The 389 Artworks, Scripts from Mansion Revisited and Storyboards in bulk of Fear Effect Inferno Playstation 2
This article [Fear Effect Inferno Playstation 2 and its prototypes: the art of video game storytelling], dedicated to unveiling the hidden secrets of Fear Effect Inferno, has already guided you through the twists and turns of its tumultuous history, its complex characters, and the technical peculiarities of its prototype. Now let's take a look at the Scripts - of which there aren't many - for the second passage through the Mansion level. Let's also admire the Fear Effect Inferno Artworks and the pencil strokes of the Game Artists who designed them!
Mansion Revisited Scripts and unreferenced Storyboards
At the end of the “City Of The Dead” level, Hana uses her supernatural eyes to go back in time and prevent her own death in Minkz's mansion. The player should have visited the Triad leader's ultra-secure building a second time. Here are the Scripts for this final episode of the adventures of Hana and her companions in Fear Effect Inferno.
Cutscene F000N (0 extracts making up the Storyboard)
1)
Flashfade in to:
int. mansion, hallway outside harem room – night
Hana stands slumped, seemingly at the edge of consciousness, between two guards outside the harem room, as Minkz, just through the doorway, inspects the concubines arrayed inside.
Triad leader (o.s.)
You’ll do nicely.
Two more guards ready themselves, just outside the door. The guards holding Hana tense in anticipation of their cue.
Triad leader (O.S.)
Oh, and Rain, perhaps you would care to join me, and your friend, Hana, for a private party.
This is their cue, and the guards arrayed by the door charge through to apprehend Rain.
But Hana’s ready too, and her own guards, thinking she’s unconscious, aren’t ready for the attack when it comes.
With a sudden, savage kick, Hana levels one of them, and lands a spinning backfist into the throat of the other, sending him gasping and gurgling to the floor.
2)
She’s got the gun out of his hand before he ever even hits the floor, and she pumps two shots into each of them before diving into the harem room after Minkz and Rain.
cut to:
int. harem room – night
Hana rolls and puts perfectly placed shots into two more guards, but more have arrived through another door, and a harem girl is suddenly there, in her way, hands up, recoiling in mute horror at the uzi leveled at her chest.
Hana hesitates and tries to sidestep the girl, but as soon as she does, the girl’s eyes narrow and she plants a solid spinning kick into Hana’s side.
Hana rolls with it and blows the harem girl away, but the distraction was enough. Militia are all over the place in here, and the harem girls all look enough like Rain in her disguise that Hana can’t just open up indiscriminately.
Suddenly, she spots Minkz, flanked by a phalanx of militia, shoving Rain viciously before them, slipping out through another door.
She starts to run for them, but there’s just too much company to ignore.
As soon as Minkz is out, the doors to the room all slam shut and lock simultaneously, sealing off their fight from the rest of the mansion.
cut to gameplay
Cutscene F001N (0 extracts making up the Storyboard)
1)
int. lux bedroom – night
Hana uses the key on Minkz’ escape door and it swings open.
She presses herself against the doorjamb for a moment, then dives through in a roll.
But nobody’s there. The place is deserted.
cut to:
int. torture room hallway – night
The elevator doors slip open. It’s empty.
A beat.
Hana drops silently to the elevator floor, weapon ready.
But nobody’s there.
She slips forward into the corridor and presses herself against the jamb of the massive double doors leading to the torture room.
A breath. Another breath.
Then she moves. She plants herself dead in front of the right door and plants a powerful kick into its center.
cut to:
int. torture room – night
She dives and rolls into the room and lands hard on her feet, guns out, assessing the situation.
Rain sits tied to a chair at the far end of the room. Minkz stands beside her, pressing a gun barrel conspicuously into her temple.
Two militia flank him, a few feet away on either side.
The Bodyguard stands, arms crossed, at one side of the center ramp’s base.
An escape door, in the far corner, slips closed just as Hana enters, but she notices it.
Hana keeps both uzis trained on Minkz’ head, but if he notices at all, he clearly isn’t concerned.
Minkz
Hana Tsu-Vachel. The assassin. The whore. How kind of you to join us.
Hana
I’ve come to end it, Minkz.
Minkz
And then what? You and your friends live happily ever after?
(beat)
It doesn’t work that way. …As I taught your parents so many years ago.
