Saw (video game)

For the online browser game based on the same series, see [[:Saw Das Spiel (Online Game)]].

For the film series this game is based upon, see [[:Saw (franchise)]].

Saw
File:Saw Box Art 4.jpg Unofficial North American box art
Developer(s)	Zombie Studios
Publisher(s)	Konami Brash Entertainment (former publisher)
Designer(s)	David Cohen (Producer)
Writer(s)	James Wan Leigh Whannell David Cohen
Series	Saw
Engine	Unreal Engine 3
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Genre(s)	Third person action, Survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multi-player

Saw is a survival horror video game with action elements. It is currently in development by Zombie Studios and is being published by Konami. The game is set to launch on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles, with a downloadable version being made for the Microsoft Windows platform. It is an adaption of the Saw film series, and has a tentative release date of October 2009. The game is set to release around the same time as Saw VI, although they have entirely separate story lines.

The game was originally being published by Brash Entertainment, who later ceased all operations due to financial troubles. This allowed Konami to pick up the publishing rights for the game only a few weeks later. The game, now under control of Konami, is being designed to be a spiritual successor to Konami's other survival horror franchise, Silent Hill. Konami plans to make Saw its next big next survival horror franchise, although no plans for a sequel have been discussed.

Gameplay

Saw is primarily a third-person survival horror game with action elements. The player controls David Tapp, a former detective trapped in the Jigsaw killers asylum filled with traps. The primary goal of the game is to traverse the asylum and search for clues in order to escape alive. To achieve this goal, the player must take objectives that include saving other Jigsaw victims or looting areas to find a way into other parts of the building. Tapp will have several abilities in the game to fulfill his objectives. One of these is the ability to search almost any object in the environment to find things like tools, health, clues, or others. Searchable objects include toilets, dead bodies, nurse's carts, and nightstands. Some of the things Tapp searches will be filled with razors, used syringes, or other dangerous objects. When searching through one of these traps, an X-ray view of the object will show up with the object Tapp is trying to retrieve in sight. The player must control Tapps hand to grab the object before a "pain" meter fills up and lowers his health. There are also various things hidden around the asylum that can be found to provide background on why Tapp is there and other information on Jigsaw and others. Many of these come in the form of "Jigsaw Notes" left behind or cassette tapes found laying around. The tapes are akin to the "Audio Diaries" from Bioshock in that they fill in the plot but usually aren't necessary to be found. Tapp can view and listen to any of the cassettes at any time by accessing a journal. The journal contains a map of the asylum complete with trap and enemy locations, cassette viewing, an inventory, and an objective viewer.

File:Saw Videogame Screen 3.jpg

The player being prompted to control the in-game character. A close-up camera angle is used to aid the player in completing a task.

The game's combat system features a stance button that allows the player to switch from normal to combat status. The character can block, counter-attack, and perform weak and strong attacks to fend off enemies in the asylum. While being able to use just fists, Tapp will also have a variety of weapons and resources available to him. One of the first weapons he finds is a lead pipe which can be used to attack enemies and break open molding walls of the asylum. Another weapon is the scalpel which can be used to cut open and search bodies as well as to stab attackers. Also there is a crutch, which can only be used as a weapon. In addition to weapons, Tapp may also find and use various tools to accomplish tasks. Such tools include finding a nail to pick a lock and finding a fuse to repair a fusebox. A lockpicking minigame has been incorporated. In this, he must turn the dials of a locks interior so that they all match to successfully unlock the door. Lockpicking gets much more difficult and complex to solve as the game advances. Throughout the asylum, there are many traps left behind by Jigsaw to hinder Tapp's journey. There are doors rigged with shotguns attached to pulleys. As soon as opening such a door, the player must press a randomly assigned button before the pulley falls too far to avoid the gun discharging. There are also puzzles called "environmental traps", in which Tapp must use different elements in the environment or go to certain locations to accomplish a task. An example of this is when the player must look into a mirror at the proper angle to reveal a combination to a lock or turning on a hidden light switch to find certain areas. Lighting plays a dynamic part in the game. Tapp will always have a source of light available to him with the exception of a few areas that remove this ability. There will be a number of different lighting mechanisms that he can pick up throughout the game such as lighters and flashlights. At certain points in the game, the player will be joined by AI teammates that will help Tapp in certain tests or areas. At many points in the story, there are multiple paths that can be taken to avoid certain areas or uncover hidden items. The game can be played at two difficulty settings; normal and hard.

