B for big business

Way back in the year 2008, my first ever front-page post for Destructoid asked if ultra-expensive, realistic-looking AAA games were where the industry was going. Flash forward nearly 16 years later, and most of the enduring, popular new intellectual properties since then haven't come AAA at all, and instead hail from what you might call "B budget" developers. Human Fall Flat, Five Nights at Freddy's, Genshin Impact, Among Us, Fall Guys, Fortnite, Vampire Survivors, and Rocket League are just a few of th??e ?non-AAA games that went on to find big, sustained audiences since then.

The list of games like this to both laun??ch well and continue to perform well is a lot longer than the list of new, multi-million-dollar, AAA franchises that achieve the same goals in a similar timeframe.

We don't know how much all these "B budget" games cost, but we can guess that if Fortnite originally cost $300K to produce, the likes of Among Us were likely much less. Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, one of the most played games of all time, started off as a fan mod fer cripes sake! And some of the few new AAA IPs that did manage to take off in the last decade largely found their footing thanks to goodwill built up from their developers' work on less-than-AAA budgeted games. Elden Ring would have never taken off without diehard Souls fans, Cyberpunk 2077 wouldn't be anywhere without the loyalty of fans of the original Witcher games, and so on.

From that perspective, the days of ??single-player, hyper-realistic games with long expensive cutscenes or other barriers to actual gameplay could be over. Some of the most well-known games in the world in 2023 aren't trying to muscle attention away from casual shoppers in brick-and-mortar stores like Toys 'R' Us or GameStop. They are games that make for great "Let's Play" videos, are fun to share screenshots or stories about on social media, stream w?ell, and can be picked up and played by a wider audience.

It doesn't always take a lot of money to m??ake them. So why doesn't AAA make more games like that?

[caption id="attachment_368574" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit No Breaks Games[/caption]

The AAA culture bubble

AAA gaming, like most media cultures, exists in its own insular little world. Human Fall Flat sold 40 million copies since its release in 2016, but despite the fact that it's clearly the kind of game that makes a lot of people really happy, you can be sure that it never, ever had a chance of winning one of Geoff Keighley's Game Awards. Those prizes will inevitably go to a game that either attempts to be like a serious Hollywood movie, and/or involve some "auteur" talent from outside of games, like Norman Reedus or George R.R. Martin. When it comes to cute, silly, gleefully game-y games like Human Fall Flat, AAA executives are quick to handwave their success aw??ay. They're seen as flukes, and their success is perceived to be based entirely on luck.

The fact that they do a better job than most AAA game?s at ?engaging the average player is largely ignored.

This leads to a weird sort of risk aversion where AAA devs feel like they need to spend a massive amount of money to assure that, regardless of what trends are happening at that moment, that their game will be "objectively superior" to the rest. And I get it. It's much harder to predict which quirky, highly accessible game will be the next one to become a phenomenon. But it's also likely that it won't be a AAA game with realistic graphics and a focus on a big, complicated single-player story, because no game like that has sold more than 30 million copies in a long time. GTAV was probably the last one to do that, and it was released a decade a?go.

[caption id="attachment_368571" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit Krafton Inc.[/caption]

It's not as though the risk of AAA games with a big marketing budget selling absolutely nothing isn't there. The capacity to bomb is still strong. AAA titles like Forspoken and The Callisto Protocol are two recent examples. Their AAA publishing, budget, and marketing efforts failed to make them hits. While they never had the potential to be the next Tetris or Minecraft, they don't even look poised to become "cult hits" like No More Heroes. Moving forward, we can guess that all-new, single-player-focused, big-budget IPs will be more and more of a lose-lose proposition. For AAA, there will always be a ceiling for success, marked by a line where the enthusiast market ends, and the mainstream market begins. But there is no bottom to how hard they can fail.

The irony is, the same factors that limit how big AAA games can get are the same factors that make them appealing to publishers. It's much easier to be a big fish in a relatively small enthusiast market than it is to try to swim in the blue ocean against massive mainstream hits like Roblox or League of Legends. And, for now, AAA still has the power to craft a niche culture where only they have the resources to make games that will be p??erceive?d as "important".

[caption id="attachment_368580" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit Rockstar Games[/caption]

Maintaining dominAAAnce

I was laughed off of the i??nternet once for theorizin??g that home console controllers have become increasingly complicated over the years in order to push away players who are more likely to criticize AAA games. I can see how that might sound paranoid, but just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get you. Just look at the amount of hate people have gotten for suggesting that tough boss fights be skippable, or that games should always have easy modes. The level of venom that the Wii and the DS received for valuing "casuals" was wild to witness. AAA marketing had worked for years to instill a weird pride in people for playing difficult, complicated games, and with that pride came the urge to shame anyone who took a different road.

You'd think that AAA publishers wouldn't want to create an audience that repels potential new customers from getting into gaming, but as many politicians know, winning elections isn't about getting everyone to like you. If using divisive, mean-spirited rhetoric pushes 50% of voters away so much that they don't even want to think about politics, but also excites 30% of the remaining people, then that only leaves 20% of the population who may vote against yo??u.

And in AAA, every vote costs at least $60 to cast, making the barrier to entry much higher than voting in most of the world's political elections. Expensive to make, expensive to buy games do even more to alienate any reviewer who may consider playing a GTA or CoD game for review?? and say, "It's too long, divisive, or meanspirited."

If the only people playing your ?games are the ones who are predestined to love them, th??en you've already guaranteed a win.

[caption id="attachment_368584" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image credit InnerSloth LLC[/caption]

But that can't last forever, especially with something as awesome as video games. Eventually, people are going?? to find them and love them, no matter how much you try to alienate them. As a result, the urge from the old guard to fight back can lead to some pretty strange comments. You see something similar happening in the film industry, where directors who love making movies about real people will complain that superhero blockbusters aren't "real cinema". What they're really trying to say is, they preferred the days when the movies they loved to make were also the movies that the industry valued the most. They want to continue to be the ones to establish what "good" and "bad" movies are, so they can continue to easily get fin?ancing for the kinds of movies they like making.

If controlling the standards for quality in your medium is the #1 way to avoid risk in any art industry, you can bet your sweet bippy that AAA will do its darndest to exercise that control. That's why Bethesda's Hi-Fi Rush was such an anomaly. The game was a huge hit, despite not being a typical AAA game. In fact, that's exactly why it did so well. It was a massive breath of fr??esh air in an otherwise stale market filled with games aiming for the same safe,? AAA goals.

But if Bethesda and other AAA publishers continue to make that type of? game, they are going to implicitly admit that you don't need a ton of money to make something really popular. The emperor's new high-res, photorealistic clothes will be off, and they'll have to compete with other publishers and developers on a much more even playing field. It's enough to give your average AAA CEO low-budget nightmares.

[caption id="attachment_368591" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image Credit Sony Santa Monica[/caption]

Delaying the inevitable

Just like fossil fuel companies that desperately want to keep their good thing going until either electric cars, government regulation, (or the planet Earth itself), says that the party's over, AAA publishers really don't have much reason to embrace the truth right now. If the vocal minority online, which is still made up of millions, keeps believing that they are number one, it will keep that FOMO feeling alive in those with enough disposable income to sp??lurge on a $60 or $70 title just because it got a lot of reviews/awards/buzz online. As long as they maintain their stature with the loudest voices in the enthusiast market, then they are going to keep making plenty of money.

That said, I think it's inevitable that their brand of game will eventually lose the capacity to even appear "important" to anybody. AAA games in long-running franchises like God of War, which appeal to both older players like me and the kids who care about AAA gaming history, are going to continue to do well for at least another decade. It's not a coincidence that these games tend to be about aging parents and their up-and-coming, game-loving children, because that's exactly who's still buying them. Eventually, the generation brought up on disc-based home consoles will hit their 60s and 70s, leaving the Minecraft-loving tablet and p?hone gaming generation to fully inherit the medium.

By?? 2050, the current style of AAA games will look "retro" at best, like how N64 games look to us now.

And, by then, making realistic-looking games will be as cheap and easy to do as it is to use art-generating apps today. The games that win the popularity contests will be the ones that give people the opportunity to work out their stress and live out their fantasies in the most novel and interesting ways, regardless of how much money was put into them. It could be that The Last of Us may really end up being one of the last of the single-player-f??ocused, story-heavy, AAA-budget franchises that will appeal to anyone bu?t the most diehard of video game fans.

The post Why don’t ‘AAA’ publishers put out more ‘B budget’ games? appeared first on Destructoid.

Licensing is a killer problem

Last Friday was the 13th, and ironically, it was one of the last Fridays that you'll ever be able to buy Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle. It's sad to see this young spatial puzzle game, not even? old enough to drink, snuffed out so soon.

In all seriousness, Killer Puzzle is as loving a tribute to the slasher franchise as you could ask for. For the most part, it follows the rules of the film series (Jason can just appear behind anyone he sees, is weak against drowning, etc), and features just about every iteration of the hockey-masked horror icon as you could ask for (including his green and purple look from the infamous NES title).

//ww?w.youtube.com/watch?v=R8Ylirqs8To&ab_channel=BlueWizardDigital

So if you want to get this slice of the life (and afterlife) of one of the most loved and feared fictional serial killers in history, you'll have to act fast. Due to an inability to renew the license, this particular Friday the 13th game and all of its DLC are being removed from all available storefronts ??( So that's Steam,?? Apple App Store, Google Play Store, Nintendo eShop, Xbox Store, and Playstation Store) on January 23.

The only encouraging thing about this turn of events is that Killer Puzzle was itself a retooling of an original title called Slayaway Camp that will be available indefinitely. So while this specific game in the horror-puzzle formula subgenre may be sinking into the depths of history forever, there's ??a chance that it may come back to the dead someday, maybe with a whole new outward-facing look.

Maybe the Killer Klowns are looking for more work?

The post Friday the 1?3th: Kill?er Puzzle gets slashed for good on January 23 appeared first on Destructoid.

Ranking the next generation of buttkickers

[Warning: This article contains end-game spoilers for multiple new titles. You have been warned!]

We're at the stage with a lot of modern action franchises where their original leads, (and their audiences), are old enough to be parents and grandparents. Their creators are often in the same boat, leading them to think a lot about how to pass their legacies off to the next generation. That's part of why we saw Ellie take the lead from Joel in The Last of Us Part II, Indiana Jones team up with his kid Mutt in The Crystal Skull (and maybe yet another kid in the upcoming Dial of Destiny?), Rick's daughter Judith become the co-lead of The Walking Dead in its last season, Dante hand-off leading man duties to newcomer Nero in Devil May Cry V, and so on.

These sorts of "passing the torch" milestones are a natural part of ??life, even when those lives are purel?y fictional.

It's hard to say if and when these "passing the torch" moments will stick??. We certain??ly haven't seen much from James Bond Jr. or Rodimus Prime in a while. But in 2022, there were more than a few games where the next generation of action hero took the lead in an effective way. Here are my top five for the year.

Remember, spoilers are present for almost every game?? on t??his list!

#5: Gotham Knights

When playing a Batman game where you face off against supervillains, the challenge and excitement are baked into the premise. On the other hand, using the world's greatest detective and martial artist to fight a common human criminal can be a little anticlimactic. In order for a game to really make you feel like you are Batman, he's going t??o have to be overpowered, leading to initial thrills, but at the risk of longer-term malaise. There's no question at this point who would win in a fight between the dark knight and 5-10 random goons.

By making Batgirl and all three generations of Robin the leads of Gotham Knights, the initial tension factor is immediately turned up a notch. And p?ersonally, I've always found it more impressive (if not a touch less realistic) to see a kid like Damien Wayne beat the crap out 10 musclebound henchmen at a time than to watch his Dad do the same thing.

Gotham Knights lets you do just that, and while the game is definitely better in theory than it is in practice, it's still worth a mention on thi?s list. Let's hope that the next time we see t??he caped crusaders' sidekicks take the lead they get to star in a title with a little more punch.

#4 No More Heroes 3

This one is a bit of a cheat, as the game originally released on Switch in 2021, but it didn't make it to PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox until this year, so it was new to a lot of people in 2022. It's also a game that will always feel new to me. It's so packed with eye-opening moments, at least for long-time fans. The beheadings, the sudden rap battle, the surprise Smash Bros. mode, and the list of curveballs the game throws at you is ??downright d?iabolical.

And they saved the biggest twist for last. I??n the post-credits scene, Travis Touchdown's son Hunter and daughter Jeanne suddenly appear. They immediately slice up an alien God and announce that they've come from the future to recruit Travis and his grandson Scott to help them kill the past. It's a real cliffhanger! [End Spoilers]

It's also the right d??irection for the series to head down. In his first appearance in 2007, Travis Touchdown was a spot-on tribute/parody of a certain kind of videogame enthusiast. Now 15 years later, it makes perfect sense for his descendants to be picking up where he left off, symbolizing today's modern V-tubers and Twitch streamers and whatnot.

It's such a fun idea that I would have ranked it #1 if it weren't for the fact that the No More Heroes series is on indefinite hold, and there's no guarantee that a game costa?rring Travis's offspring will ever get made. Fing??ers crossed they'll at least show up in a badminton game someday.

#3 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

If we've learned anything from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it's that people ultimately didn't really want to see the continuation of the Skywalker storyline. When Episode 9 revealed that Rey was the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, effectively untwisting a plot twist from Episode 8, the fandom collectively?? groaned in unison, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in disappointment and were suddenly ??disinterested.

Since then, almost all the most popular Star Wars content to be released has barely involved the Skywalkers. Grogu, the wildly popular "baby Yoda" who is actually not related to Yoda at all, is the perfect emblem of what people want from Star Wars today. They still want it to look and feel like old Star Wars, but only on the surface. Under the skin, they want the new leads of ?the fr??anchise to be their own people.

Ironically enough, that's what the latest LEGO Star Wars game manages to pull off. With an expanded combat system and a more fully cohesive retelling of nine movies' worth of narrative, it's the perfect blueprint for what the future of LEGO Star Wars should lo?ok like. I'd also ??argue that the stories of the sequel trilogy work best here, as playing through them in the context of the other six movies, all wrapped together with a cohesive LEGO look, does a lot to make them feel like they belong together.

The option to pick up Grogu as DLC doesn't hurt ei?ther.

#2 Bayonetta 3

The f??uture of the Bayonetta series has never been less predictable, with a suddenly announced prequel set for release in a few months, and plans for a numbered sequel to the main franchise totally up in the air. That said, Platinum games has made it clear that they want to push the franchise's story forward, and when they do, they intend to have a new lead in the role of Bayonetta.

From the very start, Bayonetta 3 defies expectations around who exactly you'll be playing as. From the very start, we're given reason to believe that the old Bayonetta from the first game may be dead, and the one we play as for the bulk? of the game is a more youthful, pigtailed multiverse version of the character. Later on, it's strongly hinted that this new witch is actually the child Cereza that Bayonetta met via time travel in her first game. And if that weren't enough "passing of the torch" for you, this new Bayo is later dragged to hell, leaving Viola, her daughter from another multiverse, to take on the Bayonetta mantle.

This new potential star of the series is everything the original Bayonetta wasn't. Where "classic" Bayo is a graceful femme who frequently pole dances nude to Frank Sinatra songs, her replacement is a bumbling, butch punk rocker who's big on physical comedy and unrevealing plaid pants. She's actually a lot like Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes, which is probably a turn-off for some Bayo fans, but I personally can't wait to see her take the lead in Bayonetta 4 someday.

#1 God of War: Ragnarok

Ful??l disclosure, I don't like these games at all, but I ca?n still appreciate how masterfully they've established Kratos as one of gaming's best "anti-heroes-turned-grumble-Daddies" (Dadnti-heroes?) If you grew up with a grizzled, grumpy Pappa who lost his soul to trauma, a constant state of fight or flight, and life-crushing responsibilities, chances are modern Kratos will remind you at least a little of your own Father.

But to be a real successful sire to an offspring, you have to let your kid become the star of their own story. With God of War: Ragnarok, Kratos f?inally does just that, allowing his son Atreus to be fully playable (at times). Much of the game's story also centers around the boy. The thrust of the whole adventure comes from the revelation that Kratos's son is actually the shape-changing Norse God Loki. That's a lot of responsibility for a home-schooled teen, and the choices between staying true to his Dad and finding his place in the greater Norse mythology brings consistent relatable tension to the father-son dynamic. [End Spoilers].

It's been prophesized for a long time that Kratos will eventually kick the bucket, though his enduring popularity would make that a tough pill to swallow for both GoW fans and franchise owners, who are both enjoying a record level of popularity for the series. That said, if and when Kratos does finally breathe his last baritone, bearded breath, God of War: Ragnarok has shown us that there are plenty o??f pl??aces for the series to go without him.

The post The Top 5 “Passing the Torch” action games of 2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

Add copyright law to the list of things Travis has almost sh*t on

Travis Touchdown and the No More Heroes series both turned 15 this week and, to celebrate, franchise creator SUDA51 shared some unique information about his murderous mascot. Eve???n longtime fans of the franchise such as myself were shocked.

My Japanese is lousy, but I can read the language well enough to recognize the characters "Ru-Ku" in the image above. That translates to English as "Luke", which alone would have been enough to make Lucasfilm's lawyers foam at the mouth. Reading through the blurb is a little tougher for me, but per a confirmed A.I, translation from NMH super fan Travis Dies Every Day, the full text reads:

"Modern Jedi Master 'Luke'. Danshiya 'Luke'. His real name is Travis Touchdown. A ??geek and a thug of the hitman business, I will take on any boring killing. There is no creed at all. I go to the mall four times a week. In other words, if you don't have work, you don't have time, and you don't have friends."

"He runs danshi [boy?] with homemade sabers. All [of] his weapons, Naomi is making. He is currently ranked 11th in the UAA rankings. Fa?natical fan of Japanese anime, especially the witch system is a favorite. Now I love it. I love T-shirts."

Anyone who's played the series knows that this isn't too far from how the actual in-game dialogue might sound. Other than the gun in? his left hand, and the overt announcement that Travis is, in-fact, a Jedi named after Luke Skywalker, all of this could, plausibly, have been official!

And wait a minute, wasn't SUDA51's compa??ny rumored ?to be working on an Aliens game? That franchise is just one degree of legal separation from Star Wars! Maybe gun-totin?g Travis with this Skywalking nickname ??still has a chance of making it.

The post Travis Touchdown’s original nickname was, it seems, pure Star Wars appeared first on Destructoid.

Wii miss U

The Wii U turned 10 last week, and boy oh boy, what a weird-and-sad-but-endearing flop that was. It sold about 1/10 as well as its predecessor, and common consensus is, people passed on it because they didn't realize it was a new system. I think the real problem though was that people felt like it was just another Wii thing. They could have just asked Google, or a store clerk, if it was a new console, but they didn't.? They were too bored to.

By 2012, the Wii brand instantly put people to sleep. The market had been flooded with so mu??ch Wii stuff by that time that anything that said "Wii" on it was instantly sent to the "ignore" section of people's brains.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watc?h?v=qkWpMO_HaC??k[/embed]

Even people who did know what the Wii U was, and sort of wanted one, were likely to just get a 3DS instead. There's only so many console cycles in a row where people will be willing to buy two Nintendo consoles at once (one handheld, one home system) with a lot of similar games. And if anyone who passed on the Wii U?? had any fear of missing out, all they needed to do was?? go to a game news and reviews website to read the latest "The Wii U is a failure" or "Nintendo is doomed" post in order to confirm that they made the right choice.

Well I am here once again to tell them?? that...maybe they didn't! The Wii U is still my favorite Nintendo console. In fact, I may ?appreciate it more now than I did in 2012. It's hooked up to my TV as we speak! Here's why I think it's worth revisiting.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch??v=mYzlfaSeeP4[/embed]

It's (almost) every Nintendo system in one

Another thing that put people off about the Wii U was it did more things that people could keep track of. It manically tried to do e?verything, but messaging that to an already disinterested audience was impossible. You can sum up the Switch in one phrase: It's a fully portable console that you can also hook up to your TV. The Wii U, on the other hand, was a dual screen home console that could work as a handheld but not a portable, that also had it's own built in social media platform and Skype-style video chat platform, but you couldn't use that platform while playing with people online, and it was also Wii backwards compatible, but also it's own unique system, and it had a tablet-like controller that isn't actually a full tablet, and...

Well, you get the idea.

But here we are in 2022, and the Wii U still feels like the culmination of everything Nintendo did pre-Switch, with the exception of the Virtual Boy, which no Nintendo console since has ever emulated. For a relatively low price, you can play Gameboy, Gameboy Color, GBA, DS, NES, SNES, N64, and Wii games on the Wii U. The DS titles are particular stand outs, as they aren't likely to ever come to a single screen system like the Switch. It's also the only console where you can get enhanced versions of some of the Gamecube's best games, like Wind Waker and Twilight Princess. And if you're really industrious, you can hack the thing ??to make it play Gamecube ROMs. If you own the original disc??s, it's not even illegal!

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watc??h?v=5b??ODn-q0g68[/embed]

They just don't make 'em like this anymore

From the very start, the Wii U was a weird one. Satoru Iwata, the late president of Nintendo, prepped people for the announce of the console's unique controller by holding a bunch of bananas and staring at the camera. Many of the system's unique features were later outlined in a trailer for ZombiU that co-starred a nerd who felt like a parody of the games target audience. He has no real life friends and talks to a toy named Non-Specific Action Figure. Most people ignored all of this, and the Wii U in general, but those who were paying attention could plainly see that the system wa?s positioning itself as a wacky underdog from the start.

And it's got plenty of games to match that image, many of which will likely never be ported. It's pack-in title, Nintendo Land, is a massive party game compilation that functions like a theme park with rides based on multiple Nintendo franchises like Zelda, Mario and Metroid, but all with a cute-toy like presentation. You can't truly say you're a Metroid fan until you've fought adorable versions of Ridley and Kraid in the underrated, likely neve to be ported Metroid Blast attraction. These representatives from Nintendo's most recognizable titles stand alongside mini-games based on more obscure stuff like Balloon Fight, The Mysterious Murasame Castle, and Octopus, a 40-year-old Game and Watch title.

[embed]//www.youtube??.com/watch?v=HDT2MvvI6go&?amp;t=13s[/embed]

This was their killer app, folks! This is the kind of thing Nintendo hoped they could use to compete with The Last of Us and GTA!

It's so wonderfully, weirdly misguided, and will never happen again. Sure, Nintendo still makes quirky stuff like 1-2 Switch, Nintendo Labo (the game + cardboard craft series) and that free jump rope game, but under their current management, their experimental titles are largely walled off from their big franchises. The chances of us seeing any marquee titles as unexpected and experimental as Stax Fox Zero/Guard, Dr. Luigi (and the rest of the Year of Luigi family of games), Game and Wario, NES Remix 1 & 2, or ever again is unlikely.

[embed]/??/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cop4crspps8[/embed]

Wii can't go home again

There's also un-ported Wii U exclusives like Splatoon, Xenoblade Chronicles X, Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, Devil's Third, and, er Animal Crossing: Amiibo Festival to mourn, but the real sense of loss from looking back on the Wii U comes from remembering all the features of the console that are truly dead. I can still boot up Devil's Third any time I'm nostalgic for it's blend of so-bad-it's-good and legitimately-good fun, but the game's unique online mode, which allow?ed you to wear a realistic cat head while you lead a rainbow parade of chickens into battle, is gone forever.

So is Miiverse and it's Dafoeverse subgroup in the Rabbids Land area. There was also a weird little app called Animal Crossing: Plaza that just let you... talk to people about how much you liked Animal Crossing? It's gone, too. And soon, it will be impossible to buy any games on its eshop or play anything online. Despite the fact that Mario Kart 8 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, two of of t??he Switch's best selling titles, are actually Wii U games, Nintendo h?as left much of the console unpreserved.

From the moment it was launched, it felt like a weird, out of touch, but lovable system, like something that could only be hugely popular in an alternate universe, where people wanted their consoles to be like whimsical, clumsy parents who wanted to play games with them and not portals into violent, photorealistic worlds. Now 10 years later, the Wii U is both out of touch and out of time, and te?ll me, who doesn'??t love what can never come back?

The post The Wii U turned 10: Lets look at Nintendo’s weird, sad flop? appeared first on Destructoid.

More like "Alan Wii-ke"

Alan Wake (now on the Switch) is psychological horror game about coming to terms with who you are. Many have compared it to Silent Hill 2 for t?hat reason and many others, but for me, the ways that it's about internal con??flict have always felt more unintentional than that.

Throughout the game, the titular Mr. A. Wake is thrown into nightmare situations that are too bad to believe. Likewise, the game's Switch port is technically much, much worse than anyone would have expected.聽 When it comes to stuff like polygon count, pop-up, frame rate, and just a general sense of jank, this is one of the least polished-looking modern games from a AAA studio I've ever seen. It runs worse than the original 360 vers??i??on did in 2010. Heck, it even looks a little cruddier than Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and Resident Evil 4 did on the Wii back then.

And I sort of love it for that?

[embed]//twitter.com/GameXplain/statu?s/1583175476226334720[/embed]

Maybe that's because the internal conflict that's always been key to Alan Wake for me isn't about it's tortured lead character. It's about how the game truly doesn't seem to know if it even wants to be a videogame or not. In my mind it's always been sort of a sister game to Deadly Premonition, another cult classic survival horror game about fighting the same shadowy zombie-type things over and over again in a little American town. The big different between the two is Deadly Premonition ??always had a reputation for being so bad-its-good.

Alan Wake, on the other hand, looked technically amazing when it first came out, and so it got rave reviews. That polished look never matched how clunky and laugh-out-loud hammy its story was. Much like with the recent derided re-release of GTA: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition, this worse-looking version of Alan Wake is a much bett?er fit for how I've always f?elt about it.

Why am I being so hard on Alan Wake you ask? Dear reader, you have to understand: The first words you hear after booting it up the are l?iterally "Stephen King", and it doesn't let up from there. There ar??e a few aspects of the game that seem more inspired by The Twilight Zone or Twin Peaks, but by and large, this is a game that desperately wishes it was either a movie, a book, or both by the world's most popular horror author. It features more references to King's work than I would ever want to count.

The premise itself is essentially a weird cover song of Misery, The Dark Half, with bits of other King novels like Christine peppered throughout. And that's OK! The problem is the complete lack of subtlety. The copy?ing of King is so loud and strong that it makes the game more like a par?ody of the author more than anything else.

Spoilers: in the first couple of hours, the game features a cut scene that copies an iconic shot from Kubrick's film adaptation of The Shining. Then, as if that weren't enough to take you out of the game and make you think about a much better thing you could be watching than the game you are currently watching, the narrator then blurts out something like "this guy is like Jack Nicholson from The Shining!" This probably wasn't supposed to be funny, bu??t I still laughed out loud, and a big part of me hopes that was the int??ention.

Games that try this hard to be like movies are now like the 3rd or 4th most dominant genre in the industry, way behind stuff like Minecraft, Genshin Impact, and even Mario Kart. That wasn't true when Alan Wake was first ?released though. Back in the 2010's, games that tried hard ?to be movies won all the awards and made a bulk of the money. It was a scary time for people like me who saw the move to make games more like films as a self-loathing near-suicidal downgrade.

And even if I did like movies more than games, and therefore wanted to see games turn into movies, games are just always worse than movies at being movies! Alan Wake is definitely no exception. It feels much more like a Junior High School theater adaptation of a Stephen King movie than a big budget film. It's cute and earnest, but if there was any reason to think it might someday replace the real deal, you'd probably want to see it put out ??to pasture.

So not only does this technically worse port of the game serve to humble Alan Wake a bit, it also give the whole thing a little of that dingy, broken and unsafe feeling you might get from one of Puppet Combo's Indie Horror titles. Underneath all the heavy-handed narration and obvious aspirations to be "more than a game", Alan Wake is actually a pretty fun?? game, and having worse graphics doesn't change that.

The main mechanic that makes it stand out is the need shine a light on most enemies before you can damage them. It's dark as hell m?ost of the time so you need the flas??hlight for more than just self defense. When the game finally quits shoving heavy-handed narration, in-game collectable book pages that actually spoil the story for you(!), and uncanny valley packed cinemas, it's actually a really effective survival horror game, and the low-fi aesthetic doesn't hurt that one bit.

There're also a lot of little touches here that remind you that, in 2010, Alan Wake was actually a huge big budget game. The soundtrack is, in short, bananas;聽 featuring Roy Orbirson, Poe, and Nick Cave. It's extremely off-putting to see the game go from looking like a PS2 title to sounding like one of the greatest melancholy pop-songs of all time. The sound design and in-game TV show called Night Springs both also carried over perfectly from the 360 original, and both do so much to suddenly make the?? game's world feel real. The contrast between those roots in reality and the purely surreal, game world you're trapped in it when you play makes both feel stronger by juxtaposition.

When it was first released, Alan Wake looked like something from the future, like they had someone make a game from 2022 in 2010. Now on Switch, it looks like a low budget game from 2010, unearthed for the first time 2022. It's seems to be a?ctively repulsive and hostile to people who loved it the first time around, but if you're someone like me who actually likes crappy looking games, you may enjoy this Switch port. So if you want to take the chance, saddle up for a down-port that you can sincerely love, and love to laugh at, nearly at the same time.

The post Alan Wake on the Switch runs like a Wii game appeared first on Destructoid.

Everyone relates with a sad trombone

A couple of times a year, a "Phenomenon Game" pops up out of nowhere and is suddenly the talk of the town. Trombone Champ fits that description. It became a viral meme seemingly overnight, but this genius comedy game didn't come from nowhere. The people who made Trombone Champ had ??to stick with it for three difficult years, working only ?on nights and weekends, to put it all together.

The game was created by industry veterans Dan and Jackie Vecchitto. They've been self-publishing games for about a decade, and most of their projects have been free. Trombone Champ is actually the first title they've ever sold on Steam, so you can imagine their surprise when it went on to sell 20,000+ copies in its launch window, prompting NBC, The New York Times, and the CBC to all come calling for interviews.

[embed]//www.??youtube.com/watch?v=mOaYsW-Q?1lU[/embed]

Much to my surprise, they were also willing to talk to me for my Talking to Women about Videogames podcast聽(also on iTunes and Spotify). It's a small-time show by NBC standards, but since they had an OK time on Sup, Holmes (an interview live stream show for game devs I used to do), I guess they didn't mind coming back for another talk eight years later. I've been rooting for these two ever since then, long before I knew they were the people who made Trombone Champ, and it's been so great to s?ee those r?oots grow into a tree made of trombones, thousands of dollars, and mainstream media attention.

We got into all that plus the couple's love of Star Trek, D&D, gnomes, my theories on the autobiographical nature of their gameography, and a ??lot more. Thanks again to Dan and Jackie for taking the time, and doing it on video to boot. It was (ahem) a "hoot."

The post Meet the people who made Trombone Champ appeared first on Destructoid.

But who will play Abobo?

River City Girls 2 director Bannon Rudis sent me a cryptic message on Friday. "There is a play in Japan. I have no info on this."

That's the kind of mystery I live for, so I got to researching, and eventually found out that a theater company called Solid Star (Heaven Eleven, Yu x You) is putting on a River City Girls play based on the original game. It's set to be performed live from December 7th to 11th, 2022. That's quite the limited run! And the cast is massive, maybe larger than that of the original game. Is that even possible? Bannon tells me that neither he nor River City Girls 2 writer Adam Tierney have anything to do with this production, so like Willie Scott once sang, "Anything Goes."

I'd love to see Bannon and Adam go to Japan to review this official(?) River City Girls play, but I'm not sure who'll pay to make that happen. Maybe Solid Star will? Even better would be if they shelled out some extra dough to cast my old Road Rules Northern Trail friend Bob Sapp as Abobo. Bob also hit me up just last Friday, for the first time in 25 years, to see how I was doing. Having Bannon and Bob come at me on the sa?me day feels like more than a coincidence.

Solid Star, if you're reading this, I will personally pay for Bob's airfare and lodging if that's what it takes to see him hit the stage in yo?ur show. Abobo was the role he was born to pl??ay.

The post The River City Girl??s hit the stage in a new Japanese play appeared first on Destructoid.

It's fun 2B fashionably late

NieR: Automata was first released in 2017, just close enough to the Switch launch date that it could have helped define the console's larger identity. It's definitely a "Style over Horsepower" game, and did little to tax the hardware of the now last-gen PS4. It's also developed by PlatinumGames, who've done a lot to build their audience on Nintendo consoles in recent years. Between The Wonderful 101, the full Bayonetta franchise, and Astral Chain, the Switch is where the bulk of their character action games live now. That's another reason why it's felt a little weird to see NieR: Automata on every major platform but Switch for all these years, but then again, weird has always been Nier's thing.

Now the game is finall??y headed to Switch on October 4, 2022, and I'm happy to report it's been made slightly more strange along the way.

Before we get into all that, let's do a quick recap of some of what makes NieR: Automata different. You might not already know, because people really don't like explaining this game. Even talking about how it plays may spoil some of it, because many of its mechanics are tied directly to its story. But it's safe to tell you upfront that Automata is more "arcade-y" than most character action games. It even starts o??ff with a traditional shmup-style sequence, setting the stage for a massive amount of mechanical death to follow.

After that opener, the action largely sticks to the third-person melee-and-guns action that fans of the genre have come to expect. The only initial clue that there's more going on here comes from a short warning. Ironically eno??ugh, the game doesn't "automatically" save, so you can't turn it off anytime you want without killing your progress.

Again, there are story reasons for that. Like Undertale and Chrono Trigger, NieR: Automata is meant to be played through again and again for different endings, so when and where you save counts in a big way. After you see them all, these endings all work to sort of explain why 2B (the Hamlet-??inspired star of the game) is fighting against an army of trash-can-looking robots named after guys like Karl Marx and Soren Kierkegaard.

The fact that so many of those last-gen, occasionally pitiably automatons look alike probably helps NieR: Automata to run so well on Switch. There just isn?'t a lot going on here to cause the current-gen hardware to chug. I didn't notice any new slowdown o??r frame rate drops when playing the game in handheld or docked mode. Load times were also a non-issue.

I wa?s surprised to s??ee that my only problem with the visuals of this Switch port came from how loyal it is to the source material. Like in the original version of the game, the camera sometimes zooms way out and 2B gets really small on-screen. That was fine on a big TV, but on the original Switch, it can be hard to keep track of her.

Having the camera switch to a side view, a landscape view, or a top-down angle is yet another way that the gameplay relates to the underlying narrative themes. Taking "multiple perspectives" is a big part of what series creator Yoko Taro wants players to do with all the Nier games. But?? for handheld players, that might mean getting your girl lost in a hail of purple bullets and rusty, rotted-out andro?ids.

As for additional content, the game comes with the previously released Automata DLC, some exclusive skins, and also optional motion controls. I didn't see that last one coming. The character action community historically hates motion controls. Back in the Wii days, fans of the genre almost lobbied immediately to have traditional control options added to the No More Heroes and MadWorld franchises, and they succeeded on both fronts. Nintendo even made motion controls optional in its Switch re-release of Skyward Sword, a game designed from the ground up for them.

So it's fitting that NieR: Automata on Switch flies in the face of convention ye??t again by jamming motion controls into the game just for the heck of it.

At least, it might be just for the heck of it. After testing them out and seeing that they work fine (if you don't care about a touch of input lag), I went back to button presses right away, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if there is a new Switch-exclusive "waggle only" ending hiding away in there somewhere. Given Yok?o Taro's interest in making an adult v?ideo someday, we can guess how that might turn out.

All in all, there aren't a lot of reasons to double-dip on NieR: Automata for Nintendo S??witch, but the motion controls are a cute novelty, and having the option to get some of those extra endings while you're on the go (or in the bathroom) in handheld mode is always ??a good thing.

As a slightly obsessive Platinum fan, it will be fun for me to see Automata's icon lined up alongside the full Bayonetta trilogy on my Sw?itch ?dashboard by the end of October.

The post NieR: Automata on Switch ought to have come earlier but it’s nearly perfect appeared first on Destructoid.

Blowing minds and blowing chunks

Suda51's new YouTube series gives you something you can't get from everybody, because not every game developer loves the public eye. Despite being as famous (and infamous) as most folks in the industry will ever get, you're not likely to see a new on-camera interview with Minecraft's Notch or FEZ's Phil Fish anytime soon. Putting your personal struggles?? on display isn'??t for everyone.

Suda51 has no such misgivings about showing the human side of the creative process. In fact, the very first game company he worked for was called HUMAN, and as he explains in this inaugural chapter of a tell-all interview series, it was S??uda's soft ??and heartfelt love of games and pro wrestling that lan??ded him the job. That combination of excitement and fear was key to his subsequent success. As he tells it, those feelings also led to a fair amount of vomit in his mouth.

//youtu.be/FW0bOm_fYDw

This same mix of thrills, chills, and stomach-turning spills are part of most of his games, from early titles like soon to be rereleased action-and-horror titles like Lollipop Chainsaw, Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, and No More Heroes 3. What you make comes from who you are, even if that means tasting a little of your ??own puke now a??nd again.