2)
Hana keeps a bead on him, concentrating, not even listening to him.
He walks around behind Rain, keeping the gun trained on her, but not as precisely as before. He’s getting cocky.
Minkz
I would have thought you’d have learned your lesson.
Hana continues to study him with the patience of a sniper. Waiting.
Minkz
Apparently not. Like father, like daughter.
He considers her another moment. Then, casually:
Minkz
I’ll enjoy this.
He gestures toward the bodyguard.
Minkz
Kill her -
SLOW MOTION CLOSE ON: The gun, as it moves a bit away from Rain’s head – just enough, and Hana suddenly has a clear shot.
SLOW MOTION CLOSE ON: HANA, as her eyes narrow.
SLOW MOTION HANA’S POV, DOWN THE GUN BARREL, as she squeezes the trigger.
SLOW MOTION CLOSE ON MINKZ, as the shot through his forehead cuts him off, and he stumbles backward, eyes wide in surprise, already dead on his feet.
SLOW MOTION MEDIUM ON: THE MILITIA, as they try to raise their weapons, but take a burst each to the chest, stumbling, windmilling, then dead against the wall before Minkz’ body has even hit the floor.
RESUME NORMAL SPEED: CLOSE ON: MINKZ’ BODY, as it hits the floor.
Hana remains at the ready, but Minkz and the militia aren’t getting back up.
She turns her attention to the bodyguard now, with resignation.
Hana
I think you’re out of a job.
He looks to where Minkz has fallen for a beat, dumbly. Hana keeps a bead on him, but makes no move to attack.
Then he turns to face her and starts lumbering toward her. A dumb killing machine.
cut to gameplay.
Cutscene F002N (0 extracts making up the Storyboard)
1)
int. torture room – night
LOW ANGLE ON: THE BODYGUARD, as he unleashes a massive backfist into Hana’s body.
LOW ANGLE ON: HANA, as the hit hurls her backward.
HIGH LONG ON: HANA, as she lands hard at the center of the room (exactly where Glas landed in Narrative A39N).
HANA’S POV ON: THE BODYGUARD, as he steps into her view of the ceiling, enjoying this.
Rain sees this, from where she remains bound to the chair, and she struggles desperately.
Rain
Hana!
Rain hauls desperately against the bonds, but she can’t move.
CLOSE ON: HER EYES, desperate.
She struggles, hauling so hard against the straps that they begin to cut into her wrists. She closes her eyes against the pain and keeps hauling.
The ring she wears begins to glow, faintly at first, then with increasing brilliance.
A sudden shock of energy racks through her body and she stiffens and snaps free of the bonds, eyes still closed.
A tremendous energy fills the room, warping space and bursting lights.
The bodyguard looks around in sudden, mute confusion as electric sparks pass over the features of the room.
Hana raises her head, as far as she’s able, to see what’s going on, and sees Rain, standing now in front of the chair, eyes closed, hair flowing, energy coursing out around her.
The bodyguard turns to face Rain now, and as he does, her eyes open.
All of the energy in the room now implodes on him in a crushing wave which flares a brilliant white when it hits him.
white out.
fade in to:
int. torture room hallway – night
Glas and Deke stand pressed against the doorjamb to the Torture Room, guns drawn, ready to bust on in there.
Glas
Ready?
Deke
I’m ready!
A beat.
2)
Glas
So kick the door!
Deke
I’m a better shot! You kick it!
glas
Dammit, Deke, kick in the goddamn/fucking door!
Another beat, then Deke lumbers into position to kick it in.
He and Glas make eye contact. Glas nods.
WHAM!
CUT TO:
INT. TORTURE ROOM – NIGHT
Deke and Glas burst through the door – into a silent room.
They stop, still at the ready, looking around the room. It looks like a bomb went off in here; walls and railings melted and warped, only one or two lights still working at all, one of them flickering sporadically.
Amid the ruins lie Rain’s and Hana’s bodies; Hana near the center of the room, Rain in front of the chair.
Glas runs to Hana’s side, crouches and checks her, expecting the worst. But she’s okay, and coming around.
He signals to Deke, who moves on toward Rain.
Hana’s eyes flutter open and she looks up at him.
Glas
Hana, are you all right? What the hell happened in here?
Hana
Looks like you boys missed all the fun.
She begins to climb unsteadily to her feet and he helps her up and supports her.
Deke crouches beside Rain, helping her up. She’s clearly in a daze.
Deke
Well, ya sure messed the joint up. I’ll give ya that.
Glas looks about nervously.
Glas
We better get the hell outta here.
Hana
This way.
She takes a step, with his help, toward the ramp.
3)
int. torture room – same
CLOSE ON: MINKZ’ FACE, with a new sunroof installed in his forehead.
TILT DOWN WITH HANA’S HAND TO HIS JACKET, as Hana extracts the secret door’s remote.
cut to:
int. escape tunnel – night
Pitch black. Then, with a hiss, the door from the Torture Room slips open, spilling light into the darkened hallway.
Hana’s and Glas’ silhouettes appear in the doorframe.
cut to:
ext. mansion driveway –night
A HMV limo rounds the corner from the driveway’s end like a bat outta hell, then, behind them, the whole place goes up in a massive explosion.
The image ripples now, as though reflected in the surface of a pool that has now been disturbed.
A hand reaches in and splashes the image apart.
pull back to:
int. judgment hall - night
TRACK WITH: YIM LAU WONG’S HAND, as he pulls it back from a small pool of water rippling in an ornately formed basin.
yim lau wong
It had not occurred to me that she might use her Eyes to change their fates so completely.
Someone else is here in the room with him, but he remains in shadow. The figure speaks now.
4)
lucifer (o.s.)
Such is the nature of free will. These creatures are full of surprises.
Yim Lau Wong turns from him in frustration.
TRACK AROUND SLOWLY
Lucifer (o.s.)
Your error, Yim Lau Wong, is that you attack their minds. Their hearts are the key. Give them what they desire and they will be your willing slaves…
FINISH TRACKING to reveal the Western devil’s face.
Lucifer
Forever.
Yim Lau Wong turns back to face him.
Yim Lau Wong
Perhaps you are right… Mephistopheles? Lucifer? Or do you prefer Prince of Darkness?
(smiles mischievously)
You have so many names. I can never keep them straight.
Yim Lau Wong waves his hand and the room brightens now, revealing an ornate tea set, on a table before the Chair of Judgment.
Yim Lau Wong
Come. Sit. Join me for tea.
They approach the chair.
Just as the Western Devil is about to sit, we:
fade to black
Cutscene F040N (0 extracts making up the Storyboard)
1)
int. boss room - night
The boss bodyguard kills Hana.
Game Over.
Unreferenced Storyboard extracts
The 214 Scripts and 1597 extracts making up the Storyboards constitute the admirable scenario of Fear Effect Inferno PlayStation 2. These conceptual materials are spread across 4 levels and brief revisit of one of them. Reading and examining them are excellent ways of soaking up the game's special atmosphere and projecting yourself into the work of Kronos Digital Entertainment. Here are the other documents, assigned by level, dedicated to FEI's Storyboards and Scripts.
Artworks with in-game equivalents
One of the first phases in the development of a video game is the drafting of drawings/sketches illustrating the game's atmosphere and the appearance of characters and locations. After consultation with the development team and approval of the Artworks, they are put into volume, then textures are applied to them, before finally materializing on screen.
Given the game's style, the complexity of the project and the cinematic approach of Fear Effect Inferno, Kronos' Game Artists had to draw a substantial number of Artworks. This disparate archive, presented throughout the FEI preservation project, includes 389 of them. On another note, to get an idea of the number of sketches scribbled during the pre-production phase of a video game, Toy Commander Dreamcast would count some 600 in all.
This article refers only to Artworks that have not been used in other Fear Effect Inferno-related pages. Below, those listed by category that more or less resemble their in-game renderings.
Heroes Artworks
-
The prototype does not load the “Rags” clothing of Fear Effect Inferno's heroes. An error in the “Renderware” engine will cause the game to crash. Without being able to play the characters in this outfit, the “Model Viewer” tool at least gives a glimpse of the models used to represent them. These tatters appear to have been made especially for the “City Of The Dead (E)” level. Hana has two “Rags” outfits, one of which is briefly visible in a cutscene (the long gray dress). Two different “Rags” costumes were designed for Rain, perhaps one of them wasn't approved or was intended for a cinematic....
Rain (Rags)
Hana (Rags)
Deke (Rags)
Penguins in the desert...
-
In the “Hospital (C)” level, Hana finds herself imprisoned in the psychiatric ward of the nursing home. She must find a way to free herself from her straitjacket.
-
The valiant Glas in his default outfit. All the women are after him. Explicit scenes with Rain and his ex-girlfriend Nil (Artworks of her below) suggest as much!
-
In the “Mansion (A)” level, Rain infiltrates Minkz's mansion by posing as one of the women in the Triad boss' harem. She's no slouch. In fact, Hana teases her about it. Don't touch Rain!
-
In the “Shan Xi (D)” level, Glas relives the tragedy of losing his left arm in Fear Effect 1 Playstation 1, and dons the “Future” outfit in cutscene only.
Artworks of enemies and NPCs
Dman, from concept sketch to in-game rendering (Shan Xi)
Dwoman, from concept sketch to in-game rendering (Shan Xi)
Psycho Patient, from concept sketch to in-game rendering (Shan Xi)
Promoter (City Of The Dead)
Dhorse (City Of The Dead)
Orderly, from concept sketch to in-game rendering (Hospital)
Black Reaper (Hospital)
Mkydealer City Of The Dead)
Piggy (City Of The Dead)
Wee Ming (Hospital)
Bosses Artworks
-
Minkz's chief bodyguard is the boss of the “Mansion” level. His armor is impenetrable except when he lets his guard down. The first confrontation with him takes place in the library. Hana won't defeat him, but he'll get the better of her by stealth.
-
Madame Chen, already familiar to Fear Effect fans, is the boss of the “Shan Xi” level. Unfortunately, she's invincible because her combat mechanics are missing. What a shame it is not being able to defeat her!
-
The hospital's chief surgeon is the boss of this place of life and death. In the middle of the level, he tries to steal Hana's eyes. But this would be underestimating Hana, who won't let it happen. The battle has three phases, including one with the surgeon’s human form.
- The hospital boss has 3 transformations, 2 of which are in this monstrous form. He is the Gateway to Hell. Hana refuses to submit and enter the kingdom of the dead. Once there, there's no turning back. He succumbs to her blows after a hard-fought battle.
Artwork for full-3D environments and Looping Background (LB)
The Brothel (City Of The Dead) full-3D
Madame Chen’s Bedroom (Shan Xi) full-3D
The Kitchen (Mansion) full-3D
The MetaBoss Room (Hospital) full-3D
Gates of Hell (City Of The Dead) LB
The Chair Boss Room (Hospital) full-3D
Island Gates of Hell (City Of The Dead) LB
Pawn Shop (City Of The Dead) LB
The Artworks in bulk
Artworks in the Fear Effect Inferno archive are sorted by level and then into subfolders entitled “Approved” or “Revised”, depending on the approval of development studio Kronos Digital Entertainment. Illustrations that have been “No Listed” by Stan Liu's team appear in the main folder without any specific distinction. This subtlety makes it easier to project oneself into the game in the making, and to imagine FEI's unfinished segments.
For this section dedicated to Artworks, their in-game equivalents have not been spotted, or their on-screen renderings were not close enough to the original sketch. An annotation in brackets indicates whether they were approved or not:
A = Approved
R = Revised
N = Not listed
It's interesting to browse through the Artworks and see the unapproved design ideas, enemies, NPCs, vehicles and locations that didn't make it past the pre-production stage, or the evolution of a model from sketch to sketch to in-game representation.
Artworks archive overview
Please note that there are visible errors, such as one of the female models in Minkz's approved harem, which bears no resemblance to her rendering in the triad leader's mansion.
Artworks of Mansion
"Mansion" is the first level in Fear Effect Inferno. Fully playable from start to finish, it takes place in the Triad boss's mansion. References to '90s action films abound. The game's four protagonists - Hana, Rain, Deke and Glas - set out to free Hana from Minkz's grip by sneaking into his mansion and eliminating him. Hana won't survive!
Harem Girl 3 (A)
Harem Girl 2 (N)
Deke (A)
Servant (N)
Servant (A)
Crazy Glas (N)
Crazy Glas 2 (N)
Hana (N)
Hana Dark 6 (A)
Rain Wet (A)
Artworks of Hospital
"Hospital", the second and most accomplished level of Fear Effect Inferno, can be played from Hana's room to her terrible encounter with the final boss, an infernal creature hiding under the human skin of a chief surgeon. Hana, who thought she was in a waking nightmare, will fight to find out the truth. She's at the gates of Hell!
