Shadows of the Damned Message Board

It should have been a home run.

Shadows of the Damned sold just 24,000 copies in North America when it was released in June. It doesn't matter how many copies it has or hasn't sold since; it's a tragedy when a trio of gaming's most creative minds out of Japan produce something terrific and the game fails to bring anyone out.

As the story often tragically goes, the collaboration between No More Heroes designer Suda 51, Resident Evil 4 mastermind Shinji Mikami and Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka was widely praised by critics. Electronic Arts did little to market the game, dooming it to word of mouth.

"I'm not satisfied with the sales," said Yamaoka in a recent email. "I'm proud of the project, so I'd like for a lot more people to play it."

You and me both, Yamaoka-san.

The project that eventually become Shadows of the Damned was announced in August 2008 at EA's annual summer event. Suda 51 and Mikami were both in attendance (Yamaoka was still working at Konami) to announce a collaboration with EA Partners for a horror game both of them would be working on. At the time, the game was even intended to be released on Wii. Obviously, that never happened.

EA, Epic Games and People Can Fly announced its partnership at the same event. Bulletstorm was released this past February.

Shadows of the Damned changed shape from when Suda 51 and Mikami conceived it while making Killer 7 at Capcom, and again over the course of development. Mikami and Suda 51 were aiming at Western audiences from the start, and signing with EA was seen as a way to reach that goal.

"Well, one of the reason for the, and I don’t know if I would call it restrained, but one of the reasons is our partnership with EA," Suda told me over email. "As a publisher, EA has been involved with Damned since the planning stages and their feedback has been invaluable. Damned has changed significantly since the first game design documents were created. And both Grasshopper and EA had the American and European markets in mind when we decided to make the game. Of course, we never once thought that we wanted to make a game that didn’t resonate with our Japanese audience also."

Suda pointed towards the decision to move onto Unreal Engine 3 was one of the reasons Shadows of the Damned underwent one of its stylistic changes, long before the public would actually see it.

Yamaoka was not part of the game's entire development. He left Konami in December 2009, having been the face of the Silent Hill series for years. Shadows of the Damned debuted for the first time at Tokyo Game Show in September 2010, less than a year after Yamaoka showed up. Even though the project had changed several times before he came on, he didn't look back.

"My focus was on the game we were creating when I joined," he said.

Like so many other of Yamaoka's projects, it's impossible to discuss Shadows of the Damned without mentioning its music. Music feels like little more than a checkbox in most games, but as with Silent Hill, Yamaoka's contributions help define the game. Shadows of the Damned is hardly a scary game, with a style heavily influenced by Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, but Yamaoka changes the game's mood on a dime, invoked by a eerie, shifting combination of music and sound effects.

Yamaoka described his work on Shadows of the Damned as "ethnic."

The composer is a player, too, and is constantly picking up the controller for influence.

"I think I spend more time playing the games than working on the music," he said.

His old habits have continued at Grasshopper, too. At Konami, Yamaoka was known for composing music at his apartment, a tradition that continued when he started working on Shadows of the Damned.

"I don't feel as creative when I'm at the office," he said. "In my home I have a studio with all of my personal equipment and it's more familiar. To me, making music isn't an extraordinary special activity. It's just like anything else you do in your home from cooking, to sleeping, or just relaxing; making music is the same. You house is the place you're most comfortable, so it's the best place for me to create."

Shadows of the Damned is not a perfect game, but it exemplifies some of the best, craziest parts of Japanese creativity, something that's been largely lost in the transition to this generation. This problem is a source of great angst, an issue former Capcom designer Keiji Inafune railed against on a regular basis, telling Japan to evolve or perish to irrelevancy.

When Shadows of the Damned did arrive in stores in June, the game had been reworked several times, based on back-and-forth feedback between Grasshopper and EA.

"I created the original concept for Shadows of the Damned and the light and dark gameplay," said Suda. "I think I’ve rewritten the scenario for Damned at least five times!"

However long it took was worth the wait, unlike something else.

Shadows of the Damned arrived just after the release of Duke Nukem Forever, an ugly affair in which Duke experienced an old fashioned critical bloodbath. Duke Nukem Forever forced a whole generation of gamers to question their nostalgia. Was Duke ever really funny? What was I laughing at the whole time? Oh god, has my life been based on a terrible lie?

Shadows of the Damned's dick jokes were...legitimately funny. Okay, the "taste my big boner" part went on about 10 minutes too long, but if you were scared about the death of the dick joke, worry not. It turns out Duke Nukem Forever was missing a key ingredient: actual humor. We also have the 8-4 localization production house, who worked on the game, to thank.