This new "Creator's File" interview series also marks a rebrand for Grasshopper and Suda51's new YouTube channel. It will feature other members of the company as well, as they talk about their history and experiences in the industry. It's a perfect holdover for fans of the studio as they wait for the announcement of new Grasshopper projects. I've gotten a little of the inside scoop on one of their unannounced titles and it's de??finitely going to be a big hit with fans of Suda's scriptwriting style.

Keep an eye peeled in?? the video and you may actua?lly see a hint of what they're working on.

The post Suda51’s details his eye-opening career in this new YouTube series appeared first on Destructoid.

'Forced Poking' some fun at video game marketing

I have nothing but respect and empathy for the poor souls who were tasked with creating the now infamous Forspoken "Talking to a cuff!" trailer.

The whole thing stinks of producer tampering. I imagine the original script might have had lead character Frey say "And oh yeah, I'm talking TO MY SLEEVE!", which would work fine in a cutesy, family Sci-Fi wort of way. But then the "Business Strategy and Branding Lead" came in and said "Oh no you can't say 'my' because those magic talking sleeves are going to be sold as NFTs to players across the world in 2024. We want everyone to feel like they can own one, not just Frey. And you can't call them 'sleeves' either because we're going to call the NFTs 'Tough Cuffs'. The SEO on that shit is pure dynamite.??"

And that's how Forspoken "Talking to a cuff!" trailer was (probably) ??born.

It was with that nightmare in mind that I've started posting new re-recordings of that god forsaken Forspoken dialogue every day until the game is released on January 24, 2023. That's 165 days, folks! 11 days in and I haven't missed an upload yet, though doing most of the acting on the v??ideos?? on my own may make my brain melt soon enough.

You can find a thread of them in progress on Twitter, and for your convivence, my collaborators and I have compiled the best of them (so far) in the video below. They aren't all keepers, but I'm semi-proud of my Solid Snake and Louie Armstrong impersonations. Just listing to th??e?m is sure to make your throat sore with empathetic laryngitis.

[embed]//www.you??tube.co?m/watch?v=8ujaVynx7xw[/embed]

The post The Forspoken “Talking to a cuff!” trailer, Solid Snake edition appeared first on Destructoid.

It doesn't suck, but...

Naming characters is a notoriously difficult part of writing fiction, but for my six-year-old son, it's apparently pretty easy, at least when it comes to Pok茅mon. We looked through a catalog of Pok茅mon Vivid Voltage cards a few days ago, and much to my surprise, he spontaneously renamed 150+ Pok茅mon. He actually didn't have much of a choice, because he's a little too young to read on his own. I suppose he could have forced me to read through the book for him, but that would have been pretty boring for both of us. Instead, he did it his own way, and I know I'm biased, but I think the results are pretty adorable, even when (or especially when?) t??hey veer into bizarre potty humor territory.

//youtu.be/MC_Ce6dbh3c

Picasso once said that it took him a lifetime ??to learn to paint lik??e a child.

Freeing your brain of self-criticism and the need to do things the "correct" way ain't easy, but it's the only way you're ever going to come up with new Pok茅mon names like Cocoon Butler and Jiggly Horror. Let's hope my kid stays young and wild long enough to get a few more of these videos out before the cold hand of teenage self-consciousness squeezes the innocence out of his h??eart like a sponge.

The post My six-year-old renamed 150+ Pok茅mon? and the results are adorabl??e appeared first on Destructoid.

New free playable characters, stages, and relics

Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon refuses to die. The humble puzzle Shovel Knight spin-off is already packed with playable characters and other ways to change up the experience, but the unrele??nting teams at Vine and Yacht Club Games won't be satisfied until everyone on Earth understands that this game is a blast, and the only way t?o do that is to coax the global population into trying it. And what better way to do that than with free DLC?

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ujvmJ5fA6l8

Starting today on Steam (and coming soon to consoles), the Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon Puzzler's Pack DLC is open for business, offering up new playa??ble?? characters like Mona the alchemist and Puzzle Knight the nogoodnik.

Mona can chain potion explosions for massive combos, and the Puzzle Knight can turn enemies around clockwise to change their overall effect on the battlefield. These unique strategy options are compounded by two new relics, two areas to explore, and new challenges. And this Shovel Knight Pocket Dungeon DLC is just the start. Mod support 鈥?and the option to refract and enhance ??your character's abilities 鈥?are ?all coming soon.

The team at Yacht Club truly wants Pocket Dungeon to be a game of the people. That's why they are opening their discord channel to all comers to discuss what they do and don't want in the game. The plan is to keep updating this Puzzle Pack for as long as possible. Remember folks, the original Shovel Knight聽received massive fre??e updates over the course of five years, so who knows how far they'll go. If you want to learn more about them and why they are so unrelentingly giving, check out the 8,000-plus-word interview I did with them in Lock-On 00????4. As Hot Rod once said, "It's a whopper alright!"

The post Shovel?? Knight Pocket Dungeon explodes with new free DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

Wholesome Alien Antics Invade The Avian Skatepark

This year's Wholesome Direct just wrapped up, and like always, it made good on its promise of filling our hearts and minds with edgeless, universally appealing fun. Most of the games at the show might look niche to those whose definition of "an average and normal videogame" is a AAA shooter, but for the majority of people in the world (most of whom have never played The Last of Us or Halo in their lives), stuff like skateboarding birds wearing ?funny hats is a lot more inviting.

That's probably why, despite middling initial reviews and a lack of big publisher support, SkateBIRD is "on the cusp of making a million bucks" in profit. It's fun too! A few patches after launch, the game plays better than ever, and if you still find any of the controls to be frustrating, most of them can be adjusted in accessibility settings. Those options, plus the universal appeal of becoming a double-jumping swallow who can freestyle (and fumble) across a series of duct-taped skate parks, have done a lot to help the game make numb?ers.

Some of those dollars have been spent on making the game even better. Announced at the Wholesome Direct, the game will be getting an update today that adds a new playground-themed park, a playable crewmate from Among Us, and new Pride-themed outfits, though SkateBIRD creator Megan Fox tells us she "...just wanted gay clothes anyways and I'd added them a while ago, and then it accidentally lined up..." with both the month-long LGBTQ+ cel?ebration and its coinciding Wholesome Direct.

This content is headed to聽SkateBIRD on consoles as well, so if you want to whip ou?t your Switch and kickflip with an owl while wearing rainbow-tinted sunglasses, you won't have to wait long.

The post SkateBIRD ?gets a new park, new birds, Among Us content, and ga?y clothes appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Art by OThatsRaspberry]}

From mortuaries to millions

Before creating No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, Killer7, and countless others, Goichi "SUDA51" Suda worked in a mortuary. Then, almost overnight, he became a game director. His primary qualification? Confidence. An outsider to the industry, he made waves from the very start, using the otherwise by-the-book Fire Pro Wrestling franchise to tell a story of nihilism and self-dest??ruction.

Twenty-nine years later and he's still doing things his own way. The biggest difference now is, he's got experience on his side. And the money probably doesn't hurt either. Last year, Grasshopper Manufacture (Suda's studi??o) was acquired by NetEase, a game publisher with an estimated value of 63 billion dollars.

As a massive fan of Suda's work, I was afraid that this change in business partners may lead him to make more conventional games. From the sounds of this interview with Japanese site DenFaminicoGamer, (posted here in English for the first time via a translat?ion from Grasshopper themselves), we won't have to worry about that.

This detailed ac??count o?f his career 鈥?packed with exclusive reveals about his past, present, and future 鈥?points to this new "NetEase era" being the most exciting, unhinged chapter in his story yet.

DenFaminicoGamer: The reason ??for this interview is that Grasshopper Manufacture has become part of NetEase Games, and have started recruiting staff, but what was the original intention behind the founding o?f Grasshopper?

SUDA51: During my time at Human Entertainment, I thought of myself as a director. I took over the Fire Pro Wrestling series, handling two games. Next, I was put in charge of the Twilight Syndrome team, which was on the brink of collapse, and reorganized it. Which is to say, somehow or another, I would complete whatever work that the com?pany gave me without fail.

However, after Twilight Syndrome was finished, I did things akin to in-game destruction with Moonlight Syndrome (laughs). Human was a company wit?h a ??lot of freedom, so at the time, I was able to take on a variety of challenges in that manner.

The reason I left Human was that I wasn鈥檛 able to make my own IP or representative work. I had the constant dilemma of not being abl??e to create an original title. On top of that, I understood that as long as I stayed with Human, th?at kind of chance would not come easily, so I had to leave. Around that time, the company itself was in decline. There were things like pay delays, and just bad vibes in the air.

However, after leaving Human, I visited ASCII Corporation, who had previously reached out to me, and I intended to enter their company as a regular employee. Then I was told? by the people at ASCII, 鈥淣ow is the time that you could start a company.鈥?And that鈥檚 the story of how I started Grasshopper.

DFG: Was the desire to create your own original IPs?? and have your own company something that you had been contemplating for a long time?

SUDA51:Everything was a bit all over the ??place at Human, so I really ??loved the company itself. The president was eccentric, and he even hated games.

Human also ran the Human Creative School, which was the world鈥檚 first video game school. Every year graduates would enter the company, so our development staff was mostly c?o?mprised of people in their twenties. I was 24 when I started at Human, so there was a huge number of staff that were younger than me, like around 22 or so. It was a maelstrom of hot-blooded youth that was almost like a zoo (laughs).

I think the great part about that company was the ability to create something from nothing. They were also the originators of pro wrestling games. Ryoji Amano, creator of the soccer games, and Masato Masuda, who was my mentor, were two people who could establish the creative process and create something from nothing. The company was filled w?ith an atmosphere that made it feel like we could rapidly develop new games, and I think we were the top sports game developer at the time. So, I always thought that I wanted to further invigorate the company from within.

However, the president was caught for tax evasion, and when I woke in the morning, I experienced what it was like to have cameras from the TV station all over the place (laughs). After going through something like that, I thought, 鈥淚 proba?bly need to get out?? of here鈥? and it felt like I had shifted gears.

DFG:聽In regard to the specialist school that you?? mentioned, how did the recently gr?aduated students create games?

SUDA51: I didn鈥檛 come from the Human Creative School, but the incredible thing about it was that the students made games that were actually released. Some examples are Septentrion [English title: SOS], Dragon鈥檚 Earth, and The Firemen (All Super Nintendo games).

So, in that manner, the people who join us from the school had created a game as a team in their school days. It felt like they were already semi-professional when they joined Human, so they seemed less like students and more like cocky kids, thick with self-confidence. Like 鈥淗ey, we鈥檝e already made a game, you know.鈥?/p>

You had the old timers and the new grads, and there was a lot of conflict. I was just?? dr??opped in as a mid-career guy. Those days were pretty incredible.

DFG: You called them old timer??s, but they were also in their twentie??s, right?

SUDA51: Yes, they were about the same age. The old timers were in thei?r late twenties, while the new grads were in their early twenties. E??ven though they were all in their twenties, there was a clash of youth.

As I was saying before, the new grads were at the level where they could quickly become leaders. Upon joining, they became the aces of the team. So new projects were quickly completed, one after another. I think it鈥檚 quite difficult these days to create a team of young staff, ?but at that time, it was common for teams of graduates to quickly come together.

The teams were formed, and games were made rapidly. A game that took one year to develop was on the long side, and we were often told to develop things within three months. Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur [Super Nintendo] was developed in only three months, and was full of bugs (laughs). I felt bad for the staf????f in charge.

There was also a game called Yakyuu Ou [鈥楤aseball King鈥? Planned for release on the Super Nintendo, but was cancelled]. It was a legendary game where the batter would run straight toward third base after hitting the ball (laughs). At the time, Human would hold stand-alone events, and they held one at Sunshine in Ikebukuro where they played Yakyuu Ou on a huge screen. When the pitcher threw the ball and the batter got a strike, the ??umpire yelled, 鈥淏all!鈥?and there was a commotion in the crowd (laughs). They had made quite a mischievous ga?me.

DFG: Fr?om?? your point of view, do you feel like those kinds of mischievous games aren鈥檛 around these days?

SUDA51: There certainly aren鈥檛 any like that.

DFG: What do you think the reason for that is?

SUDA51: These days, we don鈥檛 play the numbers game anymore, or rather we can鈥檛. Up until the Super Nintendo era, it was a period where if you just released a game, it would sell. The sales staff were very skilled, and it was as if, no matter the game, they would sell 200,000 co??pies to stores just to begin with. The sales staff would travel all over the country t?o entertain, and wine and dine with their clients. It was a rather vulgar time in those days, where regardless of a game鈥檚 quality, as long as you had something, it could be sold. I think that was a major part of things.

In regard to judging a game鈥檚 quality, there really wasn鈥檛 anything other than Famitsu鈥檚 cross review. However, it was a time where even if the score was low, the game would sell anyway. So, as long as you had enthusiasm, you could make anything and everything. In a way, I think it was?? a time where even if you made a dud, you still gathered experience. These days, your career c??ould be finished after even just one failure.

Fire Pro Wrestling was also a proclamation of my creative ability

DFG: I believe that there was a period where you started? to show your individuality as a director, was that intentional?

SUDA51: Yes, it was intentional. I brought my individuality to the forefront with Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special.

I felt like with the game I made before that, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout, I was trying to precisely follow in the steps of the previous game, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2. It was around then that there was a major incident within Human, with the section manager at the time, Shuji Yoshida, quitting the company. I received strong backing with Yoshida-san鈥檚 parting words, 鈥淚鈥檓 quitting, but you鈥檙e free to make the next Fire Pro as you see fit, Suda-kun.鈥?My mentor, Masuda, also said to me, 鈥淵ou can do it however you want to, Suda-kun.鈥?/p>

I thought that if I could do whatever I liked, then I would throw in all the things I wanted to do. I think adding a kind of story mode to Fire Pro Special was the catalyst for me to start expressing my creativity. I think that was both a beginning, and in?? another way, a proclamation.

DFG:聽I see, so that鈥檚 where it began. By the way, how was it that you c??ame to?? be a director?

SUDA51: To tell you the truth, I actually once failed the interview section of Human鈥檚 entrance test (laughs). However, by chance, that was right around the same time that Daisuke Asako, my predecessor in the Fire Pro team, handed in his letter of resignation. There weren鈥檛 any people le??ft in the planning department who had deep knowledge of pro wrestling.

That鈥檚 when someone who remembere??d me called me in f??or another interview, and I was hired by the company. My predecessor, Asako-san, was only at the company for three more days, during which he handed things over to me before leaving the company. From that moment on, I was already a director.

DFG: Wha??鈥?! You were a dir??ector as soon as you started? What kind of experience did you have prior to that?

SUDA51:聽I had done a variety of different jobs. As for what got me involved in the game industry, it was during my time as a graphic designer when I made company brochures and advertisements for Sega as a contractor. Since I was to make advertisements for Virtua Racing, Yu Suzuki? invited me to the AM2 offices. That was my first time seeing a game development environment, and I was shock?ed.

Up until that moment, I had thought that games were made by ??professors. I always thought the games were made by computer experts who wore white lab coats, but they were actually just ordi?nary young men and women. Not to mention, they had stacks of things like Nirvana CDs on their desks.

I thought, 鈥淗uh, they鈥檙e just normal people.鈥?It gave me the na茂ve idea that even I could do it too (laughs). It was then that the game industry, which seemed so very far away, suddenly felt like it entered my field of view. Or maybe you could say it suddenly felt more realistic. I thought to myself, 鈥淢aking games as a job. What could be better than that?鈥?/p>

DFG:聽So, you had never studied programming? or anything like that before then??

SUDA51:聽Not at all. I had no skills at all. If I had to pick out one thing as a skill, it would have been that my pro wrestling knowledge was without peer. Tha?t was what I really foc??used on.

DFG: Before ?that, was there anything that made you interested in games?

SUDA51: My interest in games comes from always?? hanging out at game centers when ?I was a kid.

DFG: So, since the arcade days?

SUDA51: It was the height of the arcade era. After the release of Space Invaders, game centers popped up all throughout the city. There was a place just beyond the highway where one play was 20 yen. I would hang ar??ound there during my days off when I was a student.

DFG: You said that you worked as a graphic designer. Did you always have the desire to do? some? kind of creative work?

SUDA51: Hmm, not a clear desire or anything like that. I worked every day in order to keep living in?? Tokyo, and I also got married quite early, so it fel??t like the next thing was to look for a job with better pay. With that in mind, working in the game industry wasn鈥檛 among the types of jobs that I was looking at.

However, I received encouragement from my wife. After working as a graphic designer, I worked as a temporary employee at a funeral parlor. Undertakers ??make really good money. People my age were going independent and starting their own companies, and the manag?ers would all drive to work in foreign cars. Being able to drive dream cars like a Renault 5 Turbo was pretty cool. I gradually rose in rank while I worked as an undertaker, and a number of companies even asked me if I would become a full-time employee.

I also thought that I could make a good living in the industry, so I accepted my fate and told my wife that I intended to become a full-time employee. My wife said to me, 鈥淚s this why you came to Tokyo? There鈥檚 something else that you want to do, isn鈥檛 there?鈥?/p>

鈥淚s there鈥? I guess I want to work on games or something like that.鈥?/p>

鈥淭hen you should go for it.鈥?/p>

Then I just happened to see job advertisements for both Human and Atlus in a magazine that I bought. Only those two companies were willing to accept applicants with no exper?ience. I sent in my application, but I only managed to catch on with Human.

DFG: Why did you come to Tokyo?

SUDA51: I simply wanted to?? go to Tokyo and ??get away from the countryside. That was really the only reason.

DFG: D??id you continue to play games even while you worked?? as a graphic designer and undertaker?

SUDA51: Yes, but games were really expensive in those days. One game would cost 7,000 to 8,000 yen. But once the price gradually dropped to around 3,000 yen, it became a choice to either buy a game or one CD. However, I would buy Weekly Famitsu almost every week.

DFG: Why was that?

SUDA51: Because I loved games, of course. If possible, I wanted to play some good games. I also used it to try to convince my wife. I wanted to play the? games that got a good score in the cross review (laughs).

By doing work that went beyond my own scope, I was accepted as director by the staff

DFG: When you interviewed at Hu??man, y??ou didn鈥檛 have anything specific in mind like director or graphic artist, right?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. If they hired ??me, I was prepared to do anything that they asked me to.

DFG: And then you were suddenly made director as soon as?? you joined the ??company. Did it feel like fate?

SUDA51: It felt like a gift from the pro wrestling gods. Things were handed over to me in only three days. I also had one of the planning st?aff assigned to watch over me. In the beginning, it felt like he was the director by proxy, but midway through, everything was entrusted to me. It was like, 鈥淪uda-san, you can already do this on your own.鈥?From that point on, I handled things by myself.

