Berzerk!
Well-Known Member
Here is a text summary of an interview conducted with Yosuke Hayashi, leader of Team Ninja, earlier this week.
As a tournament organiser for fighting game tournaments and Australian two time DOA champion, I was contacted by the local distributor to help get the word out. We will be running some preview events and placing DOA5 at upcoming FGC majors here, and along with that came this great opportunity to interview Hayashi-san, with thanks to Tecmo Koei in the UK.
The interview was conducted via Skype and a video version of the interview will be available via Newgameplus.tv, a local video game TV show who kindly collaborated on the interview. So consider this an early preview so we can discuss what Hayashi had to say.
- Answers are a summary as I don't have direct transcription as yet, so I'm going to go by my recall of Hayashi-san's answers to the following questions (So allow for some paraphrasing!)
---
Dead or Alive is an important game for Team Ninja in its history. What about the new DOA most reflects the modern Team Ninja?
- Hayashi elaborated on the thought process behind the game and how they arrived at the concept of Fighting Entertainment, and that they also want this to be a competitive game.
What is the thing that you feel sets DOA apart from other fighters?
How do you plan for DOA to attract new players to fighting games?
- To sum up both of the above, the concept of Fighting Entertainment. While it is almost a given that Team Ninja have the best graphics, they see it as a priority to improve the competitive standing of the game. They also want to engage new players through the excitement of the Fighting entertainment spectacle, and elaborated on story mode later.
Fighting Entertainment is a theme of DOA5, but has Team Ninja thought about other DOA entertainment - like an anime series?
- Hayashi explained that when the live action film was made, that it was disappointing, and it came out the way it did, because noone from Team Ninja was involved. He could not confirm that they have any other media around the game planned, but anything they do would absolutely have the involvement of Team Ninja.
I said that I'll take that as a "definite maybe", Hayashi was coy so it's an even bet this is being explored.
What can you tell us about story mode - is this seen as a way to attract new players? (unused: DOA Dimensions had an interesting approach similar to Mortal Kombat which pleased many new players. )
- Without giving anything away, he explained that the story mode has been constructed to show more depth in the characters, and through connecting to the characters, he feels this is a way to bring new players into the game.
He also explained, with a brief comparison to Call of Duty, that the Story mode is also a large tutorial for the whole game, so new players are brought into learning the game by engaging with the story and characters.
Director Shimbori has impressed the competitive community with his enthusiasm for the game. Did he have to pitch to create DOA5? What convinced you to approve the project?
- Hayashi smiled at this and seemed to enjoy that players recognise Shimbori's energy, and explained that he is a hardcore fighting game fan.
Interestingly, Hayashi clarified that while Shimbori definitely wanted to make a new DOA, it was actually Hayashi that brought to Shimbori the suggestion to start a new project at which point they worked out they early concept together.
I'm very pleased to see the respect shown to Sega's Virtua Fighter. What influence has including AKIRA and SARAH had on the design of the regular DOA characters?
- The inclusion of the VF characters has had a strong influence on the whole game design. By including the characters Team Ninja examined the underlying logic and it brought a higher level of discipline to their application of game logic and has helped them make DOA5 a more solid game.
What is your view on balancing a game? When you see a character is strong, do you first look at raising the strength of other characters to that level?
- Hayashi had an interesting response to this, that a summary probably doesn't get across properly, but he explained that his view of balance is not simply a matter of if something is strong, to make other things stronger to match it. You have to consider the whole system and each characters advantages and disadvantages - not just to make everything "strong", but that they consider it important that the characters feel more individual.
What is your approach to ongoing balancing of the game through patches?
- Hayashi made it clear that they plan to make the game as good as they can and a complete package on the disc, and prefer not to rely on patches. Of course, if something is fatally flawed they will patch right away, but barring that, they aren't favourable to balance patches. He elaborated that they have worked hard to make the game strong and that there will be much to discover and practice to get better at. If they were to patch and change the game, then it would undermine the hard work and practice players had put in to that point.
(Unused: How will you take feedback for this, and will you look to top tournament players first?)
