in Japan. Some of these mobile games have been released in North America and Europe through T-Mobile. At the Sony press conference during E3 2009, it was announced that "Resident Evil Portable" would be released for the PlayStation Portable, described as an all-new title being developed with "the PSP Go in mind" and "totally different for a "Resident Evil" game". However, as of 2012, no further announcements have been made, and the game is considered to have been canceled.
is a member of the Umbrella Security Service Unit in "Resident Evil 2". He is also known as "Mr. Death" for being the sole survivor of several operations. HUNK appears in "Resident Evil 2" and is playable in a secret minigame entitled "4th Survivor". This short scenario entails HUNK's journey to escape Raccoon City, beginning with his awakening in the sewers and eventually leading to his extraction from the city. He is the only member of his unit to survive the attack of the mutated William Birkin that takes place shortly after he secured a sample of the G-virus for Umbrella. He reappears in "The Umbrella Chronicles", in a remake of the "4th Survivor" scenario where the player must reach the helipad for extraction from Raccoon City, and during the "Memories of a Lost City" scenario in "". HUNK is playable in the "Mercenaries" minigame in "Resident Evil 4", but has no relation to the story. HUNK appears as a side character in "", where he works with other Umbrella Security Service operatives to recover a sample of the G-virus prior to the events of "Resident Evil 2". He is also a playable character in "", "Resident Evil Revelations", and "Resident Evil Revelations 2".
In 2009, IGN featured the Tyrants in the lists of the best "Resident Evil" bosses and the series' best villains (readers' choice). That same year, the Tyrant was included among the 12 characters and creatures that the staff of IGN would like see to return in "Resident Evil 6", commenting that "almost as much a hallmark of the "RE" franchise as the zombie, the Tyrant is a recurring favorite." IGN added: ""Resident Evil" is supposed to be a terrifying experience, and much of the terror stems from pitting players against foes who completely outmatch them. That's the Tyrant in a nutshell." IGN also included an "any type of Tyrant" in their dream roster for "Marvel vs. Capcom 3". In 2012, "PlayStation Official Magazine" ranked Tyrant as the seventh top "Resident Evil" monster (in addition to Nemesis placing fifth). That same year, IGN ranked the T-002 as the best boss in the series, adding that "even 15 years later, "Resident Evil" games continue to use this formula (and its finish) as a blueprint for bosses."