Enemy Zero
Encyclopedia
is a 1997 video game for Sega Saturn
, developed by WARP
and directed by Kenji Eno
. After its Saturn release, it was ported
to Microsoft Windows
. It was the second game to star the digital actress Laura.
.
The real time component of E0 is unique. Enemies are invisible, and location is only possible through the use of sound, with notes of different pitch helping the player find the distance and direction of enemies. Additionally, every gun in the game must be charged up immediately before each shot, and charging a shot for too long will cause the charge to dissipate, after which the charging must start over. Since all available guns have very limited range, this makes timing crucial; beginning to charge the gun too late or too soon will allow the enemy to reach Laura, resulting in an immediate game over
.
Getting dressed and grabbing her gun, Laura heads out to learn what attacked Parker. As she ventures through the ship, Laura's earring-shaped "guidance system" gives her aural warnings of invisible enemies (seen escaping in the intro sequence) roaming the ship's corridors. Laura must fight these enemies, meet up with surviving crew members, and escape the AKI.
Ronny: The ship's captain. 45 years old and American. Although Ronny holds ultimate authority over shipboard activities, it's rare that he issues a direct order. He tries not to be away from his cabin during emergency situations, transforming it into a command center of sorts.
David Barnard: A sub-captain of the AKI, David's duties as sub-captain keep most of his time occupied, but when he has a free moment he likes to get back to his cabin to catch up on his reading. David is 31 years old and from England.
Kimberly Hurd: Kimberly is a 32 year old American serving as the counselor of the AKI. She is tasked with ensuring smooth relations between the crew members.
Parker: Parker is the AKI's engineer. A 30-year old bachelor from America; his room on the AKI was filled with beer cans and pin-up posters. Big-hearted and friendly, but has no cleaning ability. Parker is a reference to the movie Alien which also has a character named "Parker".
Marcus: The ship's German physician, 39-year old Dr. Marcus tends the needs of the sick and injured, provides periodic check-ups, and even does occasional psychological counseling. He presents a solid, serious image, but some of his personal effects betray a hidden side to his character.
George Takahashi: An eccentric 48-year old Japanese computer Engineer. Takahashi is a workaholic and perfectionist who centers his existence around his computer. When he isn't taking a cat nap, he can usually be found staring into the monitor. He makes it a policy never to answer his video phone when he's working on a project, which hasn't won him any popularity contests with rest of the crew.
Laura, David, Kimberly, and Parker reappear and have major roles in D2.
Laura previously appeared in D. However, these appearances are simply reuses of the character models and do not imply any sort of continuity. For story purposes, Laura Lewis, for example, is intended to be a different character from Laura Harris from D.
, including a number of direct references to the film – most notably the initial flyby shot of the Aki and the caption text "Returning to Earth", just as the Nostromo did at the beginning of Alien, and the helmet shot in the introduction, where computer screens are reflected in the visors. The game also borrows heavily from the plot of "Alien" in that the AKI crew were sent to retrieve the aliens to bring back to Earth to use as biological weapons.
's PlayStation
. Irritated by Sony's failure to meet even a third of preorders for the PlayStation version of D
, at a Sony conference Kenji Eno
made a shocking move. Eno showed a preview of Enemy Zero. At the end of the clip the PlayStation logo appeared, but slowly transitioned into the Sega Saturn
logo. Despite popular opinion that the Saturn cannot handle 3D games as well as the PlayStation, Eno commented "...the PlayStation and the Saturn aren't that different, so moving it[Enemy Zero] to Saturn wasn't too difficult."
While Eno did the music for D, Michael Nyman
, composer for films such as Gattaca
and The Piano
, was hired to create a score for this WARP title. In an interview, Kenji Eno explained how this came about:
Released and received with much hype in Japan at the end of 1996, E0 was released in North America and Europe in 1997 under Sega Enterprises. Despite being critically panned, it was later ported to the PC by Sega.
20 copies of a limited edition of the Saturn version were produced and sold for a price roughly equal to 2,000 US dollars. These special copies were hand-delivered to recipients by Kenji Eno himself. Due to popularity in Japan
, Sega
sponsored the production of a few Enemy Zero items such as the official Enemy Zero soundtrack by Michael Nyman, a model of the in-game gun, and a strategy guide.
Fumito Ueda
, director of the cult video games Ico
and Shadow of the Colossus
worked as an animator on this game, before becoming a video game director.
and Sarah Leonard. "Confusion" is a modification of material from Nyman's previous score, The Ogre
, while the Enemy Zero/Invisible Enemy/Battle theme were modified into portions of Nyman's score for Man with a Movie Camera
.
"Laura's Theme," "Digital Tragedy," and "Love Theme" are solo piano works and are included on the EP
, Enemy Zero Piano Sketches, which was released eight months before the complete soundtrack, and two months before the game.
