Sleeping Dogs dev defends zombie genre, not "overdone"
"Obviously there's been other games that have done 'the undead pack'."
Sleeping Dogs developer United Front Games has claimed there is still life in the zombie genre, as it prepares to launch undead-themed DLC Nightmare in North Point next week.
There's still room for more zombie games and DLC, Sleeping Dogs producer Dan Sochan told Eurogamer. That's despite Nightmare in North Point's similarities with undead DLC for Red Dead Redemption and inFamous 2.
"Obviously there's been other games that have done 'the undead pack'," Sochan argued. "But we didn't think it was an overdone genre because we're looking at Chinese folklore.
"We've not seen Jiang Shi [a reanimated corpse from Chinese legends] in many games before - they appeared in a Castlevania title, but that's about it. We're also taking nods from Hong Kong cinema, films such as Big Trouble Little China. So we thought we could bring something that's still fresh and interesting. It's over the top, a bit cheeky."
Nightmare in North Point, like other such expansions, adds a separate storyline from Sleeping Dog's main campaign. It's also a chance for now-dead enemies to reappear, Sochan added.
The DLC will add up to two hours of story content, with an extra hour of secondary missions on top. These will see hero Wei Shen defeating undead 18K gang members and Jiang Shi dotted around the map.
Following that, plenty more story-based DLC is on the way.
"We have several more big packs coming out in the next few months that explore other parts of Hong Kong cinema."
Dan Sochan, Sleeping Dogs producer
"We have several more big packs coming out in the next few months that explore other parts of Hong Kong cinema," Sochan hinted. "We'll be announcing the next pack within the next few weeks."
Story-based expansions will continue along the lines of Nightmare in North Point, adding new martial arts moves, new enemies and different mission settings.
"We've chosen not to extend storylines from the main game," Sochan explained. "Instead we'll be focusing on a different theme or a particular character that players have liked, such as [chauffeur sidekick] Old Salty Crab." The team is also looking at ways to work in fan-favourite character Pork Bun Guy.
This leaves the continuation of Sleeping Dog's main plotline to a fully-fledged future title. Sochan agreed that it was important those who don't buy the DLC don't get left behind.
Sochan was evasive on plans for a sequel, but said the Sleeping Dogs brand now had a solid foundation on which to build.
"The support we've gotten from the fans has been great," Sochan concluded. "Sales have been really good. It's always tough being new IP but people have embraced it. The myth that no games should release over the summer is fading away."