PlatinumGames has posted a new Bayonetta 2 blog post covering scenario writing. Hideki Kamiya himself wrote the piece.
First, check out a few excerpts below:
At long last, the release date is right around the corner! It’s been a long road getting here, filled with bumps, twists, and turns. There was even a time when we almost lost hope of releasing the game altogether. It makes me happy that we can bring you Bayonetta 2, and I would like to extend my personal thanks to Nintendo for stepping in and making this game a reality.
But before we get into that, I’m sure many of you are a bit confused about what a game supervisor does. It is quite an important-sounding title, but to put it simply, they supervise the project from a position one-step removed from development. At PlatinumGames, the person who has the final say on what goes into a game, and who is ultimately responsible for how it turns out, is the director. I believe that every game should be infused with the unique color of its director. Because of this, my involvement in Bayonetta 2 consisted of regular meetings with Director Hashimoto where I only provided advice when necessary. The one exception perhaps, was Jeanne; when it came to her character, I butt in with my comments at every opportunity.
Planning for the Bayonetta 2 scenario began during a discussion with Hashimoto. It was almost like a casual chat, where we went back and forth saying “what if this happened?” and “what about this character?”, deciding the overarching story and overall structure of the stages. Once the rough outline was in place, we brought Bingo into the discussion and had him fill in the details. Next, we had Bingo turn this outline into a game scenario. This became the first draft of the scenario: a detailed plan for each stage explaining when each cut scene would play, how each character would make their appearance, and the way each story beat would unfold. From here, I worked on the flow of the characters’ dialog and added scenes to bring out that unique Bayonetta flavor. At this point it was basically the text equivalent of a storyboard; everything was in place. Since the first draft was well structured, I was able to concentrate on bringing out the personality of the characters and fleshing out the world without having to worry about the story / action balance. At the end of this process, we completed the final draft of the scenario.
And be sure to read the full blog post here with lots of information.
Pre-orders for Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire recently opened in Japan. Believe it or not, fans have been showing up in drones to get their reservations in. Director Junichi Masuda and gamers across different cities have been tweeting photos showing the pre-order mania.
This week’s expanded Japanese software sales are as follows:
01./00. [3DS] Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS
02./00. [PS4] Destiny #
03./00. [PS3] Destiny
04./01. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch 2: Ganso / Honke
05./00. [PS3] Naruto Shippuden: Narutimate Storm Revolution
06./02. [3DS] Dragon Quest X Online
07./03. [PSV] Toukiden: The Age of Demons Extreme #
08./08. [WIU] Mario Kart 8
09./11. [3DS] Yoshi’s New Island
10./14. [3DS] Yo-kai Watch
11./05. [PS3] Persona 4: Arena Ultimax #
12./06. [PS4] Samurai Warriors 4
13./00. [PSV] Chain Chronicle V
14./16. [3DS] Dragon Ball Heroes: Ultimate Mission 2
15./09. [3DS] Medarot 8: Kabuto Ver. / Kuwagata Ver.
16./13. [PSP] Toukiden: The Age of Demons Extreme #
17./04. [PSV] Love Live! School Idol Paradise Vol.1: Printemps / Vol.2: BiBi / Vol.3: Lily White #
18./19. [3DS] Taiko no Tatsujin: Don to Katsu no Jikuu Daibouken
19./17. [WIU] Hyrule Warriors #
20./24. [PS3] Grand Theft Auto V (Bargain Edition)
Stealth Inc seemed like the furthest thing from a Wii U eShop release when it came out in 2013. The PlayStation versions came and went, and there was no word on a release for Nintendo’s console.
Still, when time for planning a sequel came around, something within Curve Studios clicked. This led to the company announcing Stealth Inc 2 as a Wii U exclusive – at least for the time being – back in May, which surprised quite a number of folks. For Wii U owners though, it’s great news.
We sat down via email (wait a second…) with Rob Clarke from Curve Studios to ask about Stealth Inc 2, working on Wii U, and the company’s other beloved gaming baby Fluidity. I think you’ll enjoy much of what they have to say:
System: Nintendo Wii U
Release Date: September 11th, 2014
Developer: Rain Games
Publisher: Rain Games
Author: Vincent
“Magnetizing and satisfying”
In a market filled to the brim with 2D platformers, it’s hard to stand out from the crowd; it seems as if, unless your character is sporting some overly familiar overalls and a fancy brown mustache, you’ll never be noticed. Those odds didn’t stop newly-made studio Rain Games from taking a shot in the dark with Teslagrad, a platformer that uses unique storytelling and gameplay to rise above the rest. But does this all blend together to create an experience worth checking out, or is it better left alone?
As soon as you start up the game, you’re presented with the opening menu showing the main character’s father carrying a baby walking through a dark town. Once you hit Start Game, it makes the seamless transition into gameplay where he hands off the baby to the mother. Time goes by and the town you live in becomes overrun, forcing your mother to let you out the back door as you take control over the now grown up young boy. You run through the town amidst a rainstorm as soldiers chase you down, and you climb atop buildings and through alleyways to escape, all leading up to the young protagonist taking shelter in an abandoned tower, which he then discovers has more than meets the eye.
Now, this isn’t all spoon-fed to you with numerous boxes of texts or someone yelling in your ear telling you what the soldiers names are. The game instead chose to feature no text or full on voice acting throughout the five hour adventure. All you have is the ambient soundtrack and character grunts to accompany you throughout your journey as you have the world around you unfold and tell the story little by little.
SEGA showed new footage from the Sonic Boom games at the Tokyo Game Show today. Take a look below:
