ZombiU permadeath nearly scrapped

During a panel today at the 2013 Game Developers Conference, Ubisoft Montpellier story design director Gabrielle Shrager revealed that ZombiU's permadeath component was nearly scrapped on multiple occasions.

"After rebooting the game's setting, we nearly killed the permadeath...a couple of times," Shrager said, referencing the game's transition from Killer Freaks From Outer Space to ZombiU.

Also speaking during the presentation was ZombiU writer Antony Johnston, who claimed "real" survival horror titles have become rare in today's market.

"We thought these elements through, we assessed their impact, and we focused on what was unique[...]especially in the current market, where real survival horror has become such a rarity," Johnston remarked of the game's permadeath component and "slow" gameplay.

This is not the first time Johnston, who also wrote the original Dead Space, has bemoaned the dearth of "real" horror titles. He claimed last month that Dead Space 3's action focus was a "necessary evil" for the franchise in order to broaden the player base.

For more on ZombiU, check out GameSpot's review.