Hayashi: "People want something that's more substantial."

In a recent interview with Gamasutra.com, Yosuke Hayashi discussed the team's direction for both Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive.

Specifically, in regard to Dead or Alive he discussed how they want to make the series "high class". It's certainly a departure from the traditional Team NINJA, but only time will tell if it was worth the change:

Gamasutra said:
"We've always had the sex factor in the game; in the past, the female characters had to have big breasts, they had to have scanty dress," says Hayashi. "In DoA 5 especially, we're trying to focus on the real women that surround us; the voice of a female, the mannerisms. We are being realistic about it."

If Team Ninja's goal truly is to dignify the Dead or Alive franchise a bit, then it seems the team risks alienating some fans who may have just tuned in for the flesh parade. But Hayashi feels confident that longtime DoA players might have grown up some over the years.

"In the series up to now we focused on some kind of... Sports Illustrated [aesthetic]. like a magazine for high school kids, with women portrayed in that sense. But that's not what we want," he asserts.

"We want to show something that's more high class, that adult males of our generation could look at a woman [character] and be impressed with her as a woman, not just as a pin-up," he continues. "That's what we wanted to tell our fans."

In Hayashi's view, one of the best opportunities for the new Team Ninja is to take both female bodies and narratives a bit more seriously this way. "The team has always wanted to do it," he says. "The world has changed. People want something that's more substantial."

hayashi.jpg


Source: Gamasutra.com
 
This is very important to changing perceptions about DOA. Fans that are into the "sports illustrated" element will still find plenty to like, I wager, but a more mature approach and their seriousness about addressing it is going to help a lot more than some may think.
 
Berzerk! said:
This is very important to changing perceptions about DOA. Fans that are into the "sports illustrated" element will still find plenty to like, I wager, but a more mature approach and their seriousness about addressing it is going to help a lot more than some may think.

-I am glad that we at FSD were able to make such a strong impression to Team Ninja (specifically Shimbori-san!). We have always had the mindset that the Dead or Alive series would benifit most with a more mature outlook. The game rivals VF5 in character realness yet maintain Doa`s flair.

-If they listen to us on how the gameplay should be implimented, they will have a great game. The trick is to put in all the great gameplay mechnics, than balance afterwards. This will allow the community to decide what is actually viable in tournament play, and what is not.
 
Total BS. But then again there aren't many developers left who don't screw over the people who got them where they are.
 
I am very disappointed to hear this Team Ninja. I adored DOA4 and DOAXBV /precisely/ because of the beautiful bodies of the female characters and the scantily clad way they were shown off in sexy garments.

It troubles me deeply that the new attitude is to pander to social conservatives and feminists.

I will not be buying this game /precisely/ because of this puritanical, or politically correct new direction. DoA5 looks dull and boringly feminist.

targetaudience.jpg
 
Total BS. But then again there aren't many developers left who don't screw over the people who got them where they are.
uumm, what are you talking about?

I am very disappointed to hear this Team Ninja. I adored DOA4 and DOAXBV /precisely/ because of the beautiful bodies of the female characters and the scantily clad way they were shown off in sexy garments.

It troubles me deeply that the new attitude is to pander to social conservatives and feminists.

I will not be buying this game /precisely/ because of this puritanical, or politically correct new direction. DoA5 looks dull and boringly feminist.

lol!
 
This "precise" guy Allan quoted /precisely/ sounds like he should be playing RapeLay on a /precisely/ daily basis... "competitively".
 
Total BS. But then again there aren't many developers left who don't screw over the people who got them where they are.

Why is it BS? Most of us here who actually care about the series completely agree with the changes to the game and glad to see it going back to a darker and more serious tone that was there in DoA3. Seems the few who are oddly upset with this article seem to only care about T&A and not the actual game itself and most of which seemed to have skipped doa3 and only played doa2 and 4.
 
The female characters in DOA are half naked?! :eek:

I don't think anyone who plays DOA on a regular basis even notices. The game is so much more than what the characters look like.

That's like saying you wont by a Bugatti because you don't like rims.
 
I don't think anyone who plays DOA on a regular basis even notices. The game is so much more than what the characters look like.

The game is very well much more than its appearance, but at the end of the day, the average Joe Schmoe from wherever USA will look at it and see only that... Let's be real, there's more Average Joe Schmoes and Jane Schmoes than there are people who play this game, or others like AH3, VF5, BF, FHD, etc. They are the "potential customers" though, and getting them to see that this is a good and solid game without giving it a negative connotation is something they're shooting for...

It's the same with games like Arcana Heart, Melty Blood, Battle Fantasia and even Vanguard Princess. These are very solid games that I feel should get more love and respect in the competitive scene, but they get simply overlooked primarily because of their appearance.

Take VF5 also. It's a very solid game, that has inspired Team Ninja to implement VF's core concepts into DOA, while making it their own game of course. The game has all sorts of customization items as well, and despite all of that, when someone looks at the gameplay, they only see what they consider to be dull movement (despite Sega changing over 95% of the games animation). When people see Tekken, they think robots, animals and juggle-fest 2012, when its so much more than that as well...

I'm glad Team Ninja is making an attempt to remove this stigma that has plagued the game imo for quite some time. Sure, sex does sell, but over-doing it can at many times kill the sales one is trying to obtain, especially if there's no substance to it, or no real point to it, just like any other marketing "gimmick"...


That's like saying you wont by a Bugatti because you don't like rims.

There's people who won't get SFxT because of the gems, whether or not they're required to play the game. People didn't get SCV because their character they've played with for "x" years is gone. People didn't get T6 because of the bound system. I could go on, but what I'm trying to get at is that people do have opinions and whether we agree with them or not, at least they're taking a stand for something...

I know tons of cats who play SF4 or MvC3 and don't even like the game, but because "everyone else plays it" and not (insert game), and/or the netcode of (insert game) is lackluster, they're gonna suck it up and play for competitions sake...
 
I agree as far as the average Joe, and everyone having their own opinon. My comment was directed at the article UncleKitchener posted. though.

But I don't agree with not playing a game because of one small visual change. Assuming your a DOA fan, not playing the game because they took out something that MOST DOA players don't pay attention to doesn't make sense to me.

Someone saying they wont play a game because everyone else plays it doesn't sound like someone who's taking a stand for something to me; it sounds like someone who's going against the norm just to go against the norm. Not playing because your character is gone is another thing.
 
I agree, for those who do play DOA, things like that won't matter, unless you're that type of person who plays the game, and in an attempt to get other people to play notice that people play only for the T&A, and have no goals of learning the game to get better... To the rest of the FGC that don't play this game, but sees it, they only see T&A, and not environmental stuns, nitaku, combos even... It shouldn't have to be that way, and TN is trying to eliminate that stigma...

Someone saying they wont play a game because everyone else plays it doesn't sound like someone who's taking a stand for something to me; it sounds like someone who's going against the norm just to go against the norm. Not playing because your character is gone is another thing.

I'm not saying don't play the game because everyone else plays it. I'm talking about those people who live in places where no one else plays DOA, so they don't get much comp. The people that do play games in those areas play "what's popular" (MvC3OMG, SSSF4, etc), so instead of trying to build a scene or get people to play DOA, those few people end up playing "what's popular" in order to get competition; and that's one less player playing DOA (something they had a passion for), and one more player playing something else (a game they didn't care less for)... This same thing happens to VF players, JJBA players, KOF players in the past, etcetera...
 
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