Sumo Nottingham reveals new maps for The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

As Sumo Nottingham and Gun Interactive work to continue to bring the iconic characters and locations from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre to life, they’ve shared an exclusive first look at the maps players can expect to find in the game. 

The team wanted to make sure they remained faithful to locations and environments from the 1974 film and focussed on how they would require different play styles depending on where players find themselves. 

Steve Kirby, Lead Designer at Sumo Nottingham, said: “When choosing and designing the levels, we knew we wanted players to really experience the iconic locations from the original movie as well as add our own stamp on the franchise. These are key locations for the Family and their Victims and it would not be The Texas Chain Saw Massacre without them.   

“We wanted to allow the players to not just enter, but more importantly, fully explore and feel those places and how macabre they are, discovering not just what the movie showed, but the areas hidden from view. We get to explore a huge range of possible environmental questions. What would be behind this door? What spaces have this Family of killers created? How do the Family live in these spaces? How have they constructed these areas? 

“That’s where the real fun begins and where the designers and artists get to play. Working with our art and design team here at Sumo and the awesome folks at Gun, nothing has been left unturned in the authenticity department. We know that the fans are going to compare and analyze what we have made with the movie, and I think I can say that everyone on the project has brought their A-game to bring as much detail as humanly possible to the game. I’m very proud of what the team has created.” 

The overhead view gives a good sense of scale for each location, but also illustrates how each map is different from the others.  

From the basement where we’ve seen Leatherface work, to the Gas Station where we meet the Cook for the first time, these locations are more than just the rooms we see in the film, and within each location there are vastly different areas. Strategies that work in a windowless basement may not be the best choice in a room with sunlight streaming in, and the advantages you have in the shadows may disappear when you find yourself outside in the bright Texas sun. 

The Family House sits virtually alone in a sea of green grass and sunflowers with open lines of sight anywhere outside. The Gas Station is littered with junk piles and broken-down vehicles that have been dumped and forgotten in the spaces between buildings. The Slaughterhouse is this maze-like claustrophobic tangle of broken down buildings and cattle panels. How do we make sure that we’re still promoting the same core gameplay, while players are forced to play differently in each location? 

Oly Scott, Senior Designer at Sumo Nottingham, said: “Once we had a solid understanding of how the core gameplay was shaping up, we underwent the process of carving up the gameplay spaces to promote our cat and mouse philosophy. Shadows and traversal methods became the hallmark of successful players on the development team. 

“However, we knew we could not offer all these things in every scenario, and so found that through repeat play sessions, different playstyles emerged that complimented each player’s style. Through all our maps we tried to capture a feeling of progress as Victims moved through each zone. It was important to reward success with more space to breathe and plan, while also raising the pressure on the Family members to catch Victims before they escape. There is a satisfying moment in a match when a Family team realizes a Victim has progressed past an integral threshold. Can the Family stay cool under pressure and hunt the Victims, or will the Victims capitalize on the confusion to make a break for it?” 

Discover more about The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on the Gun Interactive website. 

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