News Emperor Cow Meets Tomonobu Itagaki!

EMPEROR_COW

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Premium Donor
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http://www.orochinagi.com/2015/01/emperor-cow-meets-tomonobu-itagaki

Last November, I had the chance to meet Mr. Tomonobu Itagaki at Valhallah Game Studios. We talked about many different things DOA and non-DOA related.

Here is a little snippet of the interview:
Itagaki: There are four main pillars that I concentrated on when designing DOA. On two ends of the spectrum you have Casual and Pro, and on the other ends you have Sex and Violence. The main goal was to find the perfect balance between all these four pillars. The game should not be too difficult in order for casuals and new comers to enjoy it and it should not be too easy in order not to lose the pro players. It also should not be too violent in order not to scare off any of the sensitive players and it should not be too sexy in order not to turn it into an “Ero-game” (an erotic game). This is why I put a firewall on all 4 pillars, so that no one pillar overshadows the others and a perfect balance could be achieved.

The full interview is in the link above.

I really hope you enjoy the meeting/interview and have a fun read. :)

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synce

Well-Known Member
Wow just the other day I was wishing Itagaki would do another interview. Although I wish you asked more Devil's Third questions it was great to hear about the thought process behind his games and you guys made some good points. Under Itagaki's direction TN's games definitely had an appeal that's gone now, and I think it's because of what he mentioned with the 4 pillars - DOA had the perfect balance, then you had casual/sex with DOAX, and hardcore/violence with NG. Now everything's a mess.
 

Argentus

Well-Known Member
People give him crap for calling them "his daughters" but honestly....thats how it feels creating characters with entire personalities and backstories. You can tell he still has a lot of pride for each creation.

I always wanna slap the shit out of people who try to pull the "he's just mad because doa's doing so well" bullshit excuse. NO, you can see in this interview that he, as well as a sizeable chunk of the fanbase, dislikes how DOA5 lost what made DOA special in the first place. Yes it got some gameplay adjustments that were good, but it lost virtually everything that made it DOA, all of its charm and polish.

Some of his responses that really stood out to me.

"YOU say that because you are a pro hardcore player! But I look at it from a game designer standpoint. It is almost impossible to attract new players with the way the game plays now. Look back at the older DOAs. When a new comer tries out the game for the first time, his first instinct is to just press the buttons randomly. But, those button presses usually lead to some very visually pleasing moves and even at some points lead to that beginner’s first victory. When a new player experiences this, in his mind he would think, “Hey, I think I can play this game” and would start to play it more and maybe even attract more players to play it. When you compare this to the state DOA5 is in, a new comer has virtually no chance at all. The technical gap is so huge to the point that the game will feel too awkward and this new comer will never be able to play effectively or ever get a win. A game like that would never sell. This is why they thought they can overcome this by making the game more erotic and milk you loyal players all out of your money with erotic DLC. It’s disgusting."

Its all very, very true. People who already know the game inside and out think there's nothing wrong, though, and so they argue it to death.

" It’s like this. Think of DOA as the Pacific fleet, Ninja Gaiden as the Atlantic fleet, and DOAX as the Mediterranean fleet. Each fleet is stationed in a specific location and is placed there to protect that location with its own unique rules and regulations. Team Ninja went and took all those fleets and sent them together to the North Pole!

But turning it into an “ero-game”? Just what the hell kind of market are they targeting exactly?"


I wound up just nodding my head in agreement with pretty much everything you and Itagaki said in the interview.

Love this interview, and it really does show that Itagaki, for whatever other faults he may have, is an amazing game designer because he approaches it the right way. not in a "whats the best cash grab formula" like so many others, but as an actual, imaginative, artistic, game designer.

Thanks a ton, Emperor Cow.
 

Grimace

Active Member
Lol so Itagaki - great interview thank you so much for taking the time to share it with everyone!
 

Old Bear

Member
Standard Donor
Great interview. I don't agree with everything Itagaki said but nonetheless a very good read.
 

Argentus

Well-Known Member
"The technical gap is so huge newcomers have no chance at all"

if you can't play DOA then you don't need to be playing fighters period.
Except you can just mash in, say, most 2d fighters, and even Tekken or Soul Calibur, to an extent, and be able to play by winging it.

The issue is the inevitable argument of "you can't mash at high level!" well he's not TALKING about at HIGH LEVEL, the issue is at BEGINNER level. I tried to get a friend into DOA by way of core fighters, but since you require so much studying and memorizing numbers and frame data to understand things in DOA5, he just decided he'd rather not bother, because he couldn't even play casually without a ton of practice and study first.

Hell, the only reason I could even get into it, is because I HAPPENED to pick characters that are relatively simplistic to play, with emphasis on fundamentals (Mila and Leon). I still don't have a hope in hell of getting the hang of say, Lei Fang, Helena, the ninjas, etc.
 

Jyakotu

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Standard Donor
Very interesting read. Though he says a lot of things about current DOA that I don't agree with, I always give respect to the original creators.
 

Rikuto

P-P-P-P-P-P-POWER!
Except you can just mash in, say, most 2d fighters, and even Tekken or Soul Calibur, to an extent, and be able to play by winging it.

The issue is the inevitable argument of "you can't mash at high level!" well he's not TALKING about at HIGH LEVEL, the issue is at BEGINNER level. I tried to get a friend into DOA by way of core fighters, but since you require so much studying and memorizing numbers and frame data to understand things in DOA5, he just decided he'd rather not bother, because he couldn't even play casually without a ton of practice and study first.

Hell, the only reason I could even get into it, is because I HAPPENED to pick characters that are relatively simplistic to play, with emphasis on fundamentals (Mila and Leon). I still don't have a hope in hell of getting the hang of say, Lei Fang, Helena, the ninjas, etc.

You aren't required to do any of that. It helps and augments you competitively. It doesn't stop you from hitting buttons and making stuff happen.

If your friend got that impression, I imagine you put those thoughts in his head first.
 

Doa_Eater

Well-Known Member
Pop quiz, who has complained more about Doa's over the top ero ways. A. Series creator, founder, with a harassment under his belt Tomonobu Itagaki or B Glorious, famous sjw lobbyist Anita Sarkessian. The answer might surprise you!

What is the definite definition of a new player anyway?
 

Argentus

Well-Known Member
Pop quiz, who has complained more about Doa's over the top ero ways. A. Series creator, founder, with a harassment under his belt Tomonobu Itagaki or B Glorious, famous sjw lobbyist Anita Sarkessian. The answer might surprise you!

What is the definite definition of a new player anyway?
new
n(y)o͞o/
adjective
  1. 1.
    not existing before; made, introduced, or discovered recently or now for the first time.
    "new crop varieties"
    synonyms: recently developed, up to date, latest, current, state-of-the-art,contemporary, advanced, recent, modern, cutting-edge, leading-edgeMore

  2. 2.
    already existing but seen, experienced, or acquired recently or now for the first time.
    "her new bike"
play·er
ˈplāər/
noun
  1. 1.
    a person taking part in a sport or game.
    "a tennis player"
    synonyms: participant, contestant, competitor, contender; More
  2. 2.
    a person who plays a musical instrument.
    "a guitar player"
    synonyms: musician, performer, instrumentalist, soloist, virtuoso
    "the players in the orchestra"
 
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