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
, developed by WARP
Superwarp
WARP is a now-defunct video game developer. Founded by Japanese musician, Kenji Eno, WARP was composed of five members and was dedicated to creating interactive cinema. Their most successful series of games, the D series, featured the same lead character, Laura, and were known for their musical...
and directed by Kenji Eno
Kenji Eno
is a musician and video game designer based in Japan. He is best-known for his cult survival horror series, the D games and his audio game series, Real Sound.-Childhood and early years:...
. After its Saturn release, it was ported
Porting
In computer science, porting is the process of adapting software so that an executable program can be created for a computing environment that is different from the one for which it was originally designed...
to Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. It was the second game to star the digital actress Laura.
Gameplay
In E0, gameplay sequences alternate between interactive FMV and real time exploration, both from a first person perspective. The interactive FMV component uses gameplay identical to an earlier Warp game, DD (video game)
is a survival horror puzzle-oriented adventure game released in 1995 by WARP. The first entry in the D series and one of the first games released by the company, it dealt with taboo content such as violence and cannibalism, featured 3D CGI full-motion video and a first-person perspective, and...
.
The real time component of E0 is unique. Enemies are invisible, and location is only possible through the use of sound, with notes of different pitch helping the player find the distance and direction of enemies. Additionally, every gun in the game must be charged up immediately before each shot, and charging a shot for too long will cause the charge to dissipate, after which the charging must start over. Since all available guns have very limited range, this makes timing crucial; beginning to charge the gun too late or too soon will allow the enemy to reach Laura, resulting in an immediate game over
Game over
Game Over is a message in video games which signals that the game has ended, often due to a negative outcome - although the phrase sometimes follows the end credits after successful completion of a game...
.
Plot
Aboard the AKI space craft, a space station dedicated to biological research, Laura Lewis is in a deep cryogenic slumber. The jets of the chamber dissipate as the craft's emergency systems are activated. Laura is awoken by a large detonation on her deck. Outside a door marked with the letters E0, something of great strength is trying to break free. The door is thrown down and the hallway is filled with a bright incandescent light, followed by a horrific growl. Pipes and the remains of the steel door shift around as if being stepped on. Laura, unaware of what is happening, uses the video phone located above her sleep chamber to contact one of her crewmates, Parker. Laura watches in confusion as Parker looks away from the monitor, to his room entryway doors. A screech sends him backing up to reach for his gun. Laura watches as Parker is mutilated by an unseen enemy.Getting dressed and grabbing her gun, Laura heads out to learn what attacked Parker. As she ventures through the ship, Laura's earring-shaped "guidance system" gives her aural warnings of invisible enemies (seen escaping in the intro sequence) roaming the ship's corridors. Laura must fight these enemies, meet up with surviving crew members, and escape the AKI.
Characters
Laura Lewis: Copilot of the AKI space station, Laura has lost most of her memory due to a malfunction during her awakening from cryogenic sleep. She is 32 years old, American.Ronny: The ship's captain. 45 years old and American. Although Ronny holds ultimate authority over shipboard activities, it's rare that he issues a direct order. He tries not to be away from his cabin during emergency situations, transforming it into a command center of sorts.
David Barnard: A sub-captain of the AKI, David's duties as sub-captain keep most of his time occupied, but when he has a free moment he likes to get back to his cabin to catch up on his reading. David is 31 years old and from England.
Kimberly Hurd: Kimberly is a 32 year old American serving as the counselor of the AKI. She is tasked with ensuring smooth relations between the crew members.
Parker: Parker is the AKI's engineer. A 30-year old bachelor from America; his room on the AKI was filled with beer cans and pin-up posters. Big-hearted and friendly, but has no cleaning ability. Parker is a reference to the movie Alien which also has a character named "Parker".
Marcus: The ship's German physician, 39-year old Dr. Marcus tends the needs of the sick and injured, provides periodic check-ups, and even does occasional psychological counseling. He presents a solid, serious image, but some of his personal effects betray a hidden side to his character.
George Takahashi: An eccentric 48-year old Japanese computer Engineer. Takahashi is a workaholic and perfectionist who centers his existence around his computer. When he isn't taking a cat nap, he can usually be found staring into the monitor. He makes it a policy never to answer his video phone when he's working on a project, which hasn't won him any popularity contests with rest of the crew.
Laura, David, Kimberly, and Parker reappear and have major roles in D2.
Laura previously appeared in D. However, these appearances are simply reuses of the character models and do not imply any sort of continuity. For story purposes, Laura Lewis, for example, is intended to be a different character from Laura Harris from D.
Influences
The game borrows heavily from the film AlienAlien (film)
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm and Yaphet Kotto. The film's title refers to its primary antagonist: a highly aggressive extraterrestrial creature which...
, including a number of direct references to the film – most notably the initial flyby shot of the Aki and the caption text "Returning to Earth", just as the Nostromo did at the beginning of Alien, and the helmet shot in the introduction, where computer screens are reflected in the visors. The game also borrows heavily from the plot of "Alien" in that the AKI crew were sent to retrieve the aliens to bring back to Earth to use as biological weapons.