Unfortunately, Suda passed on the opportunity to talk about this critical split. It's unclear whether Suda just doesn't know who Duke Nukem is (definitely possible) or didn't want to comment (also possible).

Players have been quick to throw EA under the bus regarding Shadows of the Damned's poor showing. EA featured the eccentric shooter at its press events, but in terms of wide advertising, the game felt blindly dumped at the end of the company's quarter, right alongside Alice: Madness Returns.

Suda, however, remained positive about the relationship.

"EA has given us feedback and support on many aspects of the project," he said. "There is a lot of mutual respect between EA and Grasshopper. Foremost in EA’s thinking was introducing Grasshopper to a global audience without losing the trademark style and attitude that has helped made us who we are today. We've been great partners."

It's unclear whether Grasshopper and EA will work together again. Warner Bros. will publish Lollipop Chainsaw, based on an idea from Suda and with music by Yamaoka. It sports a skirt-flashing cheerleader who moonlights as a zombie killer--and there's a head strapped to her gun.

Yep, sounds like a Grasshopper game.

Yamaoka said a Shadows of the Damned soundtrack will be available in early September.

The game will finally be released in Japan on September 22.

Thanks to the folks at 8-4 for making this happen. Listen to their podcast (mostly) about Japan, 8-4 Play, at www.8-4.jp.

It hasn't been easy going in America for master of the "cult classic" Suda51. While he's made more than his share of critically acclaimed games over the last decade, few have been major financial successes on the North American continent. Most recently, Shadows of the Damned, his collaboration with Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, fizzled at retail, with a mere 24,000 copies sold in its first month. Granted, that probably had more to do with EA's unceremonious dumping of the game at retail without a single identifiable dollar spent on marketing, but still, it's the sort of thing that can send other would-be publishers running, screaming away from a developer.

Thankfully, that didn't happen, and Suda's next project will be heading to American shores, courtesy of the increasingly laudable WB Games. For those of you unawares as to what that project is, go ahead and have a seat right over there while we talk about sexy cheerleaders with chainsaws for a moment.

Titled Lollipop Chainsaw, this action horror game stars plucky high school cheerleader Juliet Starling whose 18th birthday is ruined as her California high school suddenly comes under attack by a zombie threat. Fortunately, Juliet comes from a family of zombie hunters, so this whole deal? Ain't no thang.

Juliet's primary weapon is, naturally, a chainsaw, though her cheerleading acrobatics will also come in handy when pulling off melee maneuvers. Evidently, the game is meant to be some kind of spiritual successor to No More Heroes, and the few screens that have popped up certainly look the part. Albeit with more zombies. And pink hearts.

While Warner's deal with Japanese publisher Kadokawa Games to bring the title to America is certainly interesting, more intriguing is the news buried in the press release that filmmaker James Gunn, himself something of a cult-classic-maker-in-the-making, has signed on to James Gunn up the works. In truth, the press release doesn't really specify his role in the product's development, but one can surmise he'll be taking some kind of script pass on the English translation of the game. Whatever the role ends up being, given Gunn's history with Troma films, not to mention his big budget work on hyperviolent and super-weird movies like Slither, Super, and of course the Dawn of the Dead remake, Gunn's presence can't be seen as anything but a positive.

While the idea of yet another zombie game is probably sending some eyes in the Giant Bomb community 180 degrees backward, forcing a few of you to stare inward in a way you clearly weren't prepared for, something about the idea of No More Heroes meets Dawn of the Dead meets Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Bring It On sounds is finding a way through my own tangled maze of cynical impenetrability, and into my cold, black heart. So, yeah, I'm into it.

After the excellent Shadows of the Damned, sign me up for anything else Suda 51 and Akira Yamaoka collaborate on at Grasshopper Manufacture. I'm not sure a cheerleader flashing her panties and fighting zombies in something called Lollipop Chainsaw is what would come to mind, but after initially dismissing Shadows of the Damned, I'll bite my tongue.

The first screen shots, courtesy of Famitsu, do the best job of underscoring my initial response:

Masahiro Shidara, who previously worked at Tecmo, is the producer of Lollipop Chainsaw, with Suda 51 acting as creative director. Silent Hill and Shadows of the Damned composer Akira Yamaoka is working on this one, too.

Basically, so far so good. I mean, there's a head attached to the damn chainsaw.

Players are in control of Juliet Sterling in what appears to be a spiritual successor to No More Heroes, a franchise that's currently taking a rest after its second Wii outing, but one Suda 51's admitted he wants to return to eventually.

Not every Grasshopper Manufacture game comes to the US. After the sales performance of Shadows of the Damned, getting the studio's quirky experiences over here might be that much harder.

