Survival/Horror meets Action/Adventure in “The Haunted Mansion”

by Louis Bedigian

 

Fans of the classic Disney ride will soon get their chance to explore a full-fledged video game version of the classic mansion.  Producer Gabriel Jones tells GameZone about all of the thrills and chills to look forward to.

 

 Earlier this week, one of GameZone's interns suggested that we move to a bigger office.  We can't say the intern's name due to legal reasons, but we can tell you that his previous work includes plumbing and saving the world from the threat of Goombas and Koopa Troopas.

 

The intern isn't rich, but he just happen to have won a big, beautiful mansion in a game of chance.  This sounded a little too good to be true, but after seeing the mansion for ourselves, we had to make the move.

 

All was well the first night in the mansion.  We each had our own game rooms, and the mansion had a huge dining room!  Despite our best efforts, however, Wolfgang Puck refused to cater the next Annual GameZone Online awards.  He only shares his food with the Academy.

 

On the second night in our new office, things started to go awry.  Toilets started overflowing, and our plumbing intern was unable to fix them.  "I've plunged more Koopa Kids than I have toilets," he said.

 

Worse yet, our game consoles started disappearing!  2.5Ghz PCs were vanishing into thin air!  But that's not all.  Our games didn't just disappear, they were replaced by copies of Barney for Sega Genesis.  AHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

Then I saw it – a glimmer of hope.  Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was still on my shelf!  I ran towards it with all my might.  As I approached the game, I could see it slowly fading.  Images of carjacking were slowly replaced by a big purple dinosaur.  Classic 80s music was eliminated; the infamous "I Love You, You Love Me" song took its place.

 

I cried out.  "No, no, this can't be happening!"  My hand was just about to grab on to Vice City when it disappeared.  The last playable game was gone.  At that moment, I knew that I would never make it out of that mansion alive.

 

All of a sudden, I heard a loud ringing noise.  Everything went blank, and then the picture came back into focus.  But it was different.  I was...in my old bed, and my alarm was going off.  Thank goodness, it was only a dream!

 

Standing over my bed was The Haunted Mansion's producer, Gabriel Jones, laughing hysterically.  When I awoke, Gabriel gave us all of the ghastly details from his upcoming game.

 

Who do you battle in this game?  Do you fight ghosts?

 

Gabriel Jones: In the Haunted Mansion game, the player is faced by evil spirits, giant spiders, gargoyles, and numerous other entities.

 

How do you fight the enemies in this game?  Are the weapons a vacuum cleaner, or...?

 

GJ: At the beginning of the game the player is presented with the "beacon of souls" which looks very similar to the lantern that the "grounds keeper" from the original Haunted Mansion theme park used. The Beacon of Souls is much more than a lantern though, it fires projectiles of light at the enemies that the player encounters during their adventure. Additionally, the Beacon of Souls can be used to collect and contain the trapped souls found throughout the mansion.

 

Which camera view/perspective does The Haunted Mansion use?

 

GJ: The camera in Haunted Mansion functions primarily in a 3rd person mode. The majority of the time the camera is tethered directly to the lead character but adapts specifically to the environment. It was very important to us to have a camera & control system that were intuitive but also effectively communicated the environment & play-style to the user.

 

 

Dare to enter, or are you too scared?

 

 

Does the whole game take place in a mansion?

 

GJ: Yes, the entire game takes place on the grounds of the Haunted Mansion. Although the majority of the game takes place within the mansion itself, certain areas, like the graveyard, take the player into exterior areas.

 

What will the mansion look like?  Could you describe its interior (rooms, stairways, architecture, etc.)?

 

GJ: The Haunted Mansion game draws the majority of its visual & architectural themes from both the upcoming Disney film & the original theme park attractions. For example, the architecture of the Foyer & Ball Room are both based on assets from the upcoming movie, while the well-known hallways and stretch room come directly from the theme parks.

 

What is the player's mission in The Haunted Mansion?  Does it correspond with the movie's storyline?

 

GJ: As opposed to directly taking the story from the film or the theme park, we tried to dip into the lore of the Haunted Mansion itself.

 

We had decided early that "game play" would be the most important aspect of the Haunted Mansion game.  After careful consideration, we determined that in order to be effective, the movie and ride would set the table as a theme for the game's mechanics, sound content & cinematic story, yet the game can also live on its own.

 

So to answer your question, the story corresponds with the legacy of the Haunted Mansion but takes place before both the movie and theme park time lines.

 

Did you make frequent trips to Disney World before or during the game's development?  Were you given the chance to read the script or view any of the scenes from the movie?

 

GJ: Yes, we were provided with movie scripts, invited to presentations regarding the development of the film, provided with art assets from the film, not to mention private, very, early morning tours (4am) of the ride which allowed us a very intimate showing.

 

How is the story presented?  Does the game use CG or real-time movie sequences?  Are there any voice-overs?

 

GJ: 1. Haunted Mansion does employ both CG and in-game movie sequences to present key moments in the game but also to aid in the tutorial duties and exploration of the mansion. 2. Extensive voice over has been used throughout the game as it ads an enormous amount of depth to the overall game play experience. The Haunted Mansion Game features over 30 ghost personalities which the player will meet along the way.

 

Tell us about some of the tasks and objectives that players will encounter in the game.

 

GJ: There are numerous objectives in the Haunted Mansion Game, but I have to be careful not to give away too many secrets at this time. What I will say is that the payer must progress through the entire game and collect as many of the "999 Trapped Souls" as possible. Along the way they will face lots of combat as well as numerous environment & strategy-based puzzles. 