Development
Enemy Zero began life on SonySony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
's PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Irritated by Sony's failure to meet even a third of preorders for the PlayStation version of D
D (video game)
is a survival horror puzzle-oriented adventure game released in 1995 by WARP. The first entry in the D series and one of the first games released by the company, it dealt with taboo content such as violence and cannibalism, featured 3D CGI full-motion video and a first-person perspective, and...
, at a Sony conference Kenji Eno
Kenji Eno
is a musician and video game designer based in Japan. He is best-known for his cult survival horror series, the D games and his audio game series, Real Sound.-Childhood and early years:...
made a shocking move. Eno showed a preview of Enemy Zero. At the end of the clip the PlayStation logo appeared, but slowly transitioned into the Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
logo. Despite popular opinion that the Saturn cannot handle 3D games as well as the PlayStation, Eno commented "...the PlayStation and the Saturn aren't that different, so moving it[Enemy Zero] to Saturn wasn't too difficult."
While Eno did the music for D, Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
, composer for films such as Gattaca
Gattaca
Gattaca is a 1997 science fiction film written and directed by Andrew Niccol. It stars Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law with supporting roles played by Loren Dean, Ernest Borgnine, Gore Vidal and Alan Arkin....
and The Piano
The Piano
The Piano is a 1993 New Zealand drama film about a mute pianist and her daughter, set during the mid-19th century in a rainy, muddy frontier backwater on the west coast of New Zealand. The film was written and directed by Jane Campion, and stars Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, and Anna Paquin...
, was hired to create a score for this WARP title. In an interview, Kenji Eno explained how this came about:
...I like Michael Nyman a lot, and I like his soundtracks, so I was thinking that it would be awesome if I could get him to do the music. I thought, "That would be impossible, but it'd be great if that happened." ...then, there was a big earthquake in Kobe, Japan in 1995, and Michael Nyman was donating pianos to schools in the city. When this earthquake happened, he said that he wanted to check out how the pianos that he donated were doing, so he came to Japan. When I found out that he was in Japan, I invited him back to my hotel room and tried to convince him, for six hours, to come work with me. So, at the end, Michael was like, "OK, I'll do it, I'll do it. Just let me go back to my room." So he went back exhausted after being convinced for six hours. We didn't work out terms or conditions; he just said that he would do it.
Released and received with much hype in Japan at the end of 1996, E0 was released in North America and Europe in 1997 under Sega Enterprises. Despite being critically panned, it was later ported to the PC by Sega.
20 copies of a limited edition of the Saturn version were produced and sold for a price roughly equal to 2,000 US dollars. These special copies were hand-delivered to recipients by Kenji Eno himself. Due to popularity in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
sponsored the production of a few Enemy Zero items such as the official Enemy Zero soundtrack by Michael Nyman, a model of the in-game gun, and a strategy guide.
Fumito Ueda
Fumito Ueda
is a video game designer born in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan in 1970. Ueda is director and lead designer of the PlayStation 2 video games Ico and Shadow of the Colossus....
, director of the cult video games Ico
Ico
is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment and released for the PlayStation 2 video game console. It was designed and directed by Fumito Ueda, who wanted to create a minimalist game around a "boy meets girl" concept. Originally planned for the PlayStation, Ico took...
and Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus
Shadow of the Colossus, released in Japan as , is an action-adventure game published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game was released in North America and Japan in October 2005 and PAL territories in February 2006...
worked as an animator on this game, before becoming a video game director.
Music
The music is performed by the Michael Nyman OrchestraMichael Nyman Orchestra
The Michael Nyman Orchestra is a group that expands on the Michael Nyman Band for specific album work, often for movie soundtracks.-History:...
and Sarah Leonard. "Confusion" is a modification of material from Nyman's previous score, The Ogre
The Ogre (film)
The score is composed by Michael Nyman and features strictly brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments by members of the Michael Nyman Band. The music was rerecorded by Wingates Band, with the woodwind parts transcribed for brass, on the 2006 album, Nyman Brass.-Track listing:#Knights at School...
, while the Enemy Zero/Invisible Enemy/Battle theme were modified into portions of Nyman's score for Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera , sometimes called The Man with the Movie Camera, The Man with a Camera, The Man With the Kinocamera, or Living Russia is an experimental 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta...
.
"Laura's Theme," "Digital Tragedy," and "Love Theme" are solo piano works and are included on the EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, Enemy Zero Piano Sketches, which was released eight months before the complete soundtrack, and two months before the game.
- Laura's Theme 4:01
- Confusion 3:45
- Aspects of Love 3:52
- Digital Tragedy 2:43
- Enemy Zero 4:20
- Lamentation 3:35
- Love Theme 3:42
- Digital Complex 2:48
- Invisible Enemy 2:13
- Laura's Dream 4:03
- Agony 3:16
- Malfunction 4:02
- Battle 3:48
- The Last Movement 3:44