(Unused: Online mode looks comprehensive - will there be a replay upload option?)
What kind of DLC can we expect? Are characters ruled out? Will you consider new stages and music and of course costumes?
- Hayashi gave similar reasons as he did with patching - that players deserve to have a complete package and will practice with the game they get day one - said that there will be no additional characters.
However, music, stages, and costumes would be considered.
It seems clear that costumes are definitely on their way. He warmed to the idea of stage packs and to the suggestion that "the stages in DOA are like characters themselves".
Gameplay specific feedback/requests
Critical Burst is a new part of the game. Can you explain your reasons for including this?
- Hayashi explained in some depth that the triangle system is important to DOA but they also for competitive reasons wanted to give players another way to work around that system. And that they wanted to create an effective way for players to extend combos and get good guaranteed damage.
Top players are happy with CB and want to use it well, but have noticed it is sometimes not effective until after 4-5 hits. Would you consider shortening this to ensure it is useful? (I specified 3 or 4, and the term "shortening the window")
- I would have liked more time to tease out Hayashi's reasoning and explain player preference here, but he said that the caution they have with the CB is that the hold is an iconic part of the DOA system and that if CB is too easy to do, it would diminish the hold and make it useless.
So there you have the reasoning for CB taking a few hits, is to give players opportunity to still be able to hold.
Opinion - there should be an opportunity to explain to TN, that competitive players feel that the hold will not be diminished by CB being more available, as 3-4 opportunities to hold is still going to be very common. Unfortunately no time to elaborate in this interview.
(Unused - rolled into other hold question: Players consider the Low Hold verying strong. It can beat a high attack by ducking, and holds a low attack. Have you considered lengthening its recovery to balance this power?)
Players were very pleased that the Alpha demo made holds punishable. Would you consider keeping the hold frame data at this level? (35 frames instead of 30 frames total)
- Hayashi took a moment to explain that the Alpha demo was aimed at a more casual audience that had just picked up Ninja Gaiden, and as part of that, some elements of the game are now more hardcore (my interpretation - the systems you can use around the hold like sit down stuns etc).
He related the hold as part of both that, and - most key - that the hold in the demo was 3 point. He felt that when changing to a 4 point hold they needed to rebalance the frames of the hold.
Opinion- as above with CB, this is the other key item it would be good to further elaborate on in writing to Team Ninja, as again, slightly longer recovery does not harm the capability of the hold, but makes it more viable to punish when a person makes a mistake and holds incorrectly.
Fun/Australian/Personal
Would you like to put in an Australian character, or a Danger Zone, like a crocodile pit?
- Hayashi laughed at this and said maybe that they should. I also joked about the common lie that Australians tell foreigners about Koala's being called "drop bears" which drop from the trees on people. He got a kick out of that, so we can all take that of confirmation of Koala's falling onto players in future stages.
What would be your favourite DOA5 character?
- Hayashi with some earnesty replied Kasumi. As she is the face and covergirl of DOA in many ways, they "went through hell" to make sure she looked right under the new design, and were ultimately very happy how they turned out.
I followed by asking about Shimbori-san's favourite, and guessed Leifang (while showing a Leifang figurine) and he laughed and said that was correct.
---
What game made you want to become a game designer?
- Hayashi gave a fairly warm account of loving Mario Bros as a kid and that the joy of playing games like that which he enjoyed when he was younger, and that inspired him as a game designer to be able to give back to other people that same feeling he gets from games.
(Unused: Is there a game you admire or are playing now?)
What is your best skill or hobby outside of game design?
- The major interest Hayashi shared was in filmgoing. Unfortunately I didn't have time to press for a favourite film.
If you had to challenge another game designer to battle, who would it be?
- This was fun. Hayashi made a reference that Team Ninja's old leader had expressed a rivalry for Tekken, and so he and the team are happy to name Tekken as a rival they are happy to battle.
I would be interested to send a follow up query via email to better explain the questions around holds and CBs. It was a fun interview, and you can expect to see a few different video variations on the web once the guys at NewGamePlus finish editing.
Other than the two key followups the question I regret forgetting and would still like to ask (credit to Mr Wah) was - What happened to Bayman's Beret
As a tournament organiser for fighting game tournaments and Australian two time DOA champion, I was contacted by the local distributor to help get the word out. We will be running some preview events and placing DOA5 at upcoming FGC majors here, and along with that came this great opportunity to interview Hayashi-san, with thanks to Tecmo Koei in the UK.
The interview was conducted via Skype and a video version of the interview will be available via Newgameplus.tv, a local video game TV show who kindly collaborated on the interview. So consider this an early preview so we can discuss what Hayashi had to say.
- Answers are a summary as I don't have direct transcription as yet, so I'm going to go by my recall of Hayashi-san's answers to the following questions (So allow for some paraphrasing!)
---
Dead or Alive is an important game for Team Ninja in its history. What about the new DOA most reflects the modern Team Ninja?
- Hayashi elaborated on the thought process behind the game and how they arrived at the concept of Fighting Entertainment, and that they also want this to be a competitive game.
What is the thing that you feel sets DOA apart from other fighters?
How do you plan for DOA to attract new players to fighting games?
- To sum up both of the above, the concept of Fighting Entertainment. While it is almost a given that Team Ninja have the best graphics, they see it as a priority to improve the competitive standing of the game. They also want to engage new players through the excitement of the Fighting entertainment spectacle, and elaborated on story mode later.
Fighting Entertainment is a theme of DOA5, but has Team Ninja thought about other DOA entertainment - like an anime series?
- Hayashi explained that when the live action film was made, that it was disappointing, and it came out the way it did, because noone from Team Ninja was involved. He could not confirm that they have any other media around the game planned, but anything they do would absolutely have the involvement of Team Ninja.
I said that I'll take that as a "definite maybe", Hayashi was coy so it's an even bet this is being explored.
What can you tell us about story mode - is this seen as a way to attract new players? (unused: DOA Dimensions had an interesting approach similar to Mortal Kombat which pleased many new players. )
- Without giving anything away, he explained that the story mode has been constructed to show more depth in the characters, and through connecting to the characters, he feels this is a way to bring new players into the game.
He also explained, with a brief comparison to Call of Duty, that the Story mode is also a large tutorial for the whole game, so new players are brought into learning the game by engaging with the story and characters.
Director Shimbori has impressed the competitive community with his enthusiasm for the game. Did he have to pitch to create DOA5? What convinced you to approve the project?
- Hayashi smiled at this and seemed to enjoy that players recognise Shimbori's energy, and explained that he is a hardcore fighting game fan.
Interestingly, Hayashi clarified that while Shimbori definitely wanted to make a new DOA, it was actually Hayashi that brought to Shimbori the suggestion to start a new project at which point they worked out they early concept together.
I'm very pleased to see the respect shown to Sega's Virtua Fighter. What influence has including AKIRA and SARAH had on the design of the regular DOA characters?
- The inclusion of the VF characters has had a strong influence on the whole game design. By including the characters Team Ninja examined the underlying logic and it brought a higher level of discipline to their application of game logic and has helped them make DOA5 a more solid game.
What is your view on balancing a game? When you see a character is strong, do you first look at raising the strength of other characters to that level?
- Hayashi had an interesting response to this, that a summary probably doesn't get across properly, but he explained that his view of balance is not simply a matter of if something is strong, to make other things stronger to match it. You have to consider the whole system and each characters advantages and disadvantages - not just to make everything "strong", but that they consider it important that the characters feel more individual.
What is your approach to ongoing balancing of the game through patches?
- Hayashi made it clear that they plan to make the game as good as they can and a complete package on the disc, and prefer not to rely on patches. Of course, if something is fatally flawed they will patch right away, but barring that, they aren't favourable to balance patches. He elaborated that they have worked hard to make the game strong and that there will be much to discover and practice to get better at. If they were to patch and change the game, then it would undermine the hard work and practice players had put in to that point.
(Unused: How will you take feedback for this, and will you look to top tournament players first?)
(Unused: Online mode looks comprehensive - will there be a replay upload option?)