DFG: Looking back at it now, did you ever think 鈥淲hy was I put in charge of all this?鈥?/p>

SUDA51: Since I was put in charge, I was aware that I had to persevere and get through it. There were about twenty staff members in the planning department, but only around half o?f those worked on the actual development. The remaining half were like jobless wanderers, every day they would do things like write proposals and submit things to the section manager.

I wanted to protect my own position, or you could say th?at I wanted to survive in this industry. After a few days, I had a hunch that this was the right path for my life. I also thought that I would be able to utilise the know-how from the other work that I had done up until that? point.

The manager handed me a cardboard box containing materials for the previous game, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2, and said, 鈥淵ou have one week to look over these and put together a specification document.鈥?I read through all the materials in one day, and I submitted the specification document in three days. At any rate, I completed the task faster than I was told to. I鈥檓 not the Red Comet [Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam], but I knew that I could?? do the work three times faster than other people. I wanted to succeed and continue to survive within the planning departmen??t.

DFG: So, is the work of a director to look over those kinds of material??s, and then start by following the example of others?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. However, I think that I was more skilled than the other staff at things like inputting data an??d designing layouts. I also felt that I could compete well by using the difference in my past work experience. And then just speed, I guess. I thought?? that I would be in trouble unless I could thoroughly show that I was able to work faster and complete more work than others.

DFG: I believe that the role of a director is the kind of thing that can鈥檛 be taught, even if you try to teach it. Therefore, they鈥檙e incredibly valuable. When you look at those working as directors these days, many? have been directors from the beginning, or some incident caused them to be thrust into the role, and upon which, they managed to succeed. In that sense, how do you think your sensibility as a director ??took root?

SUDA51: The first thing that I was conscious of, was just trying to survive at the company. Rather than the idea of 鈥淚 want to be a director,鈥?it was more 鈥淚 want to make games at Human,鈥?and 鈥淚 want to become the best in the planning department.鈥?It may have been that I had a clear se??nse of wanting to achieve the goals in front of me, one by one.

DFG: Were there any things that you did to d??ifferenti??ate yourself from other people?

SUDA51: Hmm, rather than doing anything special, I feel like it was just about gaining recog??nition by ??completing things step by step.

DFG: In your current position, I鈥檓 sure that there are times you assign others to the role of director. At such a? time, is there a certain something that a person has that prompts you to put them into that role? Or are there times where you think someone is lacking in something and that they would struggle as a director? How do you feel regarding those aspects?

SUDA51: I think that those who go beyond the tasks that are assigned to them are suited to being directors. Like wanting to do more tha??n you鈥檝e been given, or getting more involved on your own, and doing all the unreasonable things that are asked of you.

For example, I鈥檒l do something like ask the staff who have never written a scenario before, to try writing one. Some of them will happily complete such a task, and those are the kinds of people that I think could be suited to directing. Also, take people who are skilled at drawing. There are those who will just?? draw things on their own when the designers aren鈥檛 making progress. I think they too are the kind of people suited to directing.

To put it another way, it鈥檚 the attitude of doing work for the sake of the project, even if it goes beyond the scope of your own abilities. It鈥檚 likely that the people around you will see that too. So, you could also say that you鈥檙e earning their recognition. I think it鈥檚 difficult to be accepted just by saying that you鈥檙e the director, but there鈥檚 merit to having the staff around you think, 鈥淚f it鈥檚 for this person, I want to give it another go.鈥?/p>

At first, there were a lot of programmers and such that wouldn鈥檛 speak with me at all. Which is exactly why I would stay with them as we worked through the night, and when they took a nap, I would go and buy McDonald鈥檚 for them in the morning. After they woke up, we would engage in small talk as we ate ??together. I feel like it was a build-up of things like that. Then they eventually acknowledged this strange guy who came out of nowhere as a director. That鈥檚 how, one by one, I got them to accept me. It was truly like a grassroots effort.

DFG: I see. So, in other words, you would ?do whatever it took to fulfill your role as director?

SUDA51: Yes?, that鈥檚 right. Even handling cho??res and odd jobs without complaint.

Being able to work with Shinji Mikami on Killer7 became an asset to Grasshopper

DFG: In your own mind, when was it that you felt that your games began to receive a strong response? Looking from the outside, I feel like it was with Killer7 that you received worldwide recognition.

SUDA51: Killer7 was definitely the turning point. I think that being able to work with Capcom, and thoroughl?y create something with Shinji Mikami was a considerable asset to today鈥檚 Grasshopper. The reception from around the world was greater than what we were expecting, and when we completed it, there was a sense that we had made a?? game that no one had ever seen before. I thought that we had made a game that really fit the word 鈥榥ew鈥? and that it was something that would become synonymous with me.

The response was much greater than I expected. While traveling overseas for the promotion of No More Heroes, I heard the praise for Killer7 directly for the first time, and I was a little surprised by it. Also, it was from a different media outlet, but a certain editor-in-chief once said to me, 鈥淚 was thinking of quitting and giving up on this industry, but when I came across Killer7, I thought that there may still be a future for video games. I鈥檝e decided to keep at it.鈥?That person may have forgotten all about it?? (lau??ghs), but I was elated to hear those words. I wondered if I had really made a game with such power.

DFG: I think that Killer7 was a completely different kind of game to what was popular at the time. Why was it that you wanted to make that kind of game? Did you try to go against the ?trends, o??r was it just something that happened naturally?

SUDA51: When thinking ab??out Grasshopper Manufacture in the long term, I kind of had a vision of how I wanted to proceed. Since we didn鈥檛 have a large number of staff, I wanted to start with an adventure game, then a 3D adventure game, then action-adventure鈥?That was the progression that I was thinking about how to achieve.

Killer7 was right at the time when we wanted to do an action-adventure game. Since we were doing an action-adventure, and teaming up with Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, I also felt like I had to invent something new. I decided on my own to carry the heavy burden of such a responsibility. So, with the mindset of wanting to newly conceive all aspects of the design, Kiiller7 was what I created.

So that鈥檚 why, from the story to the art to the controls, I wanted all of the design choices to be things that had never been seen before. I felt like I was building up the things that I invented, one by one. More so than aiming for a specific thing, I was conscious of Mikami-san while making the game. The whole time I thought to myself, 鈥淚 absolutely have to make something that Mikami-san won鈥檛 be ashamed of.鈥?/p>

DFG: What was it that led to you working with Mikami-san at that? time?

SUDA51: He suddenly called me out of the blue. Kono-kun [Hifumi Kono, creator of Clock Tower, Neko-zamurai (PS1), Mikagura Shojo Tanteidan (PS1), and Steel Battalion], a co-worker from my Human days, had introduced me to Mikami-san. So, I went to see Mikami-san, and he said, 鈥淪uda-san, do you want to make a game together?鈥?My reply was, 鈥淵es, of course.鈥?/p>

DFG: So, it was a request from Mikami-san?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. Mikami-san had a high opinion of Human itself. He said, 鈥淭hat company released some outrageous games, but I wonder what kind of people were in the planning depart??ment.鈥?It seems that he had been paying attention to us for a long time, and that was also part of the reason he called me.

DFG: Were there things that you learned by working together with Mika?mi-san and Capcom?

SUDA51: Yes. For example, when we had completed the prototype version, I brought it over to Mikami-san so that he could play the first stage. I was startled when he said to me, 鈥淪uda-san, can you increase the speed of the running motion to three times this? Next time I want to see it at triple the speed.鈥?The sensation that I got from playing was the feeling of an adventure game. By tripling the speed, the gam??e became incredibly fast, as you would expect. However, by making that change, suddenly it felt like the rhythm of an action game. 鈥淥h, this is it!鈥?I thought. The feeling or sense of speed was different when creating the game.

I think that Mikami-san鈥檚 skill is a result of possessing the 鈥榮ense of ??action games鈥?that he must have somehow inherited through his genes. Really detailed things such as the ?way the first step is taken after input, the feeling of speed while running, and noticing the one frame delay in the moment you aim. Maybe you could call it the play feel. He pays detailed attention to the subtleties of the reaction that occurs at the time of the button input. I truly learned a lot from that, and realised how different action games were.

DFG: So, it was more about looking at those hands-on aspects in elabor?ate detail, rather than things like planning??

SUDA51: That鈥檚 right. I received a lot of advice.

I also had asked a number of people to help out with the writing, but I was found out by Mikami-san straight away (laughs). 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 your writing is it, Suda-san? That鈥檚 no good. You have to write it all yourself.鈥?Then I said, 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 fine if I don鈥檛 write this part, right?鈥?to w??hich his response was, 鈥淣o. You have to write everything.鈥?That鈥檚 how much faith M??ikami-san had in my scenario writing ability. It was such high praise that I got a little carried away.

So, I thought to myself, 鈥淚f the things I write have that kind of power, then it would be wrong of me to not pour all of my energy into my writing.鈥?You could say that Mikami-san was truly able to get everything out of me. I think that鈥檚 how much he wanted to draw out the f??ull potential of Grasshopper. In that sense, I think that he鈥檚 also an amazing producer.

DFG: The development period for Killer7 was quite long, but wo?uld you say?? that you continued to rally together with Mikami-san?

SUDA51: That鈥檚 right. The development period was extended, sometimes littl??e by little, and sometimes in a big chunk. Mikami-san was the one who shouldere??d all of that, too.

I personally see Mikami-san as my second mentor, and I even received offi?cial approval. He once said, 鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 okay if you鈥檙e my apprentice, Suda-san鈥?(laughs).

The invigorating feeling of an action game is born from devotedly making adjustments over and over

DFG: You previo?usly mentioned the long-term outlook of Grasshopper, bu??t had you already decided in the beginning that you eventually wanted to be making action games?

SUDA51: Yes. I love action games, so it鈥檚 natural to want to make the kind of games I like, right? RPGs do??n鈥檛 really suit me.

DFG: It鈥檚 difficult to put the essence of action games int?o words, but I think there鈥檚 a certain value in that. What are your thoughts about it?

SUDA51: The development of an action game has the feeling of ma??king repeated ad??justments as you search for the sweet spot.

In Mikami-san鈥檚 words, 鈥淚n action games, there are moments when you are rewarded by the gaming gods.鈥?In fact, I鈥檝e also had a number of those moments. There are times I鈥檇 be sitting at a programmer鈥檚 desk feeling something was strange?? as I played. We鈥檇 continue to tune it, until all of a sudden, everything just clicks in an instant. For example, just by increasing the hit stop by 10 frames, or expanding the hit detection range by ??up to 1.5 times and extending the effect, suddenly there鈥檚 just a moment of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 it!鈥?It鈥檚 a feeling of building it up like that.

By adhering to, and repeating the process of adjustment and implementation, you gradually get closer to your mark. I think that鈥檚 where the invigorating feeling of action games is born. There鈥檚 no way that you could make anything interesting by only inserting things just as they are in the planning and specifi?cation documents. Things are pretty boring when you are at the stage where you have just put things together for the first time. I think that how much more intere?sting you can make it from there, is truly the result of steady tuning. So, you can鈥檛 really put it into words.

DFG: Did you also check all of those hands-on elements for your latest game, No More Heroes 3, yourself?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 correct. This time, I pai??d particular attention to the timing of moments of silence, and to how music?? plays in the moment you defeat an enemy.

DFG: I think that the combat in No More Heroes 3 has improved r??emarkably, and I wondered if that was influenced by your return to the forefront as dire?ctor.

SUDA51: Yamazaki (Ren Yamazaki) and I were both directors, and there were parts that we developed a?s a pair. Programmer Hironaka (Tooru Hironaka) created the framework for the first boss fight. I think Hironaka is probably the best at making boss fights in the industry, and it was our job to take what he had, and gradually?? tune it, making it feel even more enjoyable and interesting.

DFG: Did you work remotely, even up to the f??inal touches for thi?s game?

SUDA51: Yes, we worked completely remotely.

DFG: I鈥檝e heard from many different ??developers that remote working is fine when you are developing the core elements, but that it鈥檚 very difficult to apply the finishing touches remotely.?? What are your thoughts on that?

SUDA51: We tinkered with things remotely as much as we could, right up until the very end of t?he ?schedule. As you would expect, I wanted to adjust things as soon as I got my hands on them.

DFG: Did you attempt to recreate the feeling of sitting right bes?ide a programmer by keeping connected via Zoom the whole time?

SUDA51: Yes, we did that, and also, I would give instructio??ns in the middle of the night, which would be implemented during the day, and then I would check them again. It was like returning to the development style of ten years ago. In particular, things like motion and programming are things that really need to be done side by side, so that鈥檚 why it was important for the staff to stay connected via Zoom. We would have our screens up together so that we could work in sync.

DFG: How much of that kind of hands-on tu??ning do you do when the game is still i??n the prototype stage?

SUDA51: For No More Heroes 3, we did it surprisingly early. The fight with Henry was the first one we completed, and since that was essentially a fight between two human characters, we could use it as an extension of the previous No More Heroes games. With that, we had created one of the main loops of combat, and knew quite early on that we wanted?? to continue in that direction.

From there, we continued to develop the other boss fi?ghts, but as the fights were against aliens this time, each fight ended up being completely different. We had to adjust each fight individually, and that too??k a lot of time. We barely finished prior to the game going gold.

DFG: So, the general framework of the game was already completed in the???????????????????????????? prototype version?

SUDA51: This time, yes. For No More Heroes 3 it was on the relatively early side,? but for other titles, there are times when the?? game structure is still unfinished in the prototype stage.

DFG: Was? it due to things that you have cultivated throughout the series that you were able to complete the framework so quick??ly?

SUDA51: I think so. However, I had mostly forgotten No More Heroes 1 and 2 (laughs).聽 You start to forget after so much time has passed, so you need to play them again. With 3, there was a mindset within the team that we wouldn鈥檛 lose to 1 and 2.

This time around, the team was almost completely new. You could probably say that it was the team from Travis Strikes Again. However, there were a number of staff that had been involved with the series since 1.

DFG: How many people were in the team?

SUDA51: For Travis Strikes Again, we had less than ten people. There were external staff that also contributed, and we somehow managed to finish it. This time around, for 3, we had 20 ??core members. Thanks to Bee Tribe also helping out with a large portion, we were able to finish the amount of content t?hat was in the game.

Grasshopper-ism is the continual creation of original and inventive games

DFG: Does Grasshopper intend to continue focusing all effort on developing one game at a time, rather t??han bei??ng spread across two or three projects?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e done up until now??, and I think it鈥檚 also the basis for us moving ??forward.

In the past, there were periods where we were working on multiple projects, but at those times I thought that there weren鈥檛 enough directors, which is something you touched on before. Even if you establish multiple development lines, the responsibili?ty falls on us as the developers. That kind of burden would loom large if we were unable to deliver in the end.

Based on the experiences from those times, and since I am the face of Grasshopper, I wanted to first focus on making my own games. Recently, even overseas, they have started calling them 鈥楽uda games鈥? though I have mixed feelings on that (laughs). But I think it鈥檚 clear that the ?most important thing is to first strengthen the team that creates my own games. That then becomes a foundational pillar.

Of course, I would also like to make some indie games as a way to have the younger staff acquire more experience. I鈥檇 like to do both of those?? things together.

DFG: In that sense, do you see it as something different to simply increa??sing the scale of development beyond what is necessary?

SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. Right now, we are looking to increase the size of the team to 30 people. Within the nex??t three years, we will first increase to 50, and then carefully add more people up to a maximum of probably around 80. At that kind of pace, and considering the training of staff and new graduates, it would probably be a little difficult to have a core team of over 80 people. If you go beyond that, you start to lose the ability to function as a team.

DFG: When looking at people who create things, I think there are those that have their own evaluation standards and those that don鈥檛. So, what are the evaluation standards that you have? What kind of decisions led to the creation of games like Killer7 and No More Heroes?

SUDA51: On a serious note, since long ago, I have thought about what the word 鈥榢aihatsu鈥?[Japanese term for development] really means. I think?? that the 鈥榢ai鈥?in kaihatsu comes from the word 鈥榢aitaku鈥?[to pioneer; break new ground], and that the 鈥榟atsu鈥?comes from the word 鈥榟atsumei鈥?[invention]. Therefore, the work that we do is to pioneer and to invent. That idea lies at the foundation of my game creation.

So, it鈥檚 the same when I evaluate things. The idea of invention is very important. It isn鈥檛 very easy to do nowadays, but I want to invent or create one thing every day. It doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 only something small. For example, if I think up a button com?bination that hasn鈥檛 been done in any other game, that鈥檚 one kind of invention. If I create a new image for a character, that鈥檚 one invention. I believe that if you do that every day, then it will lead to the completion of an overwhelmingly innovative game.

It鈥檚 good if that creativity can come from within y?ourself, but I also think that it doesn鈥檛 matter who it is that invents something new. No matter if it鈥檚 a vet?eran or someone new, if an idea is inventive and interesting, then we use it.

That鈥檚 very important to me. In particular, with ideas, people who are interesting have the best ones. So, it鈥檚 better to not worry about things like pride. If someone presents an idea, it doesn鈥檛 ??matter if they are from completely different departments like a programmer or a composer. If the idea is interesting, then you should use it. I suppose that would be my evalua?tion criteria. The fact that you are a veteran means that you should do away with useless crap like pride.

It i?s the job of a director to make the most of all of that, and put everything together. Direction is being able to catch the ball, no matter the kind of pitch. To be able to handle them all with ease, no matter what kind of monsters come your way. For example, even if you are working with someone outside of the games industry, you should properly work together with that person, and manage it appropriately. In the end it鈥檚 about the experience of somehow bringing it all together with your own power.

That鈥檚 why I want everyone to pitch their balls freely. I cho?ose the best pitches among those, and eventually, I complete one game. I feel like I have always continued to re?peat that process.

DFG: How do you judge whether those ideas are g??ood or bad?

SUDA51: It鈥檚 whether I find them interesting or not.

There are staff within Grasshopper that have had long careers, incl??uding my co-director Yamazaki. So, opinions like 鈥淟et鈥檚 do this鈥? and 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 good鈥? tend to fit together nicely. You could say that makes things easier.

Thanks to the studio having been around for so long and having so many veterans togeth?er, I think that everyone has a certain 鈥楪rass?hopper-ism鈥?within them, which can鈥檛 be put into words.

DFG: How ??would you define 鈥楪rasshopper-ism鈥???or the Grasshopper style that you just mentioned?

SUDA51: I have no idea (laughs). What I kind of thought by listening to what the staff has said during other interviews, is that Grasshopper specializes in developing original games. It鈥檚 a company where it鈥檚 normal to create unique games. Looking at it the other way, I guess that means we鈥檙e not very good at cr??eating licensed games or working on existing IP.

