That said, the mansion itself is rife with all manner of horrible, gothic nasties: dead animal heads, buzzing insects resting on meat and eerie mannequins, to name a few things rendered beautifully in all the glory of 16-bit. Not that Clock Tower does not rely all that much on gore, it leans more towards atmosphere. Although Splatterhouse was steeped in horror influences including HP Lovecraft and American slasher movies, it was also a side- scrolling beat-'em-up. "With the exception of Sweet Home, the only horror games that existed at that time were action games with a horror flavour, like Splatterhouse, and that was not my ideal version of horror," he continues. ![]() It was open to anyone with the condition that the winner would go into full production." Kono decided to design something similar to the 'cinematic live games' made by Human Entertainment at the time, which included SOS, in which you escaped a sinking ship, and its spiritual successor, The Firemen, where you're tasked with saving civilians from a monstrous blaze that erupts at a Christmas party. As a result, all the employees decided to hold a competition where anyone could participate freely. "So, the members of the planning division negotiated with upper management to let us try our hand at an original game. As well as originating the popular Fire Pro Wrestling series, Human Entertainment was well-known for developing the first ever music rhythm videogame, Dance Aerobics – nearly a decade before the likes of Dance Dance Revolution. This was understandable as a management policy because it was stable and guaranteed sales, but as a developer, I was starved for an outlet to demonstrate my creativity," Kono elaborates. "Back then, Human Entertainment basically had a policy of not developing titles other than sports games. If you want in-depth features on classic video games delivered straight to your doorstop, subscribe to Retro Gamer today. However, getting Clock Tower developed at the company was not as straightforward as it might appear. Kono then went on to work at Japanese company Human Entertainment, which, while not well-known in the West, went on to develop over 80 games. These lurid, strange images laid down the foundation for what was to become Clock Tower. The weird and very gory Dario Argento (of Suspiria fame) film features a young girl who can communicate telepathically with bugs and a stranger wielding a large pair of silver scissors. Phenomena, undeniably, shaped Clock Tower. That's why I felt it was worth depicting them." The suspense of being chased and the thrill of hiding from a killer while holding your breath – neither of these aspects existed in video games at the time. "So when I created Clock Tower, I drew from what fascinated me about horror films like Phenomena and Suspiria. ![]() I would then extract what it was that I found interesting and why, and then structure it out," says Kono. "Originally, when I would come up with an idea for a project, I would often break down the structure of a film, anime, or novel that I liked. Coming in at under two hours to play, its choices and randomly generated rooms also provided potential for replays – its endings, as you'd expect, mostly result in death, although some promised the unravelling of dark secrets. Plus, with its nine different endings and varied grisly deaths based solely on your choices, it's fair to say Clock Tower has slasher-style DNA, seen in future games like Until Dawn. Whether through the myriad of Clock Tower sequels, or the modern games that cite its simmering tension as an inspiration, such as Alien: Isolation, where you creep around long corridors avoiding the alien, or Amnesia: Dark Descent, in which you are helpless and reduced to hiding in cupboards until the unknowable nasty passes, its impact on modern gaming is undeniable. ![]() Since then, it has left its bloody, yet restrained, legacy on video games – forming much of the blueprint of survival horror titles. Grim, tense and somewhat surreal, Clock Tower introduced a new type of horror to a generation of gamers, and was wildly popular on release. While the dexterous mashing of buttons may grant short-lived escape, you'll also find yourself panicked – meaning you're likely to trip up as you run from your tiny, pointy pursuer. Lacking the fiery arsenal of weapons seen in the likes of Resident Evil, you have to escape using a mix of wits and point-and-click puzzle action (the sort where a slice of ham can mean life or death), plus, plenty of hiding until the horrors pass.
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