What kind of DLC can we expect? Are characters ruled out? Will you consider new stages and music and of course costumes?
- Hayashi gave similar reasons as he did with patching - that players deserve to have a complete package and will practice with the game they get day one - said that there will be no additional characters.
However, music, stages, and costumes would be considered.
It seems clear that costumes are definitely on their way. He warmed to the idea of stage packs and to the suggestion that "the stages in DOA are like characters themselves".
Gameplay specific feedback/requests
Critical Burst is a new part of the game. Can you explain your reasons for including this?
- Hayashi explained in some depth that the triangle system is important to DOA but they also for competitive reasons wanted to give players another way to work around that system. And that they wanted to create an effective way for players to extend combos and get good guaranteed damage.
Top players are happy with CB and want to use it well, but have noticed it is sometimes not effective until after 4-5 hits. Would you consider shortening this to ensure it is useful? (I specified 3 or 4, and the term "shortening the window")
- I would have liked more time to tease out Hayashi's reasoning and explain player preference here, but he said that the caution they have with the CB is that the hold is an iconic part of the DOA system and that if CB is too easy to do, it would diminish the hold and make it useless.
So there you have the reasoning for CB taking a few hits, is to give players opportunity to still be able to hold.
Opinion - there should be an opportunity to explain to TN, that competitive players feel that the hold will not be diminished by CB being more available, as 3-4 opportunities to hold is still going to be very common. Unfortunately no time to elaborate in this interview.
(Unused - rolled into other hold question: Players consider the Low Hold verying strong. It can beat a high attack by ducking, and holds a low attack. Have you considered lengthening its recovery to balance this power?)
Players were very pleased that the Alpha demo made holds punishable. Would you consider keeping the hold frame data at this level? (35 frames instead of 30 frames total)
- Hayashi took a moment to explain that the Alpha demo was aimed at a more casual audience that had just picked up Ninja Gaiden, and as part of that, some elements of the game are now more hardcore (my interpretation - the systems you can use around the hold like sit down stuns etc).
He related the hold as part of both that, and - most key - that the hold in the demo was 3 point. He felt that when changing to a 4 point hold they needed to rebalance the frames of the hold.
Opinion- as above with CB, this is the other key item it would be good to further elaborate on in writing to Team Ninja, as again, slightly longer recovery does not harm the capability of the hold, but makes it more viable to punish when a person makes a mistake and holds incorrectly.
Fun/Australian/Personal
Would you like to put in an Australian character, or a Danger Zone, like a crocodile pit?
- Hayashi laughed at this and said maybe that they should. I also joked about the common lie that Australians tell foreigners about Koala's being called "drop bears" which drop from the trees on people. He got a kick out of that, so we can all take that of confirmation of Koala's falling onto players in future stages.
What would be your favourite DOA5 character?
- Hayashi with some earnesty replied Kasumi. As she is the face and covergirl of DOA in many ways, they "went through hell" to make sure she looked right under the new design, and were ultimately very happy how they turned out.
I followed by asking about Shimbori-san's favourite, and guessed Leifang (while showing a Leifang figurine) and he laughed and said that was correct.
---
What game made you want to become a game designer?
- Hayashi gave a fairly warm account of loving Mario Bros as a kid and that the joy of playing games like that which he enjoyed when he was younger, and that inspired him as a game designer to be able to give back to other people that same feeling he gets from games.
(Unused: Is there a game you admire or are playing now?)
What is your best skill or hobby outside of game design?
- The major interest Hayashi shared was in filmgoing. Unfortunately I didn't have time to press for a favourite film.
If you had to challenge another game designer to battle, who would it be?
- This was fun. Hayashi made a reference that Team Ninja's old leader had expressed a rivalry for Tekken, and so he and the team are happy to name Tekken as a rival they are happy to battle.
I would be interested to send a follow up query via email to better explain the questions around holds and CBs. It was a fun interview, and you can expect to see a few different video variations on the web once the guys at NewGamePlus finish editing.
Other than the two key followups the question I regret forgetting and would still like to ask (credit to Mr Wah) was - What happened to Bayman's Beret