So, Grasshopper-ism is the continual creation of original games. I think Grasshopper is a group whose specialty is being able to cons??tantly create unique things. That鈥檚 a little vague, but I think that鈥檚 who we are.

Also, we can relate through things like B movies or cult films, as those are my interests. That鈥檚 where Gundam comes into things. For example, if I make a reference to Gundam, but we have younger staff who haven鈥檛 seen it, then we watch it together. That鈥檚 the kind of culture we have. As another example, I love John Carpenter鈥檚 film They Live. So, if I make a reference to They Live, then we all watch the film together?. That鈥檚 the kind of company we are (laughs).

So, I think that everybody gets to ??enjoy some of my interests, or at least they鈥檙e a group that doesn鈥檛 find doing that too painful.

DFG: In Japan, there are many game companies that do subcontracted work. They all say that they would like to create original games, but I think it鈥檚 become a situation where not many actually have that ability. To put it another way, are there not companies who, like Grasshopper, have the resolve needed to create something original? I think t?hat more so than a technological issue, it has more to do with the mindset.

SUDA51: Rather than simply having resolve, I believe?? that it is impossible to create original games unless you change your routine. At Grasshopper, making original games has already become our routine.

DFG: What do you mean by 鈥榦?rig?inals have become your routine鈥?

SUDA51: I guess it鈥檚 an atmosphere where you鈥檙e not afraid of what kind of pitch may be thrown your way. Y?ou wait, ready to catch it no matter what. The thought, 鈥淲e鈥檙e making another strange game, huh?鈥?becomes an everyday thing, and as those days are prolonged, I think that is wh?ere you get that feeling of original games.

I of??ten hear that if you continue only creating licensed games and working on existing IPs, then you lose the ability to create original games. If in the moment that you suddenly have some freedom, you think, 鈥淣o, we can鈥檛 do this unless they tell us to,鈥?then that has already become routine. On the other hand, when people who normally work on original games are involved in a licensed game, they often think, 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 I make it how I want to.鈥?It almost feels as though that鈥檚 something that gets decided in the early stages of your career.

鈥淔rom now on, we鈥檙e going to take a full swing at each and every ball, and aim for a home run.鈥?/h2>

DFG: What do you think are the specific benefits that you gain by becoming a part of Ne?tEase?

SUDA51: When you are running an independent studio, you can鈥檛 help but consider a title to be a single point. The publisher and fanbase differs for each individual game. Since you are creating things as a studio, you have the desire to ??connect these points into a line. From a long time ago, I鈥檝e been told by var??ious people that since we are a studio known by our name, Grasshopper Manufacture, it鈥檚 a waste to not connect that with the fanbase. However, that鈥檚 something that isn鈥檛 so easy to achieve.

When we were in discussions with NetEase, w??e were told, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to talk about one or two games. To begin with, let鈥檚 look at around three titles in ten years. If possible, we would like to continue working together ?long after that.鈥?I felt that they truly wanted us.

As I said before, I want to create a line? with our works, so it was important that this relationship lasted a long time. We will create our own new IPs, develop our fanbase, and continue to expand. One of our goals is to eventually have the capability to create AAA titles.

As we aim for our i?deal image of creating AAA titles with a core t??eam of 80 people, NetEase is greatly supporting Grasshopper in our efforts to strengthen the studio.

DFG: I think that when you join a large company such as NetEase, there are often misconceptions like, 鈥淭hey got purchased,鈥?or 鈥淭hey鈥檒l get pressured from above,鈥?but it鈥檚 actually a little?? different, isn鈥檛 it?

SUDA51: Yes, it鈥檚 different.

DFG: The relationship between developers and publishers is fun??damentally one of order and supply, but in contrast, the relationship between Grasshopper and NetEase is actually closer to that of a venture company and an incubator, right?

SUDA51: Yes, it鈥檚 close to that.

DFG: I don鈥檛 think that this relationship was properly conveyed to the world. It would probably be better to more clearly explain how it is because of ??this relationship, that you can continue for the next ten years.

SUDA51: I agree. That鈥檚 an aspect that I want to carefully commun??icate.

The desire from NetEase was, 鈥淲e are not investing in you just so y?ou make games that will sell. We want you to be a fascinating studio, and we want you to create engrossing games.鈥?As a creator, it makes you happy to hear that kind of thing.

They even said that they had no problem even if we strike out each time at bat. That means tha??t I can swing as hard as I want (laughs). So, I intend to take a full swing. That鈥檚 a blessing for a creator.

I think that I will be able to create about ten more games before I die. So, for each of those ten at bats, I鈥檓 going to take full swings and aim for home runs. I don鈥檛 quite know what the definition of a home run wo??uld be in this instance, but that鈥檚 what NetEase is expecting of us.

DFG: Grasshopper has collaborated with a variety of differe??nt creators in the past. Do you think there will be any change now that you have joined NetEase?

SUDA51: Even for No More Heroes 3, we collaborated with people outside of the games industry. Nobuaki Kaneko participated with the music, and illustrator Masanori Ushiki created some incredible artwork for us. In the future, we intend to be even more active in pursuing collaborations with such artists. They will provide creative energy from a completely different place to that of our games, and give birth to something new. I鈥檇 l??ike to keep these wa?ves rolling.

DFG: I get the impression that you are always finding interesting things outside of games and then skillfully incorporating them. I think that it must be quite hard to blend ??such elements into games.

SUDA51: I actually find that a rather fun thing to do. If we only do things on our own, it starts to become famili?ar practice or a habit, right? However, if you work together with new people, you break from those habits and must once again take things on with a more serious attitude. In that way, I think it has the beneficial effect ?of creating a sense of tension.

Also, it鈥檚 incredibly fun to work with some of those fiendis?h people in other industries. There鈥檚 enjoyment in being able to handle them, and I have a sort of confidence which never wavers.

For me personally, The Silver Case was a game where I attempted dealing with that. I incorporated a variety of film techniques into a single game. Though, I guess you could say that work is much easier now when compared to those days, as filmmakers would flatly refuse reque?sts related to video games. There were times when I couldn鈥檛 convince them to film anything.

Thankfully, these days they often already know me, so it鈥檚 become easier to work without even having to introduce myself. In other words, it would be a waste to not do more. There are many interesting people throughout the world, so I think t??hat it would be a shame to not come together with these people as a family and create things.

DFG: You spoke about the confidence that you possess, but what is the reason for that confidence? When people are young, they have a kind of baseless confidence. However, as they age, that kind of confidence fades and is replaced b??y a confidence with a solid foundation. I don鈥檛 think that in itself is necessarily a good thing, but what do you think is a good balance between those two diffe??rent forms of confidence?

SUDA51: I think confidence that has a basis is ??born from experience. I?t鈥檚 a result of all of the different things you go through, including development or management experience.

The baseless part of confidence is kind of like you can no longer throw a 160km/h fastball, but you can still throw a sinker, and you鈥檙e more deceptive (laughs). I can鈥檛 really handle the large amount of work anymore. I have less time to write scenarios. Even with No More Heroes 3, I was able to write it because I knew I had to do it in a short time. In the old days, there were times when I wouldn鈥檛 be able to write anything, even if I worked through the night. However, wit??h my current lifestyle, I have to write within the limited time that I have. I suppose that I鈥檓 adapting to it, or maybe my abilities are becoming more specialized.

DFG: What kind of things do y?ou take in and learn these days?

SUDA51: I don鈥檛 think that I really take much in. I??t鈥檚 been a long time since I鈥檝e really dug deep and explored for the sake of making som??ething. If I decide to tackle certain genres in the future, then I think I鈥檇 have to delve in and do some research.

These days I don鈥檛 think that I really have to push myself too hard. Right now, I think it鈥檚 time to take all the things I absorbed w?hile pushing myself in my youth, and think about how I can thoroughly put it all on display. Also, I think it鈥檚 natural for me to observe and discover things that I see or feel during everyday life, like the scenery or atmosphere of the era.

DFG: When creating something, I think that there are around 100?? decisions that need to be made, and that it鈥檚 the director who makes those decisions. If around 90 of those 100 decisions are correct, the result is an amazing game. However, there鈥檚 a very low probability that you would make all of those choices correctly, so it鈥檚 important to have evaluation standards that are very precise. That鈥檚 why directors are so vital.

SUDA51: Yes?, it鈥檚 about judgement. It鈥檚 how you decide if something is the correct choice.

DFG: So, by making judgements based on your own standards, games like No More Heroes 3 are born. Today, I鈥檝e once again realized that your games owe everything to the fact that you are the one making them??. I鈥檓 greatly look??ing forward to the next game that you create.

SUDA51: Thank you. For that purpose, we are actively recruiting, though it鈥檚 nothing large scale. I think there are a lot of people in the industry burning with the desire to create new games. Though, there are probably many people who might think Grasshopper seems a little scary (lau??ghs).

We鈥檙e opening an incredibly cool office in March 2022, and I think there will be a surge of applicants onc?e they see it. So, I think you have a better chance of being hired if you apply now (laughs).

DFG: No More Heroes 3? was the first time in a while that you worked at the forefront in the role of director. What do you intend to do in the future?

SUDA51: I鈥檇 like to continue on our current course. I don鈥檛 think I need to act in an executive role anymore. Of course, if our younger staff were to create indie titles, then I would ??s?erve as producer.

From now on, I鈥檇 like to c??arefully create games, one at a time, so I鈥檇 like to encourage like minded people to apply. Now is truly the time.

The post Kill the past, present and future with Suda51 appeared first on Destructoid.

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From mortuaries to millions

Before creating No More Heroes, Shadows of the Damned, Killer7, and countless others, Goichi "SUDA51" Suda worked in a mortuary. Then, almost overnight, he became a game director. His primary qualification? Confidence. An outsider to the industry, he made waves from the very start, using the otherwise by-the-book Fire Pro Wrestling franchise to tell a story of nihilism and self-destruction. Twenty-nine years later and he's still doing things his own way. The biggest difference now is, he's got experience on his side. And the money probably doesn't hurt either. Last year, Grasshopper Manufacture (Suda's studio) was acquired by NetEase, a game publisher with an estimated value of 63 billion dollars. As a massive fan of Suda's work, I was afraid that this change in business partners may lead him to make more conventional games. From the sounds of this interview with Japanese site DenFaminicoGamer, (posted here in English for the first time via a translation from Grasshopper themselves), we won't have to worry about that. This detailed account of his career 鈥?packed with exclusive reveals about his past, present, and future 鈥?points to this new "NetEase era" being the most exciting, unhinged chapter in his story yet. DenFaminicoGamer: The reason for this interview is that Grasshopper Manufacture has become part of NetEase Games, and have started recruiting staff, but what was the original intention behind the founding of Grasshopper? SUDA51: During my time at Human Entertainment, I thought of myself as a director. I took over the Fire Pro Wrestling series, handling two games. Next, I was put in charge of the Twilight Syndrome team, which was on the brink of collapse, and reorganized it. Which is to say, somehow or another, I would complete whatever work that the company gave me without fail. However, after Twilight Syndrome was finished, I did things akin to in-game destruction with Moonlight Syndrome (laughs). Human was a company with a lot of freedom, so at the time, I was able to take on a variety of challenges in that manner. The reason I left Human was that I wasn鈥檛 able to make my own IP or representative work. I had the constant dilemma of not being able to create an original title. On top of that, I understood that as long as I stayed with Human, that kind of chance would not come easily, so I had to leave. Around that time, the company itself was in decline. There were things like pay delays, and just bad vibes in the air. However, after leaving Human, I visited ASCII Corporation, who had previously reached out to me, and I intended to enter their company as a regular employee. Then I was told by the people at ASCII, 鈥淣ow is the time that you could start a company.鈥?And that鈥檚 the story of how I started Grasshopper. DFG: Was the desire to create your own original IPs and have your own company something that you had been contemplating for a long time? SUDA51:Everything was a bit all over the place at Human, so I really loved the company itself. The president was eccentric, and he even hated games. Human also ran the Human Creative School, which was the world鈥檚 first video game school. Every year graduates would enter the company, so our development staff was mostly comprised of people in their twenties. I was 24 when I started at Human, so there was a huge number of staff that were younger than me, like around 22 or so. It was a maelstrom of hot-blooded youth that was almost like a zoo (laughs). I think the great part about that company was the ability to create something from nothing. They were also the originators of pro wrestling games. Ryoji Amano, creator of the soccer games, and Masato Masuda, who was my mentor, were two people who could establish the creative process and create something from nothing. The company was filled with an atmosphere that made it feel like we could rapidly develop new games, and I think we were the top sports game developer at the time. So, I always thought that I wanted to further invigorate the company from within. However, the president was caught for tax evasion, and when I woke in the morning, I experienced what it was like to have cameras from the TV station all over the place (laughs). After going through something like that, I thought, 鈥淚 probably need to get out of here鈥? and it felt like I had shifted gears. DFG:聽In regard to the specialist school that you mentioned, how did the recently graduated students create games? SUDA51: I didn鈥檛 come from the Human Creative School, but the incredible thing about it was that the students made games that were actually released. Some examples are Septentrion [English title: SOS], Dragon鈥檚 Earth, and The Firemen (All Super Nintendo games). So, in that manner, the people who join us from the school had created a game as a team in their school days. It felt like they were already semi-professional when they joined Human, so they seemed less like students and more like cocky kids, thick with self-confidence. Like 鈥淗ey, we鈥檝e already made a game, you know.鈥? You had the old timers and the new grads, and there was a lot of conflict. I was just dropped in as a mid-career guy. Those days were pretty incredible. DFG: You called them old timers, but they were also in their twenties, right? SUDA51: Yes, they were about the same age. The old timers were in their late twenties, while the new grads were in their early twenties. Even though they were all in their twenties, there was a clash of youth. As I was saying before, the new grads were at the level where they could quickly become leaders. Upon joining, they became the aces of the team. So new projects were quickly completed, one after another. I think it鈥檚 quite difficult these days to create a team of young staff, but at that time, it was common for teams of graduates to quickly come together. The teams were formed, and games were made rapidly. A game that took one year to develop was on the long side, and we were often told to develop things within three months. Waku Waku Ski Wonder Spur [Super Nintendo] was developed in only three months, and was full of bugs (laughs). I felt bad for the staff in charge. There was also a game called Yakyuu Ou [鈥楤aseball King鈥? Planned for release on the Super Nintendo, but was cancelled]. It was a legendary game where the batter would run straight toward third base after hitting the ball (laughs). At the time, Human would hold stand-alone events, and they held one at Sunshine in Ikebukuro where they played Yakyuu Ou on a huge screen. When the pitcher threw the ball and the batter got a strike, the umpire yelled, 鈥淏all!鈥?and there was a commotion in the crowd (laughs). They had made quite a mischievous game. DFG: From your point of view, do you feel like those kinds of mischievous games aren鈥檛 around these days? SUDA51: There certainly aren鈥檛 any like that. DFG: What do you think the reason for that is? SUDA51: These days, we don鈥檛 play the numbers game anymore, or rather we can鈥檛. Up until the Super Nintendo era, it was a period where if you just released a game, it would sell. The sales staff were very skilled, and it was as if, no matter the game, they would sell 200,000 copies to stores just to begin with. The sales staff would travel all over the country to entertain, and wine and dine with their clients. It was a rather vulgar time in those days, where regardless of a game鈥檚 quality, as long as you had something, it could be sold. I think that was a major part of things. In regard to judging a game鈥檚 quality, there really wasn鈥檛 anything other than Famitsu鈥檚 cross review. However, it was a time where even if the score was low, the game would sell anyway. So, as long as you had enthusiasm, you could make anything and everything. In a way, I think it was a time where even if you made a dud, you still gathered experience. These days, your career could be finished after even just one failure.

Fire Pro Wrestling was also a proclamation of my creative ability

DFG: I believe that there was a period where you started to show your individuality as a director, was that intentional? SUDA51: Yes, it was intentional. I brought my individuality to the forefront with Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special. I felt like with the game I made before that, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout, I was trying to precisely follow in the steps of the previous game, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2. It was around then that there was a major incident within Human, with the section manager at the time, Shuji Yoshida, quitting the company. I received strong backing with Yoshida-san鈥檚 parting words, 鈥淚鈥檓 quitting, but you鈥檙e free to make the next Fire Pro as you see fit, Suda-kun.鈥?My mentor, Masuda, also said to me, 鈥淵ou can do it however you want to, Suda-kun.鈥? I thought that if I could do whatever I liked, then I would throw in all the things I wanted to do. I think adding a kind of story mode to Fire Pro Special was the catalyst for me to start expressing my creativity. I think that was both a beginning, and in another way, a proclamation. DFG:聽I see, so that鈥檚 where it began. By the way, how was it that you came to be a director? SUDA51: To tell you the truth, I actually once failed the interview section of Human鈥檚 entrance test (laughs). However, by chance, that was right around the same time that Daisuke Asako, my predecessor in the Fire Pro team, handed in his letter of resignation. There weren鈥檛 any people left in the planning department who had deep knowledge of pro wrestling. That鈥檚 when someone who remembered me called me in for another interview, and I was hired by the company. My predecessor, Asako-san, was only at the company for three more days, during which he handed things over to me before leaving the company. From that moment on, I was already a director. DFG: Wha鈥?! You were a director as soon as you started? What kind of experience did you have prior to that? SUDA51:聽I had done a variety of different jobs. As for what got me involved in the game industry, it was during my time as a graphic designer when I made company brochures and advertisements for Sega as a contractor. Since I was to make advertisements for Virtua Racing, Yu Suzuki invited me to the AM2 offices. That was my first time seeing a game development environment, and I was shocked. Up until that moment, I had thought that games were made by professors. I always thought the games were made by computer experts who wore white lab coats, but they were actually just ordinary young men and women. Not to mention, they had stacks of things like Nirvana CDs on their desks. I thought, 鈥淗uh, they鈥檙e just normal people.鈥?It gave me the na茂ve idea that even I could do it too (laughs). It was then that the game industry, which seemed so very far away, suddenly felt like it entered my field of view. Or maybe you could say it suddenly felt more realistic. I thought to myself, 鈥淢aking games as a job. What could be better than that?鈥? DFG:聽So, you had never studied programming or anything like that before then? SUDA51:聽Not at all. I had no skills at all. If I had to pick out one thing as a skill, it would have been that my pro wrestling knowledge was without peer. That was what I really focused on. DFG: Before that, was there anything that made you interested in games? SUDA51: My interest in games comes from always hanging out at game centers when I was a kid. DFG: So, since the arcade days? SUDA51: It was the height of the arcade era. After the release of Space Invaders, game centers popped up all throughout the city. There was a place just beyond the highway where one play was 20 yen. I would hang around there during my days off when I was a student. DFG: You said that you worked as a graphic designer. Did you always have the desire to do some kind of creative work? SUDA51: Hmm, not a clear desire or anything like that. I worked every day in order to keep living in Tokyo, and I also got married quite early, so it felt like the next thing was to look for a job with better pay. With that in mind, working in the game industry wasn鈥檛 among the types of jobs that I was looking at. However, I received encouragement from my wife. After working as a graphic designer, I worked as a temporary employee at a funeral parlor. Undertakers make really good money. People my age were going independent and starting their own companies, and the managers would all drive to work in foreign cars. Being able to drive dream cars like a Renault 5 Turbo was pretty cool. I gradually rose in rank while I worked as an undertaker, and a number of companies even asked me if I would become a full-time employee. I also thought that I could make a good living in the industry, so I accepted my fate and told my wife that I intended to become a full-time employee. My wife said to me, 鈥淚s this why you came to Tokyo? There鈥檚 something else that you want to do, isn鈥檛 there?鈥? 鈥淚s there鈥? I guess I want to work on games or something like that.鈥? 鈥淭hen you should go for it.鈥? Then I just happened to see job advertisements for both Human and Atlus in a magazine that I bought. Only those two companies were willing to accept applicants with no experience. I sent in my application, but I only managed to catch on with Human. DFG: Why did you come to Tokyo? SUDA51: I simply wanted to go to Tokyo and get away from the countryside. That was really the only reason. DFG: Did you continue to play games even while you worked as a graphic designer and undertaker? SUDA51: Yes, but games were really expensive in those days. One game would cost 7,000 to 8,000 yen. But once the price gradually dropped to around 3,000 yen, it became a choice to either buy a game or one CD. However, I would buy Weekly Famitsu almost every week. DFG: Why was that? SUDA51: Because I loved games, of course. If possible, I wanted to play some good games. I also used it to try to convince my wife. I wanted to play the games that got a good score in the cross review (laughs).

