Interview: SWERY Discusses the Success of Deadly Premonition, Sequels, and Strange Snacks

PS: Have you included any new side-missions to Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut? We particularly liked the side quest where you help Emily with her cooking.

SW: Not really, unfortunately. We view the original version as the 'completed version', and so for this new Director's Cut we still wanted to include the original side-missions.

PS: Presumably we can't expect any new special weapons either, then? We loved the option of using Keith's guitar as a weapon in the original.

SW: I had a long discussion with Tomio about what to include as new weapons and side quests and so on, but we decided not to mix with the original formula too much.

PS: Were there any changes that you wanted to include that were just too crazy, and so had to be scrapped?

SW: Perfume!

PS: Perfume?

SW: Yes! One idea which didn't happen was that York could wear perfume, but Tomio said no to that...

TK: There was no time, I'm sorry SWERY! [Laughs].

SW: There were also a lot, lot more of York's 80s movies monologues which I came up with, but it was too long and we had to cut it. Some of it was about my personal favourite movies. I will upload the unused discussions on my blog later for fans to read.

PS: There were a lot of hidden Easter eggs in the original release. Is there anything else players should look out for in the new game?

SW: I hid my own photos in the game!

PS: Oh! Is that in the Sheriff's office? You're dressed as a policeman with a dog?

SW: Yes, yes!

PS: And there’s also you skydiving on the TV in the hotel?

SW: Yes! [Laughs]. How did you know that? That was supposed to be hidden! As for other things, you will just have to wait and see!

Originally the story didn’t have any unexpected endings, that was the original idea, with no surprises at the end, or any plot twists

PS: Like all good murder mystery stories, Deadly Premonition features a big twist towards the end. How did you initially go about writing the plot?

SW: Originally the story didn’t have any unexpected endings, that was the original idea, with no surprises at the end, or any plot twists. But since we came up with the new character Zack, we made lots of changes to the entire story which led to the creation of this big unexpected ending. The ending gives the player a mixture of feelings. It’s technically a bad ending but maybe it could also be seen as good.

TK: We didn’t want to have a completely happy ending so we finally decided to kill [a major character]. But I think the game principally ends with a happy feeling.

PS: Have you ever eaten a Sinner’s sandwich, the snack that consists of turkey, strawberry jam, and cereal?

SW: Of course!

PS: How did it taste?

SW: [Laughs]. Well, I liked it!

PS: We haven’t tried one yet.

SW: Oh! You should! It’s sort of based on Japanese University students, as they don’t have much money and come up with ‘original’ meal ideas. This is a feeling I wanted to have in the game, a sandwich which sounded like something that a university student would come up with. I recommend it, the mix of jam, turkey, and cereal is very good. You should also try this, it’s not in the game, but have some corn soup, together with salmon. Fried salmon. You must try it! [Laughs].

PS: So, one last question: what was in Sigourney’s Pot?

SW: Ah, I can’t reveal that. It’s a mystery!

PS: Oh, go on! We've always wanted to know. Is it something scary?

SW: It could be many things. But I think her pot could symbolise Pandora’s Box. When you open it, many bad things come out [like the purple fog infecting Greenvale] but, like Pandora's Box, after all the evil has escaped, there is also hope left inside. That is what she is keeping warm. But that's symbolic, the true contents of her pot are still a mystery! [Laughs].

For more about Deadly Premonition: Director's Cut, look out for our full preview in the near future. Meanwhile, let us know if you're looking forward to the title in the comments section below. Many thanks to SWERY, Tomio, and Toru for taking the time to speak to us, and an additional thank you to Tyrone Walcott, Yen Hau, and Samuel Elphick from Rising Star Games.