Devil’s Third – no restrictions/great support from Nintendo, GamePad usage, customization
A new round of Devil’s Third quotes from producer Yoshifuru Okamoto have come in from a Game Informer preview. Okamoto commented on Nintendo’s involvement with the game, how the GamePad is used, and customization (Mario options probably aren’t likely!).
Head past the break for some interview excerpts. You can find the full discussion on Game Informer.
On whether Itagaki has ever made a game with Nintendo and if the company set boundaries for such a violent game…
Actually, he did work on a Nintendo game. Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword. I worked with him on that title, and we actually did a media tour in the states.
As far as boundaries go, there was nothing they told us we couldn’t do. I think that we had some interesting differences of opinion, but they were all very much grounded in a mutual respect.
On how Devil’s Third became a Wii U exclusive…
When we became independent as Valhalla Game Studio, I feel like we were able to pull together a lot of people who really loved games. We were very fortunate in that regard. But after THQ collapsed, we found ourselves needing a partner. We talked to lots of different people, but the ones who understood what we were challenging ourselves to do, who most supported our vision was Nintendo. Really it was about the people involved working together well.
Thankfully, we’ve been able keep a lot of people who were instrumental in building the game from the beginning together, including former members of THQ, like Mr. Danny Bilson. I think what was most important in putting that team together, was that everyone had the same passion and love for the project.
On whether the game needs to be a Wii U exclusive/uses the GamePad in ways that cannot be emulated elsewhere…
Actually we do have some GamePad usage in multiplayer. As you know, the setting of this game is this fallen state – a chaotic war that has broken out between different factions across North America. Among those different factions, one of the things that is going to lead to victory is the ability to share information, so we use the GamePad as a communication tool. So you will be doing, among other things, calling in air-strikes and sharing information with squad members. It’s something you can imaging the commander on the battlefield holding to give orders.
On the game’s customization…
As it turns out, when we started designing all the different character customization options, Nintendo was so pleased with it, we just kept going and going, and they loved what we came up with.
On the possibility of Nintendo characters/customizations…
I’d love to use something like that, but the game is so violent I’m not sure they’d let us.
Yeah, that’s probably not so good (see someone with a Mario hat being decapitated). Probably a piranha plant would be okay.
Closing comments…
One thing I would want to mention is how much work we put into the multiplayer to make sure it is a complete and satisfying mode. That was very challenging work, but I am very glad with what we were able to create. And a lot of that is due to the work we did with Nintendo. They added a lot to the process, so hopefully everyone looks forward to playing the multiplayer modes.