Patient 1 (N)
Patient 2 (N)
Gurney 3 (A)
Deadgirl 1a (R)
Deadgirl (A)
pshcogurney (N)
Gurney 2 (A)
Nurse (N)
Monk (N)
Deadguy 3 (N)
Deadguy 1 (N)
Swarm_enemy (N)
Rain_funeral2 (N)
Morph1 (N)
Organs (N)
Swarm_enemy 2 (N)
Swarm_enemy 3 (N)
Artworks of Shan Xi
"Shan Xi" is the third level of Fear Effect Inferno. It is partially playable, as the Chen boss's combat mechanics are not yet implemented and prevent her from being defeated in order to progress in the Chinese citadel scenario. After Hana's death, Glas, Deke and Rain wake up with scratches on their arms. They know that a portal there can lead them to Hell. Rain is determined to reach Hana in the City of the Dead before it's too late!
Deke future 1 (N)
Deke future 2 (N)
Rain future 1 (N)
Rain future 2 (A)
Demon whore 1 (N)
Demon whore 2 (N)
Glas gf2 (N)
Glas gf2 (N)
Glas gf3 (N)
Glas gf4 (N)
P lady 2 (N)
P lady 1 (N)
Ghost whore 2 (N)
Ghost whore 3 (N)
Ghost whoreeyes 1 (N)
Catman 1 (N)
Catman 2 (N)
Catman 3 (N)
Spirit 4 (N)
Spirit 5 (N)
Spirit 6 (N)
Spheroid 1 (N)
Spheroid 2 (N)
P man 1 (N)
P man 2 (N)
P man 3 (N)
Spirit 1 (A)
Spirit 2 (A)
Spirit 2 (N)
Spirit 7 (N)
Spirit 8 (N)
Spirit 9 (N)
Spheroid 3 (N)
Spheroid 4 (N)
Spheroid 5 (N)
Artworks of City Of The Dead
"City Of The Dead" is the fourth and final level of Fear Effect Inferno. Its environments can be explored. At this stage in the game's development, the level has no progression curve in its story. Hana will use her eyes to travel back in time, preventing her sudden death in the “Mansion” level. Yim Lau Wong, Jin's real identity, is the villain of “City Of The Dead”.
Demon Hana (N)
Yimlau 3 (A)
Yimlau 2 (A)
Ticketbot (A)
Chairedude 3a (N)
Demonlam 2 (A)
Worm 2 (A)
Worm (A)
Demonlam (N)
Temp (N)
Militiaman (N)
Militiaman 2 (N)
Militiaman 2 (N)
Militiaman 3 (N)
Militiaman 3a (N)
Demon 1 (N)
Demon 2 (N)
Demon 3 (N)
Demon 5 (N)
Demon 5a (N)
Demon 5b (N)
Demon 6 (N)
Demon 6a (N)
Ferryman (N)
Pitboss (N)
Pitboss 2 (N)
Pitboss 3 (N)
Spheroid 6 (N)
Ferryman 2 (N)
Pawnguy 1 (N)
Pawnguy 2 (N)
Demon Uzi (N)
Demon Launcher (N)
Demon Rckt (N)
Demon Knife 2 (N)
Demon Gun 2 (N)
Demon Rckt 2 (N)
Demon Baton (N)
Demon Knife (N)
Demon Gun 1 (N)
Demon Gun 3 (N)
Demon Nade (N)
Artworks of City Of The Dead vehicles
Hover 1 (N)
Hover 1a (N)
Hover 1b (N)
Hover 2 (N)
Hover 2a (N)
Hover 3 (N)
Hover 3a (N)
Hover 4 (N)
Hover 4a (N)
Hover 5 (N)
Hover 5a (N)
Hover 6 (N)
Hover 7 (N)
Hover 8 (N)
Hover 9 (N)
Hover 10 (N)
Hover 11 (N)
Hover 11a (N)
Hover 12 (N)
Hover 13 (N)
Hover 14 (N)
Hover 15 (N)
Hover 16 (N)
Hover 16a (N)
Hover 17 (N)
Hover 18 (N)
Hover 18a (N)
Hover 18a (N)
Fishbus 1 (N)
Fishbus 3 (N)
Fishbus 4 (N)
Environmental Artworks for City of The Dead
Casino 2 (N)
Whore house BW (N)
Casino interior (N)
Whore house (N)
Casino props 2(N)
Casino props (N)
Whore room 1 (N)
Whore house interior (N)
Pawn shop exterior (N)
Flame_furnace (N)
Street Corner (N)
Street Corner (N)
City Street 1 (N)
City Street 2 (N)
Facade 1 (N)
Bridge (N)
Walkway fire (N)
Walkway fire 2 (N)
Skyway (N)
Skyway (N)
Spike room (N)
Justice hall ext (N)
Spike room 1 (N)