 

 

 

With only a small lantern to light the way,
it won’t be easy to make it out alive.

 

 

Were there any games that inspired or had an influence on the direction you took with the gameplay?

 

GJ: There are a number of games that inspired the game play of Haunted Mansion. In the initial stages of development we decided on a few core game-play fundamentals that would ultimately define what the game is today.

 

1. Accessibility: Simple and well known game-play mechanics. There are a number of Nintendo products that come to mind, dating all the way back to the 8-bit NES days.  In a nutshell "easy to pick up and play, hard to master."

 

2. Intuitive camera & control relationship. The camera had to set the stage for a fast-paced combat system as well as allow the player to easily look around and familiarize themselves with their environment. Again, we drew inspiration from a legacy of Nintendo products not to mention a number of 1st person shooters like "Quake" & "Half-life", and I would say "Ico" for a camera system that allows the player truly see their surroundings.

 

3. Diversity: We decided that due to a level of repetition commonly found in action, adventure & platform style games, it should be a top priority for us to ensure that each area of the mansion offered a completely unique experience. We opted to build a puzzle system into each room of the Mansion. All of the puzzles use well-known game play fundamentals, but in almost all cases offer a twist on those conventions by utilizing themes from the Haunted Mansion. To that end, each room in the mansion is different from the others. I would say that "Ico" was a huge inspiration for us as it offers what I would call the integration of environment and puzzle game-play components that is second to none.

 

4. An effective platform for the IP: The Haunted Mansion property was tricky because not only was it going to be a film, it had also been a well-known property since the 60's. Although it is a ride, it is not just a roller coaster. It is more specifically a vehicle for a very unique group of experiences. Even after going on the ride more than a dozen times, you still find yourself looking around in awe and amazement. It is about the experience of just being there, not just a thrill ride. Regardless of whether we followed the movie or the ride, one thing was clear, each room of the mansion had to be an experience in and of itself. In our minds, if this could not be accomplished, the project would not be a success.

 

What cool graphic effects can we look forward to seeing in the game?

 

GJ: There are a lot of cool effects in the game. I suppose that a great deal of it has to do with the lighting in general. The mansion has a very specific mood, which could be considered somewhat dark. This being said, it sets the stage very nicely for a really good light show.  Additionally, we play with the camera quite a bit. There are a number of cases where a room changes form or more specifically, is not what it would seem. Again, I don't want to kill any surprises.

 

 

 

That ghost may forever haunt the mansion, but I have some good news:

Thanks to Geico, I now pay 15% less for car insurance.

 

 

Survival/horror games are known for having some of the best, creepiest music ever (de)composed.  What can players expect from The Haunted Mansion's soundtrack?

 

GJ: The soundtrack was designed specifically for the themes of the game, but it isn't just a matter of being dark and spooky all of the time. As the original Mansion story goes, the Haunted Mansion is actually a "cool place" to hang out if you're dead. That's why they're all there in the first place. Ultimately the music is designed to drive the player forward as well as match the activities in motion at that time. If the game's pace is oriented towards combat, the audio is much more aggressive and is designed to drive the player forward. If you are looking for clues to a puzzle it takes a much more laid back stance and tends to sit on the more eerie side of things. A fair bit of the "spookiness" actually comes from the ambient noise of the Mansion. It's not haunted if it doesn't make noises!

 

How is the visibility in this game?  Do you have to use a flashlight to see?

 

GJ: Visibility has been a major concern since the beginning. How dark is too dark? What TV standard should we use?  At the end of the day, we will provide a brightness slider in the front-end menu. This will allow anyone to calibrate the screen brightness to their liking.

 

The game itself has not been designed to be so dark that the player cannot see without the lantern (Beacon of Souls). That being said, all of the lights are out when you enter the mansion so the lantern does come in very handy!

 

Does The Haunted Mansion incorporate any of the ride's humor?

 

GJ: Well, I certainly hope that people take it that way! (just kidding)

 

Actually, we received an enormous level of support from Disney when trying to cast the right voices for the mansion ghosts. In most cases, these well known personalities had never been voiced before.

 

Is there anything you can tell us about the Game Boy Advance version of the game?  How does it compare to the console versions?

 

GJ: Haunted Mansion for the Game Boy Advance is a puzzle adventure game that drops you into the role of Yazz, a teenage girl who is trapped in the mansion with her two friends.

 

Yazz and her friends must find their way out by solving puzzles that unlock the various locations of the Haunted Mansion.

 

We are utilizing a proprietary 3D engine that brings the Haunted Mansion to life like no other technology currently seen on the Game Boy Advance.

 

 

 Hey, maybe if you ask really nice, the ghosts will go away.

Hahaha, psych!

 

 

Which age group is The Haunted Mansion being developed primarily for?

 

GJ: This is a somewhat tough question to answer but I will do my best. (Quick Answer: 10 UP)

 

When approaching the development of this product there were two opposing forces that we had to come to terms with.  1. Haunted Mansion, by virtue of its name, is a "Survival Horror" game. 2. Disney's core demographic skus very young.

 

These two elements don't exactly set a level playing field, not to mention the fact that this product is also derivative of a theme park and a movie. A few decisions were made; 1. All of the content found in the game must be accessible and entertaining to a younger audience. 2. Haunted Mansion must be more than a "children's activity" game. 3. The game-play mechanics and ideas conveyed must be compelling for more advanced gamers.

 

At the end of the day, I do feel that the end result is far stronger than we could have expected in meeting the needs of various audiences.

 

Thank you Gabriel for your incredibly in-depth comments.  I look forward to exploring the awesome mansion you have created when the game is released this fall.