The game lacks any actual Heads-Up Display despite a small, red health bar and occasionally a combat bar which displays the weapon being used and its condition. The health bar can be depleted by being struck by attackers, having the pain meter fill up completely in a search mini-game, falling, and other such environmental dangers. Health may only be restored by "hypos" that Tapp keeps in his inventory. There is also a type of hypo called instant health that cannot be stored in the inventory, but must be used immediately. Similar to the Condemned series, weapons in the game deplete over time. Damaged and dilapidated weapons are reflected in real-time. For example, hitting any target with a lead pipe will cause the pipe to bend and break until it is unusable. Saw will run on the Unreal Engine 3 engine as licensed by Epic Games. While the game is played in the third person perspective, the camera may sometimes switch to a close up or zoom out to aid in the completion of certain tasks. Also other more dramatic camera angles are used to increase suspense, similar to the Silent Hill series. Dread central reveals that Saw will in fact have an online multiplayer component because, "working together will help you survive The Game". The extent of the multiplayer has yet to be revealed except that it will be online through Xbox Live and Playstation Network. Commenting on the game, Konami representatives stated that, "Everything is a test. Everything is a clue".

Synopsis

Setting

File:Saw Videogame Screen 2.jpg

An exterior view of the dilapidated asylum

Saw takes place between the first and second Saw films, shortly after Dr. Lawrence Gordon and Adam Faulkner's trap concludes at the end of the first film. David Tapp, a cop who was shot in the chest, was healed and brought to an abandoned insane asylum. The building contains many traps and victims left in place by the Jigsaw Killer to test Tapp and his "survival instinct". The asylum itself has many sections. There is a morgue, cold storage, security wing, washrooms, offices, and other areas. A large part of the asylum are cells that held the criminally insane before it was condemned and abandoned.

Characters

Further information: List of Saw characters

• Detective David Tapp (unannounced voice actor): A veteran policeman, Tapp has been on the Jigsaw case since the beginning. After being shot by Zep Hindle in the first Saw film, Tapp was brought to an asylum by Jigsaw, who got someone to heal his gunshot wound and also place a key inside his chest. When Tapp awakens in the asylum with the Jaw Splitter trap on his head, he quickly escapes and begins to unravel the clues left behind by Jigsaw. It was revealed that Tapp will not be voiced by Danny Glover, the actor who played him in the films.

File:Saw Videogame Screen 4.jpg

Detective David Tapp, the protagonist of Saw

• John Kramer, "Jigsaw" (voiced by Tobin Bell): The antagonist of Saw, Jigsaw is a serial killer who captures victims and puts them into traps to test their survival and teach them lessons to correct their past errors. Jigsaw has captured Tapp and put him into the abandoned asylum that the game takes place in. A persuasive being, Jigsaw has minions stalking Tapp placed all around the area. It was officially announced on June 4 that Tobin Bell would reprise his role as Jigsaw, contrary to previous belief.

• Billy the Puppet (voiced by Tobin Bell): Jigsaw's puppet that is used to deliver clues and information to his victims. While usually through video messages, Billy also appears in person riding a tricycle to congratulate surviving test subjects. Jigsaw will assist Tapp through Billy to help him navigate the asylum.

• Amanda Young (unannounced voice actor): One of Jigsaw's first victims, Amanda survived her first test. She has been recaptured and trapped in the asylum and is being stalked by the mysterious Pigmask Stalker. Tapp must find and save Amanda and discover what information she has about the asylum and Jigsaw himself.

• Detective Mark Hoffman (Unannounced voice actor): Jigsaw's secret apprentice, Hoffman is sent in by Jigsaw to set up Tapp's tests in the asylum. He is briefly heard in a trailer advising Tapp on a test.

• Unnamed ally (unannounced voice actor): A man who is saved early in the game, he assists Tapp in moving through the asylum and fending off enemies. The man soon betrays Tapp as part of his own game. When attempting to go free after completing his test, he is killed by a shotgun trap.

• Pigmask Stalker: Recent trailers for the game detail a person dressed in Jigsaw's robes and his signature Pig Mask stalking people in the asylum. It is unannounced who the person is in the robes.

Screenshots released by Konami also reveal two other unnamed characters present in the game. One is a male who is in a large steel box trap covering his entire head. The second is a dead male who is left wrapped in razor wires after bleeding to death. In addition to these characters, there are also several other attackers spread around the ayslum with orders to kill Tapp in order to get the key inside him and free themselves. Some of these attackers have the "Reverse Bear Trap" on them, some with the "Venus Fly Trap", and others with no traps on them at all. Recent interviews have confirmed that the game will elaborate on the fates of characters from the first film.

