Recently a situation presented itself where NTSC-UK were able to interview Capcom's Atsuhsi Inaba, he of Viewtiful Joe and Tekki fame. The interview was conducted through email, via a very helpful Capcom Europe PR manager and as well as interviewing Inaba, a second interview was sent to Biohazard creator Shinji Mikami.
Despite chasing up the interview for many weeks (by both ntsc-uk and capcom-europe), Mikami never replied, and Inaba only responded briefly to a handful of the questions asked.
We've been holding onto these answers for several months now (indeed, before even the US release of Viewtiful Joe), in hope that Shinji Mikami would come through to allow us to write a worthwhile feature. His interview looks like it was ignored however, but it would be a shame to waste what we have, even if his answers aren't very interesting.
So here it is, NTSC-UK's brief interview with Capcom designer and producer, Atsuhsi Inaba. Enjoy:
Viewtiful Joe
What was said in the initial proposal that gave Viewtiful Joe the go ahead ? few companies these days would risk developing a side-scrolling fighter?
We are in a very lucky position at Capcom as the management allows us to be both creative and innovative.
Did the final version match up to the initial design document?
Originally the game was planned as a bemani type of game, with the main character attacking enemies in time to the music.
Viewtiful Joe features a number of charismatic characters that would do well in games of their own, are there currently any plans for a sequel, or even an entire franchise?
Even though the game has done extremely well since it went on sale in Japan it is too early to make decisions about sequels until Viewtiful Joe has launched in Europe and the USA.
VJ has an obvious Sentai influence - what other forms of superhero fantasy works and/or artists influenced the visual aspect of the game?
While there were no specific characters or works that influenced the team it is true that I have been a lifelong fan of super heroes. So, I gave our designer, Suekane san, my idea of what Joe should look like and the great concepts he came back with gave us the inspiration to come up with the rest of the game?s characters.
Both critical and public response to Joe has been very positive, could this mean that 2D gaming will make a come back?
That is a difficult question to answer. When we develop any title in Studio #4 our first thought is creating games that challenge the players, yet are fun to play and a 2D game with an injection of 3D elements was the right choice for Viewtiful Joe.
Tekki
Developing Tekki must have been a huge undertaking, especially with the requirements of the controller, were there times where the whole project came close to being scraped?
Once we began the project I knew we had to finish it, because I knew this was a game that would not only challenge gamers but developers as well. It is my belief that if the games industry is to move forward then it is the duty of developers to constantly challenge the accepted norm and innovate. That said, the development of Steel Battalion was not without its difficulties but thanks to the support of Capcom?s management and the skill and determination of the development team we won through in the end.
It has been said that you simply wanted to create the ultimate Mech game, did Tekki live up to you expectations and have you been pleased by the publics? reception?
Yes, I was extremely happy with the results and how it was received.
What can we expect with the sequel?
First and foremost, Steel Battalion Line of Contact will support Xbox Live and features squad based five vs five combat. We will be introducing 10 new Vertical Tanks from the outset plus if players fully explore the environments they will be able to uncover some very rare VTs. The one thing that I believe will prove to be the most interesting is how the gameplay environment will constantly change as factions gain and lose territory.
Despite chasing up the interview for many weeks (by both ntsc-uk and capcom-europe), Mikami never replied, and Inaba only responded briefly to a handful of the questions asked.
We've been holding onto these answers for several months now (indeed, before even the US release of Viewtiful Joe), in hope that Shinji Mikami would come through to allow us to write a worthwhile feature. His interview looks like it was ignored however, but it would be a shame to waste what we have, even if his answers aren't very interesting.
So here it is, NTSC-UK's brief interview with Capcom designer and producer, Atsuhsi Inaba. Enjoy:
Viewtiful Joe
What was said in the initial proposal that gave Viewtiful Joe the go ahead ? few companies these days would risk developing a side-scrolling fighter?
We are in a very lucky position at Capcom as the management allows us to be both creative and innovative.
Did the final version match up to the initial design document?
Originally the game was planned as a bemani type of game, with the main character attacking enemies in time to the music.
Viewtiful Joe features a number of charismatic characters that would do well in games of their own, are there currently any plans for a sequel, or even an entire franchise?
Even though the game has done extremely well since it went on sale in Japan it is too early to make decisions about sequels until Viewtiful Joe has launched in Europe and the USA.
VJ has an obvious Sentai influence - what other forms of superhero fantasy works and/or artists influenced the visual aspect of the game?
While there were no specific characters or works that influenced the team it is true that I have been a lifelong fan of super heroes. So, I gave our designer, Suekane san, my idea of what Joe should look like and the great concepts he came back with gave us the inspiration to come up with the rest of the game?s characters.
Both critical and public response to Joe has been very positive, could this mean that 2D gaming will make a come back?
That is a difficult question to answer. When we develop any title in Studio #4 our first thought is creating games that challenge the players, yet are fun to play and a 2D game with an injection of 3D elements was the right choice for Viewtiful Joe.
Tekki
Developing Tekki must have been a huge undertaking, especially with the requirements of the controller, were there times where the whole project came close to being scraped?
Once we began the project I knew we had to finish it, because I knew this was a game that would not only challenge gamers but developers as well. It is my belief that if the games industry is to move forward then it is the duty of developers to constantly challenge the accepted norm and innovate. That said, the development of Steel Battalion was not without its difficulties but thanks to the support of Capcom?s management and the skill and determination of the development team we won through in the end.
It has been said that you simply wanted to create the ultimate Mech game, did Tekki live up to you expectations and have you been pleased by the publics? reception?
Yes, I was extremely happy with the results and how it was received.
What can we expect with the sequel?
First and foremost, Steel Battalion Line of Contact will support Xbox Live and features squad based five vs five combat. We will be introducing 10 new Vertical Tanks from the outset plus if players fully explore the environments they will be able to uncover some very rare VTs. The one thing that I believe will prove to be the most interesting is how the gameplay environment will constantly change as factions gain and lose territory.
I hope Viewtiful Joe does well in America (#18 in the UK isn't too bad for a game like that). I'd hate for it to become another NiGHTS where the fans are constantly crying for a sequel but never get one. Then again, Capcom's made sequels to games like Powerstone that didn't sell all that well, in the past.
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