100 Things You Never Knew About Resident Evil

58. RE7's Monsters Aren't Mold, They're Meat

Resident Evil 7 Jack Baker
Capcom

Okay, in universe they're made of mold. After all, it would be a bit weird to call them Molded if they weren't. But in terms of their design, at least one was actually inspired by a Capcom field trip to a meat processing plant.

To give full context, RE7 and the proceeding games have used a technique called photogrammetry - the practice of snapping multiple photos in quick succession to build a 3D image - which is why the Baker House and a lot of the detritus within it looks so realistic. Capcom used this technique for many things, including monster design. In a 2016 Computer Entertainment Developers Conference, the studio mentioned that they had visited a meat plant and shot photos of various meats to create a monster made of dead animals.

Exactly which creature this became in RE7 isn't entirely clear, but a photo of the strange bowl of "food" (in heavy quotation marks) Ethan is forced to endure at the Baker's dinner table exists which is really interesting to see outside of the context of the game.

It's also gross to see, to be fair.

Contributor

Coming from a content creation background that now spans over two decades, Psy cut her teeth on personal video production and community radio. Originally joining the team as a writer and presenter, she added video editing duties to her responsibilities over time and became the longest-standing editor of the irreverent gaming show Tues Your Own Adventure. Psy has worked on many previews and reviews, long-form editorials (either her own, or supporting as an editor), as a frequent quizmaster and more. Praised for the two-pronged attack of her hard work ethic and light-hearted editing style, Psy is otherwise known as a font of retro video game knowledge which has caused her to rack up many gaming quiz wins. Outside of WhatCulture, Psy runs First Aid Spray Podcast - a long-running channel that focuses on Resident Evil in all of it's forms. You can follow her on BlueSky at http://psywhite.bsky.social and Instagram at http://instagram.com/therealpsywhite