The development of any horror game involves navigating uncomfortable territory, and Red Barrels is no exception. Philippe Morin, co-founder of the studio behind the Outlast series, revealed that one of the most disturbing scenes in the original Outlast, which depicted necrophilia, led to significant debate among the development team. "The first thing that got us debating was the necrophiliac scene in the first Outlast," Morin stated. "We had a lot of conversations about do we do it? Are we going too far with this? And how does it make sense in this environment? That was a heated conversation."
Morin explained that the intention behind the scene was to shock players and establish that "anything can happen in this game." The writing team, led by J.T. Petty, even devised a way to turn the moment around on the player. "So that was a really nice spin because it turned things around. Because obviously, yes, the player is making the choice to watch," Morin said, reflecting on how the scene prompted the developers to question the player's agency within the horror experience.
This level of internal scrutiny over content was not common, but it reappeared during the development of The Outlast Trials. The team grappled with the decision to use child mannequins instead of animated child characters in certain trials, such as 'Grind the Bad Apples' and 'Punish the Miscreants.' Morin noted this as another instance where the team collectively found their boundary, ultimately opting for the less disturbing approach. "At the end of the day it's a bunch of polygons moving. But you know, in the player's mind, it's not the same thing. That was probably where we found our limit. Like, no, let's stick with mannequin kids, and not go too far with that."
Morin emphasized the importance of the development team's collective reaction to ideas. "The team is always the first to react to some of these ideas," he said. "So sometimes if people feel like it's alright, let's keep pushing in that direction until like maybe the reaction becomes a little too strong." He recalled discussions when the team grew significantly for The Outlast Trials, noting the need to establish shared understanding of what kind of content was appropriate. "We often joke about that at Red Barrels. There are many conversations that would take you to an HR office in other studios, but here it's just part of our daily routine."