By doing work that went beyond my own scope, I was accepted as director by the staff

DFG: When you interviewed at Human, you didn鈥檛 have anything specific in mind like director or graphic artist, right? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. If they hired me, I was prepared to do anything that they asked me to. DFG: And then you were suddenly made director as soon as you joined the company. Did it feel like fate? SUDA51: It felt like a gift from the pro wrestling gods. Things were handed over to me in only three days. I also had one of the planning staff assigned to watch over me. In the beginning, it felt like he was the director by proxy, but midway through, everything was entrusted to me. It was like, 鈥淪uda-san, you can already do this on your own.鈥?From that point on, I handled things by myself. DFG: Looking back at it now, did you ever think 鈥淲hy was I put in charge of all this?鈥? SUDA51: Since I was put in charge, I was aware that I had to persevere and get through it. There were about twenty staff members in the planning department, but only around half of those worked on the actual development. The remaining half were like jobless wanderers, every day they would do things like write proposals and submit things to the section manager. I wanted to protect my own position, or you could say that I wanted to survive in this industry. After a few days, I had a hunch that this was the right path for my life. I also thought that I would be able to utilise the know-how from the other work that I had done up until that point. The manager handed me a cardboard box containing materials for the previous game, Super Fire Pro Wrestling 2, and said, 鈥淵ou have one week to look over these and put together a specification document.鈥?I read through all the materials in one day, and I submitted the specification document in three days. At any rate, I completed the task faster than I was told to. I鈥檓 not the Red Comet [Char Aznable from Mobile Suit Gundam], but I knew that I could do the work three times faster than other people. I wanted to succeed and continue to survive within the planning department. DFG: So, is the work of a director to look over those kinds of materials, and then start by following the example of others? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. However, I think that I was more skilled than the other staff at things like inputting data and designing layouts. I also felt that I could compete well by using the difference in my past work experience. And then just speed, I guess. I thought that I would be in trouble unless I could thoroughly show that I was able to work faster and complete more work than others. DFG: I believe that the role of a director is the kind of thing that can鈥檛 be taught, even if you try to teach it. Therefore, they鈥檙e incredibly valuable. When you look at those working as directors these days, many have been directors from the beginning, or some incident caused them to be thrust into the role, and upon which, they managed to succeed. In that sense, how do you think your sensibility as a director took root? SUDA51: The first thing that I was conscious of, was just trying to survive at the company. Rather than the idea of 鈥淚 want to be a director,鈥?it was more 鈥淚 want to make games at Human,鈥?and 鈥淚 want to become the best in the planning department.鈥?It may have been that I had a clear sense of wanting to achieve the goals in front of me, one by one. DFG: Were there any things that you did to differentiate yourself from other people? SUDA51: Hmm, rather than doing anything special, I feel like it was just about gaining recognition by completing things step by step. DFG: In your current position, I鈥檓 sure that there are times you assign others to the role of director. At such a time, is there a certain something that a person has that prompts you to put them into that role? Or are there times where you think someone is lacking in something and that they would struggle as a director? How do you feel regarding those aspects? SUDA51: I think that those who go beyond the tasks that are assigned to them are suited to being directors. Like wanting to do more than you鈥檝e been given, or getting more involved on your own, and doing all the unreasonable things that are asked of you. For example, I鈥檒l do something like ask the staff who have never written a scenario before, to try writing one. Some of them will happily complete such a task, and those are the kinds of people that I think could be suited to directing. Also, take people who are skilled at drawing. There are those who will just draw things on their own when the designers aren鈥檛 making progress. I think they too are the kind of people suited to directing. To put it another way, it鈥檚 the attitude of doing work for the sake of the project, even if it goes beyond the scope of your own abilities. It鈥檚 likely that the people around you will see that too. So, you could also say that you鈥檙e earning their recognition. I think it鈥檚 difficult to be accepted just by saying that you鈥檙e the director, but there鈥檚 merit to having the staff around you think, 鈥淚f it鈥檚 for this person, I want to give it another go.鈥? At first, there were a lot of programmers and such that wouldn鈥檛 speak with me at all. Which is exactly why I would stay with them as we worked through the night, and when they took a nap, I would go and buy McDonald鈥檚 for them in the morning. After they woke up, we would engage in small talk as we ate together. I feel like it was a build-up of things like that. Then they eventually acknowledged this strange guy who came out of nowhere as a director. That鈥檚 how, one by one, I got them to accept me. It was truly like a grassroots effort. DFG: I see. So, in other words, you would do whatever it took to fulfill your role as director? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. Even handling chores and odd jobs without complaint.

Being able to work with Shinji Mikami on Killer7 became an asset to Grasshopper

DFG: In your own mind, when was it that you felt that your games began to receive a strong response? Looking from the outside, I feel like it was with Killer7 that you received worldwide recognition. SUDA51: Killer7 was definitely the turning point. I think that being able to work with Capcom, and thoroughly create something with Shinji Mikami was a considerable asset to today鈥檚 Grasshopper. The reception from around the world was greater than what we were expecting, and when we completed it, there was a sense that we had made a game that no one had ever seen before. I thought that we had made a game that really fit the word 鈥榥ew鈥? and that it was something that would become synonymous with me. The response was much greater than I expected. While traveling overseas for the promotion of No More Heroes, I heard the praise for Killer7 directly for the first time, and I was a little surprised by it. Also, it was from a different media outlet, but a certain editor-in-chief once said to me, 鈥淚 was thinking of quitting and giving up on this industry, but when I came across Killer7, I thought that there may still be a future for video games. I鈥檝e decided to keep at it.鈥?That person may have forgotten all about it (laughs), but I was elated to hear those words. I wondered if I had really made a game with such power. DFG: I think that Killer7 was a completely different kind of game to what was popular at the time. Why was it that you wanted to make that kind of game? Did you try to go against the trends, or was it just something that happened naturally? SUDA51: When thinking about Grasshopper Manufacture in the long term, I kind of had a vision of how I wanted to proceed. Since we didn鈥檛 have a large number of staff, I wanted to start with an adventure game, then a 3D adventure game, then action-adventure鈥?That was the progression that I was thinking about how to achieve. Killer7 was right at the time when we wanted to do an action-adventure game. Since we were doing an action-adventure, and teaming up with Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, I also felt like I had to invent something new. I decided on my own to carry the heavy burden of such a responsibility. So, with the mindset of wanting to newly conceive all aspects of the design, Kiiller7 was what I created. So that鈥檚 why, from the story to the art to the controls, I wanted all of the design choices to be things that had never been seen before. I felt like I was building up the things that I invented, one by one. More so than aiming for a specific thing, I was conscious of Mikami-san while making the game. The whole time I thought to myself, 鈥淚 absolutely have to make something that Mikami-san won鈥檛 be ashamed of.鈥? DFG: What was it that led to you working with Mikami-san at that time? SUDA51: He suddenly called me out of the blue. Kono-kun [Hifumi Kono, creator of Clock Tower, Neko-zamurai (PS1), Mikagura Shojo Tanteidan (PS1), and Steel Battalion], a co-worker from my Human days, had introduced me to Mikami-san. So, I went to see Mikami-san, and he said, 鈥淪uda-san, do you want to make a game together?鈥?My reply was, 鈥淵es, of course.鈥? DFG: So, it was a request from Mikami-san? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. Mikami-san had a high opinion of Human itself. He said, 鈥淭hat company released some outrageous games, but I wonder what kind of people were in the planning department.鈥?It seems that he had been paying attention to us for a long time, and that was also part of the reason he called me. DFG: Were there things that you learned by working together with Mikami-san and Capcom? SUDA51: Yes. For example, when we had completed the prototype version, I brought it over to Mikami-san so that he could play the first stage. I was startled when he said to me, 鈥淪uda-san, can you increase the speed of the running motion to three times this? Next time I want to see it at triple the speed.鈥?The sensation that I got from playing was the feeling of an adventure game. By tripling the speed, the game became incredibly fast, as you would expect. However, by making that change, suddenly it felt like the rhythm of an action game. 鈥淥h, this is it!鈥?I thought. The feeling or sense of speed was different when creating the game. I think that Mikami-san鈥檚 skill is a result of possessing the 鈥榮ense of action games鈥?that he must have somehow inherited through his genes. Really detailed things such as the way the first step is taken after input, the feeling of speed while running, and noticing the one frame delay in the moment you aim. Maybe you could call it the play feel. He pays detailed attention to the subtleties of the reaction that occurs at the time of the button input. I truly learned a lot from that, and realised how different action games were. DFG: So, it was more about looking at those hands-on aspects in elaborate detail, rather than things like planning? SUDA51: That鈥檚 right. I received a lot of advice. I also had asked a number of people to help out with the writing, but I was found out by Mikami-san straight away (laughs). 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 your writing is it, Suda-san? That鈥檚 no good. You have to write it all yourself.鈥?Then I said, 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 fine if I don鈥檛 write this part, right?鈥?to which his response was, 鈥淣o. You have to write everything.鈥?That鈥檚 how much faith Mikami-san had in my scenario writing ability. It was such high praise that I got a little carried away. So, I thought to myself, 鈥淚f the things I write have that kind of power, then it would be wrong of me to not pour all of my energy into my writing.鈥?You could say that Mikami-san was truly able to get everything out of me. I think that鈥檚 how much he wanted to draw out the full potential of Grasshopper. In that sense, I think that he鈥檚 also an amazing producer. DFG: The development period for Killer7 was quite long, but would you say that you continued to rally together with Mikami-san? SUDA51: That鈥檚 right. The development period was extended, sometimes little by little, and sometimes in a big chunk. Mikami-san was the one who shouldered all of that, too. I personally see Mikami-san as my second mentor, and I even received official approval. He once said, 鈥淚 guess it鈥檚 okay if you鈥檙e my apprentice, Suda-san鈥?(laughs).

The invigorating feeling of an action game is born from devotedly making adjustments over and over

DFG: You previously mentioned the long-term outlook of Grasshopper, but had you already decided in the beginning that you eventually wanted to be making action games? SUDA51: Yes. I love action games, so it鈥檚 natural to want to make the kind of games I like, right? RPGs don鈥檛 really suit me. DFG: It鈥檚 difficult to put the essence of action games into words, but I think there鈥檚 a certain value in that. What are your thoughts about it? SUDA51: The development of an action game has the feeling of making repeated adjustments as you search for the sweet spot. In Mikami-san鈥檚 words, 鈥淚n action games, there are moments when you are rewarded by the gaming gods.鈥?In fact, I鈥檝e also had a number of those moments. There are times I鈥檇 be sitting at a programmer鈥檚 desk feeling something was strange as I played. We鈥檇 continue to tune it, until all of a sudden, everything just clicks in an instant. For example, just by increasing the hit stop by 10 frames, or expanding the hit detection range by up to 1.5 times and extending the effect, suddenly there鈥檚 just a moment of 鈥淭hat鈥檚 it!鈥?It鈥檚 a feeling of building it up like that. By adhering to, and repeating the process of adjustment and implementation, you gradually get closer to your mark. I think that鈥檚 where the invigorating feeling of action games is born. There鈥檚 no way that you could make anything interesting by only inserting things just as they are in the planning and specification documents. Things are pretty boring when you are at the stage where you have just put things together for the first time. I think that how much more interesting you can make it from there, is truly the result of steady tuning. So, you can鈥檛 really put it into words. DFG: Did you also check all of those hands-on elements for your latest game, No More Heroes 3, yourself? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 correct. This time, I paid particular attention to the timing of moments of silence, and to how music plays in the moment you defeat an enemy. DFG: I think that the combat in No More Heroes 3 has improved remarkably, and I wondered if that was influenced by your return to the forefront as director. SUDA51: Yamazaki (Ren Yamazaki) and I were both directors, and there were parts that we developed as a pair. Programmer Hironaka (Tooru Hironaka) created the framework for the first boss fight. I think Hironaka is probably the best at making boss fights in the industry, and it was our job to take what he had, and gradually tune it, making it feel even more enjoyable and interesting. DFG: Did you work remotely, even up to the final touches for this game? SUDA51: Yes, we worked completely remotely. DFG: I鈥檝e heard from many different developers that remote working is fine when you are developing the core elements, but that it鈥檚 very difficult to apply the finishing touches remotely. What are your thoughts on that? SUDA51: We tinkered with things remotely as much as we could, right up until the very end of the schedule. As you would expect, I wanted to adjust things as soon as I got my hands on them. DFG: Did you attempt to recreate the feeling of sitting right beside a programmer by keeping connected via Zoom the whole time? SUDA51: Yes, we did that, and also, I would give instructions in the middle of the night, which would be implemented during the day, and then I would check them again. It was like returning to the development style of ten years ago. In particular, things like motion and programming are things that really need to be done side by side, so that鈥檚 why it was important for the staff to stay connected via Zoom. We would have our screens up together so that we could work in sync. DFG: How much of that kind of hands-on tuning do you do when the game is still in the prototype stage? SUDA51: For No More Heroes 3, we did it surprisingly early. The fight with Henry was the first one we completed, and since that was essentially a fight between two human characters, we could use it as an extension of the previous No More Heroes games. With that, we had created one of the main loops of combat, and knew quite early on that we wanted to continue in that direction. From there, we continued to develop the other boss fights, but as the fights were against aliens this time, each fight ended up being completely different. We had to adjust each fight individually, and that took a lot of time. We barely finished prior to the game going gold. DFG: So, the general framework of the game was already completed in the prototype version? SUDA51: This time, yes. For No More Heroes 3 it was on the relatively early side, but for other titles, there are times when the game structure is still unfinished in the prototype stage. DFG: Was it due to things that you have cultivated throughout the series that you were able to complete the framework so quickly? SUDA51: I think so. However, I had mostly forgotten No More Heroes 1 and 2 (laughs).聽 You start to forget after so much time has passed, so you need to play them again. With 3, there was a mindset within the team that we wouldn鈥檛 lose to 1 and 2. This time around, the team was almost completely new. You could probably say that it was the team from Travis Strikes Again. However, there were a number of staff that had been involved with the series since 1. DFG: How many people were in the team? SUDA51: For Travis Strikes Again, we had less than ten people. There were external staff that also contributed, and we somehow managed to finish it. This time around, for 3, we had 20 core members. Thanks to Bee Tribe also helping out with a large portion, we were able to finish the amount of content that was in the game.