Alley way (N)
Justice hall interior (N)
Hall of justice interior 2 (N)
Hall way (N)
Hall of justice interior hall (N)
Sacrifice room (N)
Bank interior (N)
Bank interior close (N)
Chomper hall (N)
Guardian 2 (N)
Carnival ride 1 (N)
Carnival Entrance (N)
Gigantic gate (N)
Docks (N)
City of the dead 4 (N)
City of the dead 2 (N)
Lam interior (N)
Riverside (N)
City of the dead 1 (N)
Fire area (N)
Bank of the dead (N)
Lam building (N)
Guardian 1 (N)
Riverside 2 (N)
Artworks of full-3D environments
Originally, Fear Effect Inferno PS2 was to feature only Looping Backgrounds. LBs are continuous or looping videos in which the camera fixes and frames the scene like a film. This ingenious concept made the Kronos franchise popular, starting with Fear Effect PS1. The player moves among them in Survival Horror style. During the development of FEI, Stan Liu’s team’s plans changed, and the developers transformed the pre-calculated sets already designed into fully 3D areas. This is one of the new features of Fear Effect Inferno and the franchise's transition to a sixth-generation console.
Whore bedroom 2 (N)
Whore bedroom 3 (N)
Whore bedroom 4 (N)
Whore bedroom 6 (N)
Lam boss (N)
Lam boss (N)
Sacrifice room (N)
Sacrifice floor (N)
Judgement room (N)
Chair boss 2 (N)
Chair boss door (N)
Garage (N)
Bank of dead 2 (N)
Bank of dead (N)
Bacarrat (N)
Bacarrat (N)
Bacarrat (N)
We'd like to thank the team at Kronos Digital Entertainment (Mobygames link to Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix) involved in the Fear Effect Inferno project for their efforts in bringing a new, exciting episode to PlayStation 2. We can only feel sorry for them that they couldn't follow through on their desires and creations!
Special thanks to:
-
LemonHaze (from Team Wulinshu) for digging through the game files and creating the “Fixes”
-
Benedikt Scheffer for creating the Fear Effect Inferno PS2 Cover
-
Vince proofreading the english articles
-
Hicks proofreading the french articles
-
fred_derf who wrote the introduction for the main page
-
La Rétrogamerie for their help with writing some articles, especially the Walkthroughs
-
Didier Chanfray (Art Director at No Cliché) for his explanations about the Storyboards
-
Joan Igawa (Character Texture Artist at Kronos Digital Entertainment) for her kind replies to my questions
Similar prototypes (Unreleased): Agartha (DC) - Emulateur officiel Megadrive (DC) - Castlevania Resurrection (DC) - Half Life (DC) - Dalforce XOP (DC) - Flinstone (DC) - 4 x 4 Evolution PAL (DC) - Ring : L'Anneau des Nibelungen (DC) - Ecco 2 (DC) - Kyskrew (DC) - Propeller Arena (DC) - Geist Force (DC) - Scud Race Tech Demo Dreamcast - Shenmue 2 US (DC) - The Red Star (XBOX) - Heaven's Drive ( version japonaise de Burnout 1) pour PS2 - Jekyll and Hyde (DC) - The Grinch Jap (DC) - Worms Pinball (DC) - Quake 3 Arena version japonaise (DC) - Vectorman PS2 - Fear Effect Inferno PS2
Feel free to have a look at the "other Unreleased games" I found" For the more curious among you, I created a "List of all the unreleased games of the Dreamcast".
