The Devs Behind Viral Sensation Piglet's Big Adventure Explain Why The PS2 Kid's Game Is So Creepy

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Gameplay from the went viral for its surprisingly effective survival horror-inspired design, and the original developers have revealed they intended the game to keep kids uneasy throughout. The mostly forgotten resurfaced online thanks to clips of the beloved character traversing environments that could fit in. Now, the director of the 2003 PS2 game has shared that was actually an inspiration for the kid's game.

As spotted by GamesRadar+, Pascal Stradella, former studio director of the game's publisher Doki Denki, shared original development documents from stating their design intentions. was defined as a «horror comedy aimed at children», but the goal was to make them feel uneasy instead of scaring them. This was achieved by taking a subtle atmospheric approach, with another horror comedy game inspired by , the main reference for the devs. Here's what Pascal wrote in the original pitch document from 2002:

It will be very important to balance moments of tension with moments of relaxation and genuine laughter, at this alternation — along with elements of discovery and challenge — will create the game's addictive quality and keep players wanting to continue.

In Pascal's shared documents, was called a " This is clear when watching clips of the gameplay that include the signature fixed camera angles the survival horror classic pioneered. The documents also show that the dev team kept the game focused on fear by making Piglet's health a «frightening gauge» they didn't include on screen. Instead, Piglet had 3 levels of fear: a normal state, a worried state, and a panic state, in which Piglet would react to his fear in a cartoonish way before the player was sent to the previous checkpoints. In essence, he was frightened to death without the dying part.

The PlayStation 2 remains one of the greatest platforms for horror games, and the best of the best have definitely stood the test of time.

The developer's commitment to a horror comedy experience that was still unnerving has