Hello, People of the Fog.
Hellraiser’s Pinhead and his unique brand of pleasure and pain have terrified audiences across 10 movies and more than three decades. The only realm left for him to conquer? Gaming. Luckily, for a killer already famous for using hooks to torture his prey, Dead by Daylight is the perfect place to make his debut.
Creative Director Dave Richard dishes on rolling out the red carpet for one of horror’s most infamous icons, the feeling of putting him in player’s hands for the first time, and the journey of bringing Pinhead from the film world to the Fog.
Associate Brand Manager Thomas Carpentier: How did you and the rest of the team react when you learned Pinhead would be coming to Dead by Daylight?
Creative Director Dave Richard: One of the best parts of working on our game is the chance to bring all these different titans of horror together under the one roof, so Hellraiser’s Pinhead was high on our list since the very early days of Dead by Daylight. We’re delighted to now be able to consider him part of the family.
Not only is Pinhead one of the most visually stunning and memorable horror icons of all time, not only is he highly charismatic, but he also embraces some deeply disturbing and unique horror themes. Our fans have been requesting him for a long time.
TC: The first “Hellraiser” movie came out in 1987. What can long-time fans of the franchise expect now that their favorite character is in Dead by Daylight?
DR: Our team really put a lot of effort into making sure we took the essence of Pinhead and translated it into an engaging interactive experience. Fans will recognize a lot of what makes this character such a standout in his unique animations, his Killer Power and even his Mori. If you love playing the Killer role in Dead by Daylight, punishing and tormenting Survivors with Pinhead will be an experience like no other. If you’re a Survivor… you may have to learn a few new tricks.
TC: In the Hellraiser chapter, the spotlight is really only on Pinhead. Was there an advantage to just being able to focus on the Killer this time around?
DR: Having a single character to focus on in a chapter is definitely nice from time to time! It allows the team to think in different directions and pay special attention to the things that people love about Pinhead – what makes him unique – and how we can use that extra bandwidth to recreate those aspects in-game. Sometimes it allows us some extras.
For example, as The Cenobite you control chains that you use to latch onto and surprise Survivors. But we also had the opportunity to bring the Lament Configuration puzzle box into the game as a fully playable object for both the Killer and Survivors to engage with, adding an extra layer of gameplay and strategy to a Pinhead trial.
TC: What was it like putting Pinhead in the hands of fans for the first time with the Public Test Build?
DR: We’re always eager to see how players will interact with new characters. Our community is the best at analyzing the latest content and pushing it to its limits. Not only is it a positive and crucial part of our development process, but a surprise or two always gets revealed to us along the way. It’s also been great to see the excitement and positive impact The Cenobite has brought to the game so far from both the Killer and Survivor perspectives.
TC: Is there any chance we could see more elements of the Hellraiser universe make their way into the Fog in the near future?
DR: One doesn’t close the Lament Configuration so easily once it’s been opened! Keep your eyes peeled, we may just have some more surprises in store down the road.
That’s a wrap, folks. We couldn’t be happier to be welcoming another absolute legend of horror into Dead by Daylight. Pinhead is available now! We hope you’ll have a blast tormenting Survivors with him. See you in the Fog.
Dead by Daylight
Behaviour Interactive Inc.
Related:
Next Week on Xbox: September 6 to 10
Craftopia (Game Preview) Available Now with Xbox Game Pass
Five Tips for Successful Surgery in Surgeon Simulator 2: Access All Areas