One hopes I'm wrong, though.

In the months following Japan's tragic one-two punch of an earthquake and tsunami, renowned Silent Hill composer Akira Yamaoka has been putting together a benefit album, featuring contributions from himself and fellow industry composers.

Titled Play For Japan: The Album, it's finally available.

All of the proceeds from this album, by the way, are going to the Japanese Red Cross.

"I'm so proud to share this with videogame and music fans, thanks to the hard work of friends and fellow composers from around the world," said Yamaoka in the press release. "With so many diverse artists and styles featured, this truly is a global effort towards a worthwhile cause."

You can download the album right now through iTunes, though it may not be available in your territory just yet. The complete rollout for the album, including the ability to purchase it from Amazon, happens on July 15.

Worth noting: Koji Kondo's "Super Mario Medley" is an iTunes-exclusive.

The full list is as follows:

• Akira Yamaoka/silent-hill/62-356/ (Shadows of the Damned) -- "Ex Animo"
• Arthur Inasi (Harmonix) -- "We Are One"
• Bear McCreary (SOCOM 4) -- "Maverick Regeneration"
• Chance Thomas (Lord of the Rings Online) -- "Rise Up"
• Hip Tanaka.β (Metroid) -- "HVC-1384"
• Inon Zur (Dragon Age) feat. The Lyris Quartet -- "Remember"
• Jason Graves (Dead Space) -- "Necromancer"
• Laura Karpman (Everquest II) in collaboration with Lisbeth Scott -- "Pine Wind Sound"
• Laura Shigihara (Plants vs. Zombies) -- Jump"
• Koji Kondo (Super Mario Bros.) -- "Super Mario Medley"
• Mitsuto Suzuki (The 3rd Birthday) -- "Play for You"
• Nobuko Toda (Metal Gear Solid 4) -- "Reminiscence"
• Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) -- "Every New Morning"
• Penka Kouneva (Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands) -- "White Cloud"
• Sean Murray (Call of Duty) -- "The Temple Stone"
• Tommy Tallarico (Advent Rising) -- "Greater Lights"
• Woody Jackson (Red Dead Redemption) -- "Moshi Moshi"
• Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger) -- "Dimension Break"

Greetings fellow demon hunters! I’m the Sound Director and Chief Creative Officer at Grasshopper Manufacture. Some people may know me from my work on the Silent Hill series, but today I’m here to talk about our latest game — Shadows of the Damned, out now on the PS3.

Music plays an incredibly important role in setting the atmosphere for games, and it’s especially vital in an action-horror game like Shadows of the Damned. When scoring Damned, I tried to imagine tracks that would bring Hell to life for the player and the lead character Garcia. Designing music isn’t always the most transparent task, so in this blog post I want to explain my thoughts behind the creation of a few tracks included in the pre-order bonus soundtrack.

You could say I created this track to be the title song for Shadows of the Damned. Originally, I had planned to make it a duet, as sort of a theme for the two lovers: Garcia and Paula. I wanted to match the heavy, aggressive sound to the game world with Paula and Garcia at the center. I never thought that the game´s genre had anything to do with it, never made it sound the way it is just because it´s an action game. It´s a long song – over seven minutes – but you can think of it as a compressed version of the experience you´ll have playing the game and venturing into its hellish world.

I used a special seven-string guitar to get the sinking sound. I think you´ll get a heavier impression from this than you are used to hearing from a guitar.

This song was made for the scene at the beginning of the game when Garcia is riding the bike. It´s not an interactive section, but I wanted the song to give the impression of rushing along at high speed. I suppose it´s an easy musical style to understand. By putting this music in the game, I wanted to create the player to feel like a motorcycle section could start at any second.

When I first saw the artwork being used for the game, Jan Švankmajer immediately came to mind. Then I began to think of the streets of the Czech Republic. It differs from the world you experience in the game, but I imagined Czech animation I used to watch a lot when creating this song. No matter the musical style, if I work on music for a game, I want to surprise the players with a new experience beyond any they´ve played before, even those works I´ve been associated with. I think that thought process is apparent in this music.

Thanks for reading! I want to thank everyone for the feedback we’ve been getting on Twitter, Facebook, and forums all over the Internet. We’re both proud and humbled by the fan comments. We’re currently working on a limited edition Shadows of the Damned Official soundtrack. Please look for it this Summer!

Also, Play For Japan: The Album, an industry wide charity album featuring composers like Koji Kondo, Nobuo Uematsu, and Sean Murray, will be available for digital download through Amazon and iTunes next week! All proceeds go to help earthquake and tsunami relief in Japan.