Grasshopper-ism is the continual creation of original and inventive games

DFG: Does Grasshopper intend to continue focusing all effort on developing one game at a time, rather than being spread across two or three projects? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e done up until now, and I think it鈥檚 also the basis for us moving forward. In the past, there were periods where we were working on multiple projects, but at those times I thought that there weren鈥檛 enough directors, which is something you touched on before. Even if you establish multiple development lines, the responsibility falls on us as the developers. That kind of burden would loom large if we were unable to deliver in the end. Based on the experiences from those times, and since I am the face of Grasshopper, I wanted to first focus on making my own games. Recently, even overseas, they have started calling them 鈥楽uda games鈥? though I have mixed feelings on that (laughs). But I think it鈥檚 clear that the most important thing is to first strengthen the team that creates my own games. That then becomes a foundational pillar. Of course, I would also like to make some indie games as a way to have the younger staff acquire more experience. I鈥檇 like to do both of those things together. DFG: In that sense, do you see it as something different to simply increasing the scale of development beyond what is necessary? SUDA51: Yes, that鈥檚 right. Right now, we are looking to increase the size of the team to 30 people. Within the next three years, we will first increase to 50, and then carefully add more people up to a maximum of probably around 80. At that kind of pace, and considering the training of staff and new graduates, it would probably be a little difficult to have a core team of over 80 people. If you go beyond that, you start to lose the ability to function as a team. DFG: When looking at people who create things, I think there are those that have their own evaluation standards and those that don鈥檛. So, what are the evaluation standards that you have? What kind of decisions led to the creation of games like Killer7 and No More Heroes? SUDA51: On a serious note, since long ago, I have thought about what the word 鈥榢aihatsu鈥?[Japanese term for development] really means. I think that the 鈥榢ai鈥?in kaihatsu comes from the word 鈥榢aitaku鈥?[to pioneer; break new ground], and that the 鈥榟atsu鈥?comes from the word 鈥榟atsumei鈥?[invention]. Therefore, the work that we do is to pioneer and to invent. That idea lies at the foundation of my game creation. So, it鈥檚 the same when I evaluate things. The idea of invention is very important. It isn鈥檛 very easy to do nowadays, but I want to invent or create one thing every day. It doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 only something small. For example, if I think up a button combination that hasn鈥檛 been done in any other game, that鈥檚 one kind of invention. If I create a new image for a character, that鈥檚 one invention. I believe that if you do that every day, then it will lead to the completion of an overwhelmingly innovative game. It鈥檚 good if that creativity can come from within yourself, but I also think that it doesn鈥檛 matter who it is that invents something new. No matter if it鈥檚 a veteran or someone new, if an idea is inventive and interesting, then we use it. That鈥檚 very important to me. In particular, with ideas, people who are interesting have the best ones. So, it鈥檚 better to not worry about things like pride. If someone presents an idea, it doesn鈥檛 matter if they are from completely different departments like a programmer or a composer. If the idea is interesting, then you should use it. I suppose that would be my evaluation criteria. The fact that you are a veteran means that you should do away with useless crap like pride. It is the job of a director to make the most of all of that, and put everything together. Direction is being able to catch the ball, no matter the kind of pitch. To be able to handle them all with ease, no matter what kind of monsters come your way. For example, even if you are working with someone outside of the games industry, you should properly work together with that person, and manage it appropriately. In the end it鈥檚 about the experience of somehow bringing it all together with your own power. That鈥檚 why I want everyone to pitch their balls freely. I choose the best pitches among those, and eventually, I complete one game. I feel like I have always continued to repeat that process. DFG: How do you judge whether those ideas are good or bad? SUDA51: It鈥檚 whether I find them interesting or not. There are staff within Grasshopper that have had long careers, including my co-director Yamazaki. So, opinions like 鈥淟et鈥檚 do this鈥? and 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 good鈥? tend to fit together nicely. You could say that makes things easier. Thanks to the studio having been around for so long and having so many veterans together, I think that everyone has a certain 鈥楪rasshopper-ism鈥?within them, which can鈥檛 be put into words. DFG: How would you define 鈥楪rasshopper-ism鈥?or the Grasshopper style that you just mentioned? SUDA51: I have no idea (laughs). What I kind of thought by listening to what the staff has said during other interviews, is that Grasshopper specializes in developing original games. It鈥檚 a company where it鈥檚 normal to create unique games. Looking at it the other way, I guess that means we鈥檙e not very good at creating licensed games or working on existing IP. So, Grasshopper-ism is the continual creation of original games. I think Grasshopper is a group whose specialty is being able to constantly create unique things. That鈥檚 a little vague, but I think that鈥檚 who we are. Also, we can relate through things like B movies or cult films, as those are my interests. That鈥檚 where Gundam comes into things. For example, if I make a reference to Gundam, but we have younger staff who haven鈥檛 seen it, then we watch it together. That鈥檚 the kind of culture we have. As another example, I love John Carpenter鈥檚 film They Live. So, if I make a reference to They Live, then we all watch the film together. That鈥檚 the kind of company we are (laughs). So, I think that everybody gets to enjoy some of my interests, or at least they鈥檙e a group that doesn鈥檛 find doing that too painful. DFG: In Japan, there are many game companies that do subcontracted work. They all say that they would like to create original games, but I think it鈥檚 become a situation where not many actually have that ability. To put it another way, are there not companies who, like Grasshopper, have the resolve needed to create something original? I think that more so than a technological issue, it has more to do with the mindset. SUDA51: Rather than simply having resolve, I believe that it is impossible to create original games unless you change your routine. At Grasshopper, making original games has already become our routine. DFG: What do you mean by 鈥榦riginals have become your routine鈥? SUDA51: I guess it鈥檚 an atmosphere where you鈥檙e not afraid of what kind of pitch may be thrown your way. You wait, ready to catch it no matter what. The thought, 鈥淲e鈥檙e making another strange game, huh?鈥?becomes an everyday thing, and as those days are prolonged, I think that is where you get that feeling of original games. I often hear that if you continue only creating licensed games and working on existing IPs, then you lose the ability to create original games. If in the moment that you suddenly have some freedom, you think, 鈥淣o, we can鈥檛 do this unless they tell us to,鈥?then that has already become routine. On the other hand, when people who normally work on original games are involved in a licensed game, they often think, 鈥淲hy can鈥檛 I make it how I want to.鈥?It almost feels as though that鈥檚 something that gets decided in the early stages of your career.

鈥淔rom now on, we鈥檙e going to take a full swing at each and every ball, and aim for a home run.鈥?/h2> DFG: What do you think are the specific benefits that you gain by becoming a part of NetEase? SUDA51: When you are running an independent studio, you can鈥檛 help but consider a title to be a single point. The publisher and fanbase differs for each individual game. Since you are creating things as a studio, you have the desire to connect these points into a line. From a long time ago, I鈥檝e been told by various people that since we are a studio known by our name, Grasshopper Manufacture, it鈥檚 a waste to not connect that with the fanbase. However, that鈥檚 something that isn鈥檛 so easy to achieve. When we were in discussions with NetEase, we were told, 鈥淲e don鈥檛 want to talk about one or two games. To begin with, let鈥檚 look at around three titles in ten years. If possible, we would like to continue working together long after that.鈥?I felt that they truly wanted us. As I said before, I want to create a line with our works, so it was important that this relationship lasted a long time. We will create our own new IPs, develop our fanbase, and continue to expand. One of our goals is to eventually have the capability to create AAA titles. As we aim for our ideal image of creating AAA titles with a core team of 80 people, NetEase is greatly supporting Grasshopper in our efforts to strengthen the studio. DFG: I think that when you join a large company such as NetEase, there are often misconceptions like, 鈥淭hey got purchased,鈥?or 鈥淭hey鈥檒l get pressured from above,鈥?but it鈥檚 actually a little different, isn鈥檛 it? SUDA51: Yes, it鈥檚 different. DFG: The relationship between developers and publishers is fundamentally one of order and supply, but in contrast, the relationship between Grasshopper and NetEase is actually closer to that of a venture company and an incubator, right? SUDA51: Yes, it鈥檚 close to that. DFG: I don鈥檛 think that this relationship was properly conveyed to the world. It would probably be better to more clearly explain how it is because of this relationship, that you can continue for the next ten years. SUDA51: I agree. That鈥檚 an aspect that I want to carefully communicate. The desire from NetEase was, 鈥淲e are not investing in you just so you make games that will sell. We want you to be a fascinating studio, and we want you to create engrossing games.鈥?As a creator, it makes you happy to hear that kind of thing. They even said that they had no problem even if we strike out each time at bat. That means that I can swing as hard as I want (laughs). So, I intend to take a full swing. That鈥檚 a blessing for a creator. I think that I will be able to create about ten more games before I die. So, for each of those ten at bats, I鈥檓 going to take full swings and aim for home runs. I don鈥檛 quite know what the definition of a home run would be in this instance, but that鈥檚 what NetEase is expecting of us. DFG: Grasshopper has collaborated with a variety of different creators in the past. Do you think there will be any change now that you have joined NetEase? SUDA51: Even for No More Heroes 3, we collaborated with people outside of the games industry. Nobuaki Kaneko participated with the music, and illustrator Masanori Ushiki created some incredible artwork for us. In the future, we intend to be even more active in pursuing collaborations with such artists. They will provide creative energy from a completely different place to that of our games, and give birth to something new. I鈥檇 like to keep these waves rolling. DFG: I get the impression that you are always finding interesting things outside of games and then skillfully incorporating them. I think that it must be quite hard to blend such elements into games. SUDA51: I actually find that a rather fun thing to do. If we only do things on our own, it starts to become familiar practice or a habit, right? However, if you work together with new people, you break from those habits and must once again take things on with a more serious attitude. In that way, I think it has the beneficial effect of creating a sense of tension. Also, it鈥檚 incredibly fun to work with some of those fiendish people in other industries. There鈥檚 enjoyment in being able to handle them, and I have a sort of confidence which never wavers. For me personally, The Silver Case was a game where I attempted dealing with that. I incorporated a variety of film techniques into a single game. Though, I guess you could say that work is much easier now when compared to those days, as filmmakers would flatly refuse requests related to video games. There were times when I couldn鈥檛 convince them to film anything. Thankfully, these days they often already know me, so it鈥檚 become easier to work without even having to introduce myself. In other words, it would be a waste to not do more. There are many interesting people throughout the world, so I think that it would be a shame to not come together with these people as a family and create things. DFG: You spoke about the confidence that you possess, but what is the reason for that confidence? When people are young, they have a kind of baseless confidence. However, as they age, that kind of confidence fades and is replaced by a confidence with a solid foundation. I don鈥檛 think that in itself is necessarily a good thing, but what do you think is a good balance between those two different forms of confidence? SUDA51: I think confidence that has a basis is born from experience. It鈥檚 a result of all of the different things you go through, including development or management experience. The baseless part of confidence is kind of like you can no longer throw a 160km/h fastball, but you can still throw a sinker, and you鈥檙e more deceptive (laughs). I can鈥檛 really handle the large amount of work anymore. I have less time to write scenarios. Even with No More Heroes 3, I was able to write it because I knew I had to do it in a short time. In the old days, there were times when I wouldn鈥檛 be able to write anything, even if I worked through the night. However, with my current lifestyle, I have to write within the limited time that I have. I suppose that I鈥檓 adapting to it, or maybe my abilities are becoming more specialized. DFG: What kind of things do you take in and learn these days? SUDA51: I don鈥檛 think that I really take much in. It鈥檚 been a long time since I鈥檝e really dug deep and explored for the sake of making something. If I decide to tackle certain genres in the future, then I think I鈥檇 have to delve in and do some research. These days I don鈥檛 think that I really have to push myself too hard. Right now, I think it鈥檚 time to take all the things I absorbed while pushing myself in my youth, and think about how I can thoroughly put it all on display. Also, I think it鈥檚 natural for me to observe and discover things that I see or feel during everyday life, like the scenery or atmosphere of the era. DFG: When creating something, I think that there are around 100 decisions that need to be made, and that it鈥檚 the director who makes those decisions. If around 90 of those 100 decisions are correct, the result is an amazing game. However, there鈥檚 a very low probability that you would make all of those choices correctly, so it鈥檚 important to have evaluation standards that are very precise. That鈥檚 why directors are so vital. SUDA51: Yes, it鈥檚 about judgement. It鈥檚 how you decide if something is the correct choice. DFG: So, by making judgements based on your own standards, games like No More Heroes 3 are born. Today, I鈥檝e once again realized that your games owe everything to the fact that you are the one making them. I鈥檓 greatly looking forward to the next game that you create. SUDA51: Thank you. For that purpose, we are actively recruiting, though it鈥檚 nothing large scale. I think there are a lot of people in the industry burning with the desire to create new games. Though, there are probably many people who might think Grasshopper seems a little scary (laughs). We鈥檙e opening an incredibly cool office in March 2022, and I think there will be a surge of applicants once they see it. So, I think you have a better chance of being hired if you apply now (laughs). DFG: No More Heroes 3 was the first time in a while that you worked at the forefront in the role of director. What do you intend to do in the future? SUDA51: I鈥檇 like to continue on our current course. I don鈥檛 think I need to act in an executive role anymore. Of course, if our younger staff were to create indie titles, then I would serve as producer. From now on, I鈥檇 like to carefully create games, one at a time, so I鈥檇 like to encourage like minded people to apply. Now is truly the time.

The post Kill the past, present and future with Suda51 appeared first on Destructoid.

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PAX East 2022 is already a catastrophe

I picked up my PAX East 2022 badge last night, and I found a strange note attached to it. The note, written in crayon, instructed me to go under the nearby footbridge for a meeting at 9PM. I know a lot of strange people in the industry, so this wasn't all that surprising. Also, I'm a 45-year-old video game blogger. The chances of me being seen as valuable enough to be kidnapped are (hopefully) pre?tty slim. So I packed up my valuables in my car, called my wife and son to tell them I love them, and headed under the bridge.

There was a little door down there, about four feet high, with the words "KEBAKO'S MIGHTY MIGHTY MIGHTY PAX BOOTH" drawn on ??with sparkly puff paint. There was no doorknob, but I managed to pry it open with my fingernails. That was risky, as the door w?as very rusty. I crawled in and the door drifted shut behind me.

It was pitch black, so I whipped out my phone and used it as a crappy f??lashlight. I also hit the record button on my audio notepad app. If I was going to die down there, I at least wanted some record of my ill-advised final moments.

But I didn't die. Instead, I took the recording of what happened and turned it into a video. The visuals are just f?or reenactment purposes, but every??thing you hear is 100% real.

[embed]//www.youtu?be.co??m/watch?v=b8dfBFKxEWM[/embed]

So what just happened to me?

My guess is that this was all to promote Limited Run Games' release of Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche. I have quite the history with the game, being one of the first people to report on it being a legi?tima?te WayForward original, so I wasn't entirely surprised that I got some "special treatment" from the team behind it. ?But discovering that Kebako, the titular cat girl, is a real person? That was a shock to even ??me.

And the bonuses in the Cat Girl Without Salad Limited Run Collector's Edition are jus??t as real. Real money. Real robot squids. Even real tattoos! For a game that many thought was just a joke, this is a seriously cool package.

The Collector's Edition and Regular Edition of聽Cat Girl Without Salad are both on sa?le at Limited Run until May 1, 2022, without salad or any plans for a future re-release, so grab this bowl of colorful brain candy by the ton?gs and dig in while you can.

The post Cat Girl Wi?thout Salad star claims to be real,? tells you to buy her Limited Run game appeared first on Destructoid.

]]>

PAX East 2022 is already a catastrophe

I picked up my PAX East 2022 badge last night, and I found a strange note attached to it. The note, written in crayon, instructed me to go under the nearby footbridge for a meeting at 9PM. I know a lot of strange people in the industry, so this wasn't all that surprising. Also, I'm a 45-year-old video game blogger. The chances of me being seen as valuable enough to be kidnapped are (hopefully) pretty slim. So I packed up my valuables in my car, called my wife and son to tell them I love them, and headed under the bridge. There was a little door down there, about four feet high, with the words "KEBAKO'S MIGHTY MIGHTY MIGHTY PAX BOOTH" drawn on with sparkly puff paint. There was no doorknob, but I managed to pry it open with my fingernails. That was risky, as the door was very rusty. I crawled in and the door drifted shut behind me. It was pitch black, so I whipped out my phone and used it as a crappy flashlight. I also hit the record button on my audio notepad app. If I was going to die down there, I at least wanted some record of my ill-advised final moments. But I didn't die. Instead, I took the recording of what happened and turned it into a video. The visuals are just for reenactment purposes, but everything you hear is 100% real. [embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8dfBFKxEWM[/embed] So what just happened to me? My guess is that this was all to promote Limited Run Games' release of Cat Girl Without Salad: Amuse-Bouche. I have quite the history with the game, being one of the first people to repo??rt on it being a legitimate WayForward original, so I wasn't entirely surprised that I got some "special treatment" from the team behind it. But discovering that Kebako, the titular cat girl, is a real person? That was a shock to even me. And the bonuses in the Cat Girl Without Salad Limited Run Collector's Edition are just as real. Real money. Real robot squids. Even real tattoos! For a game that many thought was just a joke, this is a seriously cool package. The Collector's Edition and Regular Edition of聽Cat Girl Without Salad are both on sale at Limited Run until May 1, 2022, without salad or any plans for a future re-release, so grab this bowl of colorful brain candy by the tongs and dig in while you can.

The post Cat Girl Without Salad star claims to be re?al, tells you to buy her Limited Run game appeared first on Destructoid.

]]> //jbsgame.com/cat-girl-without-salad-star-kebako-real-interview-limited-run-games-physical-collectors-edition/feed/ 0 317342 //jbsgame.com/killer-badminton-your-new-no-more-heroes-shadows-of-the-damned-crossover/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=killer-badminton-your-new-no-more-heroes-shadows-of-the-damned-crossover //jbsgame.com/killer-badminton-your-new-no-more-heroes-shadows-of-the-damned-crossover/#respond Fri, 01 Apr 2022 15:00:02 +0000 //jbsgame.com/?p=314131

The Wide Wide World of Suda-Sports

Is this another April Fools' joke, or ?did that crazy sonofabit??ch actually go and do it?

Last time w?e interviewed Suda51, CEO of Grassh??opper Manufacture, I asked him if he'd ever make a badminton game. Suda was a budding star in the sport back in his early years at school, and those days still mean a lot to him. He told us that if he were ever to do something with badminton, he'd want it to be a massive crossover between all his franchises, including No More Heroes (which his company partially owns) and Shadows of the Damned (which they fully own). Then we laughed, because what are the chance?s of anything like that ever actually happening?

Well it looks like the chances were pretty good!

[embed]//www.??youtube.co?m/watch?v=_nTOThc0SLc[/embed]

Grasshopper Manufacture All-Stars: Killer Badminton is the debut title from Little Grasshopper, the new "all-ages" division of Grasshopper Manufacture. Like Multiversus, WB's upcoming crossover fighter, it looks like Killer Badminton will be free-to-play, but with an initi??ally limited roster of characters.

It's just Travis and Garcia to start, which is a little disappointing, but it's nice to see the two finally take a few swings at each other, especially after their proposed franchise-meld in No More Heroes 3 was cut. Shoko from Liberation Maiden, Toriko from Flower, Sun and Rain, and Notorious from Fire Pro Wrestling World: The Vanishing also make cameos? at the end of the trailer. They may be in the game too, but so far I haven't see??n them.

But is it all a big joke? I don't think so, and not to toot my own horn, but my track record on these kinds of things is pretty spotless. To further add to the game's legitimacy, it looks like Tony Astro, composer of Gold Joe's theme from No More Heroes 3, did the soundtrack for Killer Badminton as well. You can get the full album on Youtube, SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

The post Kille??r Badminton is your new No More Heroes Shadows of the Damned crossover appeared first on Destructoid.

]]>

The Wide Wide World of Suda-Sports

Is this another April Fools' joke, or did that crazy sonofabitch actually go and do it? Last time we?? interviewed Suda5?1, CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture, I asked him if he'd ever make a badminton game. Suda was a budding star in the sport back in his early years at school, and those days still mean a lot to him. He told us that if he were ever to do something with badminton, he'd want it to be a massive crossover between all his franchises, including No More Heroes (which his company partially owns) and Shadows of the Damned (which they fully own). Then we laughed, because what are the chances of anything like that ever actually happening? Well it looks like the chances were pretty good! [embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nTOThc0SLc[/embed] Grasshopper Manufacture All-Stars: Killer Badminton is the debut title from Little Grasshopper, the new "all-ages" division of Grasshopper Manufacture. Like Multiversus, WB's upcoming crossover fighter, it looks like Killer Badminton will be free-to-play, but with an initially limited roster of characters. It's just Travis and Garcia to start, which is a little disappointing, but it's nice to see the two finally take a few swings at each other, especially after their proposed franchise-meld in No More Heroes 3 was cut. Shoko from Liberation Maiden, Toriko from Flower, Sun and Rain, and Notorious from Fire Pro Wrestling World: The Vanishing also make cameos at the end of the trailer. They may be in the game too, but so far I haven't seen them. But is it all a big joke? I don't think so, and not to toot my own horn, but my track record on these kinds of things is pretty spotless. To further add to the game's legitimacy, it looks like Tony Astro, composer of Gold Joe's theme from No More Heroes 3, did the soundtrack for Killer Badminton as well. You can get the full album on Youtube, SoundCloud and Bandcamp.