Plot

File:Saw Videogame Screenshot1.jpg

Detective David Tapp receiving a video message from the Jigsaw Killer through Billy the Puppet. Tapp is shown to be in the Reverse Bear trap from Saw.

The story centers on Detective David Tapp's kidnapping by his alleged suspect, The Jigsaw Killer. During the first Saw film, Tapp witnesses his long-time friend and partner, Detective Steven Sing, fall victim to one of Jigsaw's traps. This left Tapp mentally unstable and he was soon discharged from the police force. Later, Tapp was shot in the chest by Zep Hindle after chasing him in pursuit of Jigsaw.

Jigsaw then gets someone to heal Tapp and put a key in his chest. Later, Tapp is placed in an abandoned asylum. Other victims in the building are instructed to kill Tapp and retrieve the key inside him in order to escape their own tests. Upon awakening in a bathroom with the Reverse Bear Trap on him, Tapp quickly pulls it off and ventures into the rest of the asylum. Tapp saves and then cooperates with another test subject to proceed through the asylum to a medical wing. There, the unnamed man betrays Tapp because it was part of his game, and is quickly killed by a shotgun hanging from atop a door. Next, Tapp moves through the asylum's medical wing to find and save Amanda Young, a survivor of Jigsaw's tests, who has information that could help him escape alive. Unbeknown to Tapp, Amanda has become Jigsaw's protege and is sent into the asylum by him to make sure Tapp follows the rules of the game. From there, he is forced to work through several more of Jigsaw's traps containing people with dark connections to Tapp and fight to escape alive. Recent trailers also show a person dressed in Jigsaw's robes and the signature Pig Mask stalking Tapp and others throughout the asylum.

IGN states that the game will have moral choices to be made that can result in multiple different endings. In an interview, the game's producer David Cohen stated that the game will "combine action, puzzles, mystery, and terror" and that "it has always been a priority to make sure the Saw video game feels like it is as important part of the puzzle as each film".

Development

Brash Entertainment was the original publisher of Saw. The game was first presented at a press event on January 22, 2008 where a teaser trailer was played. The trailer showed franchise staple Billy the Puppet preaching to reporters about their wasted lives. The trailer also briefly showed some gameplay elements from one of the traps featured in the game.

On November 14 2008, it was reported that Brash Entertainment would be ceasing operations due to financial difficulties. It was further reported that since Brash Entertainment was publishing the game with Twisted Pictures, the game itself may have been left in a "possible state of limbo". After some time, with the state of the game unknown, Konami picked the game up for distribution/development on February 6, 2009, after almost four months of uncertainty regarding the game's fate.

File:Saw Videogame Screen 18.jpeg

Konami's Saw booth at the 2009 E3 Electronic Expo

On April 14th, 2009, Konami held a Gamers Night Press Event which allowed a more general public to demo the game. While it was only in 'Alpha stage', the demo allowed the play-through of a Jaw-Splitter trap, some interactions in the asylum, and other things. The demo was well-received by many people who had tested it.

The game was demonstrated by Konami executives at the E3 Electronic Expo 2009 on June 1st. More plot details were revealed, along with some gameplay footage. Another trailer was shown shortly after the demo. The trailer showed Detective Tapp in the Jaw Splitter trap, glimpses of the asylum, and other features.

At the San Diego Comic Con 2009, more of Saw was demoed and two more trailers were released. The game's combat system, which was initially a topic of complaint amongst critics, was reworked to incorporate more life-like character motions and collisions. On July 31, the game was rated 18+ by the BBFC for strong bloody violence.

To advertise the game, Konami has released a series of screenshots and viral videos. The screenshots depict different areas of the asylum and victims in their traps. The videos demonstrate the first hour or so of the game and gameplay. While a few of the videos contradict themselves due to Zombie making dramatic changes to the environment and gameplay, they still have maintained the general roots of the game and it's story revealed thusfar.

External links

• Fan site for saw game
• Official website
• 'Saw' teaser trailer
• 'Saw' "Combat" gameplay video
• 'Saw' "Sacrifice" gameplay video
• 'Saw' "Survival" gameplay video
• 'Saw' "Kindest Cut" gameplay video
• Saw at IMDb

See Also

• Saw series
• Saw
• Saw II
• Tobin Bell
• Lions Gate Entertainment
• Twisted Pictures
• Zombie Studios
• Konami