The post Killer Badminton is you??r new No More Heroes Shadows of the Damned crossover appeared first on Destructoid.

]]> //jbsgame.com/killer-badminton-your-new-no-more-heroes-shadows-of-the-damned-crossover/feed/ 0 314131 //jbsgame.com/yacht-club-games-mina-the-hollower-interview-intern-turned-director-alec-faulkner/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=yacht-club-games-mina-the-hollower-interview-intern-turned-director-alec-faulkner //jbsgame.com/yacht-club-games-mina-the-hollower-interview-intern-turned-director-alec-faulkner/#respond Thu, 03 Mar 2022 17:37:19 +0000 //jbsgame.com/?p=310877

On forced vacations, palette limitations, and other ruminations

"The Shovel Knight guys." That's what people call Yacht Club Games. The fact that many members of the team there worked on Contra 4, Double Dragon Neon, and many other classic IPs is often glossed over. Between five years of massive updates to his original 2014 adventure, multiple cameos in other games, and all-new titles like Pocket Dungeon and the upcoming Shovel Knight Dig, Shovel Knight casts a big shadow.

But for now, the blue burrower is taking a break, giving the spotlight on a hollower named Mina. But what the heck is ??a hollower? And why is the company's next big marque title? a pseudo-Game Boy Color game about a whip-cracking mouse?

We got into all that in an interview with Sean Velasco, co-founder of Yacht Club Games, and Alec Faulkner, director of Mina the Hollower (currently in its last hours on Kickstarter).

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7P3LNdosok

Of course, they had a lot to say about Mina, but I also wanted to "dig" into what really defines Yacht Club Games. As it turns out, this is the kind of company that sees an intern's passion for the NES games in the original Animal Crossing and takes it as a sign to hire him full-time. Not only do they discourage crunch, even in the midst of a massive Kickstarter campaign, but they also allow their staff unlimited vacation days, and force them to take at least some time off every year. And they also aren't ashamed to let you know that they may not have quite as much cheese in the bank a??s many may think.

It makes sense then that their next big game is about a tiny rod?ent who spends much of her time out of sight, concocting geo-magic underground, never sure of exactly what will happen when she pops her head up next. Ever since Yacht Club's first game, I've had a theory that each of their titles is an unintentionally autobiographical metaphor about who they are and where they're at in their careers.

We get into that too, but this time, Sean actually returned the favor. In the email chain that led to this Mina the Hollower interview, he let me know that while the rest ??of us see this...

He sees this.

And I couldn't be more flattered.

The post Yacht Club Games’ Intern-Turned-Director takes charge on Mina the Hollower appeared first on Destructoid.

]]>

On forced vacations, palette limitations, and other ruminations

"The Shovel Knight guys." That's what people call Yacht Club Games. The fact that many members of the team there worked on Contra 4, Double Dragon Neon, and many other classic IPs is often glossed over. Between five years of massive updates to his original 2014 adventure, multiple cameos in other games, and all-new titles like Pocket Dungeon and the upcoming Shovel Knight Dig, Shovel Knight casts a big shadow. But for now, the blue burrower is taking a break, giving the spotlight on a hollower named Mina. But what the heck is a hollower? And why is the company's next big marque title a pseudo-Game Boy Color game about a whip-cracking mouse? We got into all that in an interview with Sean Velasco, co-founder of Yacht Club Games, and Alec Faulkner, director of Mina the Hollower (currently in its last hours on Kickstarter). //www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7P3LNdosok Of course, they had a lot to say about Mina, but I also wanted to "dig" into what really defines Yacht Club Games. As it turns out, this is the kind of company that sees an intern's passion for the NES games in the original Animal Crossing and takes it as a sign to hire him full-time. Not only do they discourage crunch, even in the midst of a massive Kickstarter campaign, but they also allow their staff unlimited vacation days, and force them to take at least some time off every year. And they also aren't ashamed to let you know that they may not have quite as much chee??se in the bank as many may think. It makes sense then that their next big game is about a tiny rodent who spends much of her time out of sight, concocting geo-magic underground, never sure of exactly what will happen when she pops her head up next. Ever since Yacht Club's first game, I've had a theory that each of their titles is an unintentionally autobiographical metaphor about who they are and where they're at in their careers. We get into that too, but this time, Sean actually returned the favor. In the email chain that led to this Mina the Hollower interview, he let me know that while the rest of us see this... He sees this.

And I couldn't be more flattered.

The post Yacht Club Games’ Intern-Turned-Director takes charge on Mina the Hollower appeared first on Destructoid.

]]> //jbsgame.com/yacht-club-games-mina-the-hollower-interview-intern-turned-director-alec-faulkner/feed/ 0 310877 //jbsgame.com/say-goodbye-nintendo-3ds-eshop-two-cent-console-exclusive-the-queen-tv-game-2/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=say-goodbye-nintendo-3ds-eshop-two-cent-console-exclusive-the-queen-tv-game-2 //jbsgame.com/say-goodbye-nintendo-3ds-eshop-two-cent-console-exclusive-the-queen-tv-game-2/#respond Tue, 01 Mar 2022 21:30:15 +0000 //jbsgame.com/?p=310257

Long Live The Queen

The Queen TV-Game 2 starts with the distorted voice of a wistful woman. "I remember when we first met nine years ago. Love Hero was on TV." Then suddenly, her nostalgia ?turns to bitterness.

"It got fucking canceled."

Wa?it, did this random two-cent 3DS eShop exclusive just say fuck? The 3DS fucks now??? And this is how I find out?

It takes a lot of guts to add fucks to an otherwise all-ages eShop title, cursing it with an M-rating and pushing away millions of potential buyers. On one hand, it takes integrity to stick to your guns like that. On the other, it's totally self-destructive. Genuine, hopeless anger lies at the heart of The Queen TV-Game 2. I guess when the world is about to end 鈥?or in this game's case, when the onl??ine storefront you call home is about to be shut down for good 鈥?nihilism comes naturally. Now, thanks to this 3DS eShop oddity,聽you can?? hear directly from your 3DS about how bad all that really feels.

The Queen TV-Game 2 is actually the second-to-last of a series of four games on Nintendo consoles from Butterfly, an indie dev from ?Sav??annah, Georgia.

The first was Daikon Set, a 100% free Wii U eShop game from 2017. That's another one you should grab before that shop closes down. Next was Love Hero, a $1.00 3DS eShop game from 2019. Then came The Queen TV-Game 2, released in 2020, nine years after the launch of the 3DS. By that time, everyone knew the system was on its way out, but despite the futility of it all, Butterfly still squeezed out Gal Galaxy Pain in late 2021. It's a $0.50 3DS eShop?? game about computer programming, Suda51, and misery.

When taken as a whole, the four games tell a story of a developer who's sweet and optimistic at the start, then joyless and zombie-like at the end. The Queen TV-Game 2 is the bittersweet penultimate chapter in this tragedy, the one where the main ch?aracters are already infected, but they take one final pained swing for the fences before they succumb. I can't think of a better send-off for an online storefront filled with amazing, unique exclusiv??es that are about to become extinct.

Perseverance in the face of certain doom isn't just the theme of the game's narrative. It's also the key to playing it. There are three levels, each with its own secrets, and all can kill you in seconds. The first stage sends two bouncing squares at you. You have to dodge them until the time runs out, coping with hypnotic repetition of their bounces and the constant risk of sudden death. Stage two is basically Pong but for one player, but with two bouncing balls instead of one. The third and last level is a little shmup where you have to dodge those goddamn square?s again, this time while blasting a giant rabbit to death.

There are no lives. If you take a hit, the screen says "FUCK" for exactly half a second, then you either try again or give up. In the two hours or so ??that it took me to?? beat the game, I probably died 100 times. Like so many one-screen arcade titles of yesteryear, it might look like you could beat it right away 鈥?but for a long time, you just won't. It's harder than it should be, and that's what makes it compelling. Every time I lost, I wanted to prove to the game, and to myself, that I wouldn't let it win. I knew my brain could do it. I just didn't know if it would be long enough for me to hear the queen's final message.

It takes a lot for a game to inspire that kind of curiosity, and The Queen TV-Game 2 certainly doesn't much have in the way of production values to help it get there. Every screen looks like programmer art. The music sounds like it was pilfered from a smooth jazz public domain library, and th??e mechanics are bone simple. But it all fits. Frankly, I might have felt guilty paying so little for the game if it looked and sounded more expensive. That would have felt like punching a kid while they were already down.

Instead, The Queen TV-Game 2 feels lik?e it's meeting me exactly where I'm at. I gave the developers my two cents, and they gave me theirs in return. They are pissed off, and they want to piss me off too, using frustrating in-game deaths to share their feelings about the death of the eShop. But they also share the peace they've made, accepting that a??ll things must end; the 3DS eShop, video games, and everything in-between.

[embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngUqglMKnJk&t=15s[??/emb??ed]

As the game progresses, the voice-over continues, and the fact tha?t this really is the 3DS talking to you becomes unmistakable. "Things were easy when the TV was off," it says. "No one will ever fucking play? me again. You've all switched over and moved on, but it's OK."

I may have switched over, but I'll always keep my 3DS close to my chest. I'm going to miss the 3DS eShop, and I'm so glad it had one big surprise for me before it blinks off for the last time?.

The post ??Say goodbye to the 3DS eShop with this two-cent console exclusive appeared first on Destructoid.

]]>

Long Live The Queen

The Queen TV-Game 2 starts with the distorted voice of a wistful woman. "I remember when we first met nine years ago. Love Hero was on TV." Then suddenly, her nostalgia turns to bitterness. "It got fucking canceled." Wait, did this random two-cent 3DS eShop exclusive just say fuck? The 3DS fucks now? And this is how I find out? It takes a lot of guts to add fucks to an otherwise all-ages eShop title, cursing it with an M-rating and pushing away millions of potential buyers. On one hand, it takes integrity to stick to your guns like that. On the other, it's totally self-destructive. Genuine, hopeless anger lies at the heart of The Queen TV-Game 2. I guess when the world is about to end 鈥?or in this game's case, when the online storefront you call home is about to be shut d??own for good 鈥?nihilism comes naturally. Now, thanks to this 3DS eShop oddity,聽you can hear directly from your 3DS about how bad all that really feels. The Queen TV-Game 2 is actually the second-to-last of a series of four games on Nintendo consoles from Butterfly, an indie dev from Savannah, Georgia. The first was Daikon Set, a 100% free Wii U eShop game from 2017. That's another one you should grab before that shop closes down. Next was Love Hero, a $1.00 3DS eShop game from 2019. Then came The Queen TV-Game 2, released in 2020, nine years after the launch of the 3DS. By that time, everyone knew the system was on its way out, but despite the futility of it all, Butterfly still squeezed out Gal Galaxy Pain in late 2021. It's a $0.50 3DS eShop game about computer programming, Suda51, and misery. When taken as a whole, the four games tell a story of a developer who's sweet and optimistic at the start, then joyless and zombie-like at the end. The Queen TV-Game 2 is the bittersweet penultimate chapter in this tragedy, the one where the main characters are already infected, but they take one final pained swing for the fences before they succumb. I can't think of a better send-off for an online storefront filled with amazing, unique exclusives that are about to become extinct. Perseverance in the face of certain doom isn't just the theme of the game's narrative. It's also the key to playing it. There are three levels, each with its own secrets, and all can kill you in seconds. The first stage sends two bouncing squares at you. You have to dodge them until the time runs out, coping with hypnotic repetition of their bounces and the constant risk of sudden death. Stage two is basically Pong but for one player, but with two bouncing balls instead of one. The third and last level is a little shmup where you have to dodge those goddamn squares again, this time while blasting a giant rabbit to death. There are no lives. If you take a hit, the screen says "FUCK" for exactly half a second, then you either try again or give up. In the two hours or so that it took me to beat the game, I probably died 100 times. Like so many one-screen arcade titles of yesteryear, it might look like you could beat it right away 鈥?but for a long time, you just won't. It's harder than it should be, and that's what makes it compelling. Every time I lost, I wanted to prove to the game, and to myself, that I wouldn't let it win. I knew my brain could do it. I just didn't know if it would be long enough for me to hear the queen's final message. It takes a lot for a game to inspire that kind of curiosity, and The Queen TV-Game 2 certainly doesn't much have in the way of production values to help it get there. Every screen looks like programmer art. The music sounds like it was pilfered from a smooth jazz public domain library, and the mechanics are bone simple. But it all fits. Frankly, I might have felt guilty paying so little for the game if it looked and sounded more expensive. That would have felt like punching a kid while they were already down. Instead, The Queen TV-Game 2 feels like it's meeting me exactly where I'm at. I gave the developers my two cents, and they gave me theirs in return. They are pissed off, and they want to piss me off too, using frustrating in-game deaths to share their feelings about the death of the eShop. But they also share the peace they've made, accepting that all things must end; the 3DS eShop, video games, and everything in-between. [embed]//www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngUqglMKnJk&t=15s[/embed] As the game progresses, the voice-over continues, and the fact that this really is the 3DS talking to you becomes unmistakable. "Things were easy when the TV was off," it says. "No one will ever fucking play me again. You've all switched over and moved on, but it's OK." I may have switched over, but I'll always keep my 3DS close to my chest. I'm going to miss the 3DS eShop, and I'm so glad it had one big surprise for me before it blinks off for the last time.

The post Say goo??dbye to the 3DS eShop with this two-cen??t console exclusive appeared first on Destructoid.

]]> //jbsgame.com/say-goodbye-nintendo-3ds-eshop-two-cent-console-exclusive-the-queen-tv-game-2/feed/ 0 310257 //jbsgame.com/lock-on-versus-trading-cards-minit/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=lock-on-versus-trading-cards-minit //jbsgame.com/lock-on-versus-trading-cards-minit/#respond Mon, 14 Feb 2022 19:00:28 +0000 //jbsgame.com/?p=308453

Like NFTs, except good

Has the whole NFT thing burnt itself out yet? Am I helping to keep it alive by talking about them in that (hopefully) eye-catching non-sequitur of a sub-headline? Who the heck knows. One thing's for sure though, physical collectables are loads more stable and joyful than digital fart coin. It wasn't long ago that I bought some Pokemon cards for a ??stranger to the tu?ne of over $100 clams. He was overjoyed! And he paid me back within seconds. I just can't imagine that ever happening with an NFT. They're more likely to get stolen through a dildo than inhabit anythi??n?g wholesome.

The good folks at Lost in Cult are looking to spread the same kind of cheer, through both a competitive trading card game (called [versus]) and a physical book-sized magazine (called [lock-on]). The latest issue (now on Kickstarter) is Dreamcast-themed, featuring tons of original art and prose paying tribute to Sega's underdog console. There are also some great features on Breath of the Wild, Darksiders, and Doshin the Giant. It's a hattrick of apocalyptic cartoon hijinks.

[Art by $corpion Millionaire]

On the card game front, indies take the spotlight, with titles like The Binding of Isaac, Gris, and Genesis Noir taking the stage. This star-studded new lineup follows in the footsteps of the last set of [versus] cards, all of which were exclusive to Kickstarter backers of [lock-on] #2. We even got to announce a few of the cards here on Destructoid, including A Short Hike, Grindstone, and Retired Men's Nude Beach Volleyball League. Full disclosure: I volunteered to draw that last o??ne myself. I still can't believe they actually printed it.

As for the cards, we're happy to get the exclusive scoop on three more of them. Disc Room, Minit, and Dustbiters, three games co-created by J.W. Nijman (formerly of Vlambeer), are all set to join the crossover. That last one is also a kickstarted card game, following the success of other videogame/card game crossovers like The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls and Exceed: Fighting Card System (featuring Shovel Knight). They both made a ton of dough.

I think, in time, [versus] may have the same success. Its?' latest foray in crowdfunding is doing even better than the last, and its' ever-growing roster is sure to expand its' reach from there. They might even choose good old Mr. Destructoid for a guest spot someday. Despite his debaucherous past, he at l??east wears pants. You can't say the same for Isaac or that retired nude volleyball man, and they got in no problem.

The post Tak?e a Minit to Disc-uss these dreamy n?ew [lock-on] [versus] cards appeared first on Destructoid.

]]>

Like NFTs, except good

Has the whole NFT thing burnt itself out yet? Am I helping to keep it alive by talking about them in that (hopefully) eye-catching non-sequitur of a sub-headline? Who the heck knows. One thing's for sure though, physical collectables are loads more stable and joyful than digital fart coin. It wasn't long ago that I bought some Pokemon cards for a stranger to the tune of over ?$100 clams. He was overjoyed! And he paid me back within seconds. I just can't imagine that ever happening with an NFT. They're more likely to get stolen through a dildo than inhabit anything wholesom??e. The good folks at Lost in Cult are looking to spread the same kind of cheer, through both a competitive trading card game (called [versus]) and a physical book-sized magazine (called [lock-on]). The latest issue (now on Kickstarter) is Dreamcast-themed, featuring tons of original art and prose paying tribute to Sega's underdog console. There are also some great features on Breath of the Wild, Darksiders, and Doshin the Giant. It's a hattrick of apocalyptic cartoon hijinks.

[Art by $corpion Millionaire]

On the card game front, indies take the spotlight, with titles like The Binding of Isaac, Gris, and Genesis Noir taking the stage. This star-studded new lineup follows in the footsteps of the last set of [versus] cards, all of which were exclusive to Kickstarter backers of [lock-on] #2. We even got to announce a few of the cards here on Destructoid, including A Short Hike, Grindstone, and Retired Men's Nude Beach Volleyball League. Full disclosure: I volunteered to draw that last one myself. I still can't believe they actually printed it. As for the cards, we're happy to get the exclusive scoop on three more of them. Disc Room, Minit, and Dustbiters, three games co-created by J.W. Nijman (formerly of Vlambeer), are all set to join the crossover. That last one is also a kickstarted card game, following the success of other videogame/card game crossovers like The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls and Exceed: Fighting Card System (featuring Shovel Knight). They both made a ton of dough. I think, in time, [versus] may have the same success. Its' latest foray in crowdfunding is doing even better than the ??last, and its' ever-growing roster is sure to expand its' reach from there. They might even choose good old Mr. Destructoid for a guest spot someday. Despite his debaucherous past, he at least wears pants. You can't say the same for Isaac or that retired nude volleyball man, and they got in no problem.

The post Take a Minit to Di??sc-uss these dreamy new [lock-on] [versus] cards appeared first on Destructoid.

]]> //jbsgame.com/lock-on-versus-trading-cards-minit/feed/ 0 308453