Platinum on working with Nintendo, no changes since Big N came in, more
Gamasutra recently had the chance to speak with Bayonetta 2 director Yusuke Hashimoto and producer Atsushi Inaba about the upcoming Wii U game as well as Platinum as a whole. Topics include working with Nintendo, elements of the actual game, and general talk about the studio.
You can find a few excerpts below, and the entire interview here.
On working with Nintendo…
AI: Due to various circumstances, we’ve now had a chance to work with Nintendo and it’s been really great. You have a certain image of a company, in the case of Nintendo, we’ve found it’s been really nice to actually work with them and find out what that’s like.
They know a lot about games, and they’ve been really great to work with. Our relationship so far with Nintendo hasn’t been very long, but so far it’s been a great experience. Not to say that we won’t have some serious fights over things later, but so far it’s been good.
On learning from Platinum’s relationship with Nintendo in terms of the direction gameplay should go…
YH: In certain terms, there have been instances where there’s been feedback Nintendo brought to the game — where we come up with something and they’ll be able to play it and provide it with feedback that we’ve been able to use.
You tend to get tunnel vision when you’re working on a game, so when suddenly this volley of advice lands from the outside, honestly, it’s refreshing.
On Nintendo understanding Bayonetta very well because it’s so gameplay-focused…
YH: Yes, exactly. And all of the things we want to do in the game, they’re not standing in our way, in that sense. But it’s almost as if they are a very critical player that can sit back and give us great advice on how we’re creating the game.
AI: Working with Nintendo, one thing that comes out of that is that we’re not able to cover up weaknesses in the core gameplay by making the graphics prettier or adding cutscenes, or whatever. The concern, first and foremost, is the core of the game and the quality of the gameplay. They really have our back in that sense. And that’s actually a little bit unnerving, working with people who are such perfectionists in that sense.
On any changes to Bayonetta 2 since Nintendo came into the picture…
YH: Actually the spec hasn’t changed at all. Really, Nintendo has been more as an observer, and really good to just let us do our work, but to point out some minor things throughout the course of development.
On any concern that players can’t necessarily understand the potential of the game unless they get deeply involved in it…
YH: Yeah, that’s feedback we received for the first one — we’re taking that feedback and working on it in the game, how we can implement it. There have been improvements there, in the second one.
On any advantage to the flexibility of Bayonetta and how the character can behave completely differently for different players…
YH: So that flexibility is absolutely something that we’re putting a lot of importance on. It’s not necessarily the most important thing, but players, some might prefer to use guns, some might perfect to use hand-to-hand combat weapons. Increasing the quality of the game to provide that sort of flexibility in the gameplay is really important.
On whether it’s just as important for the game to look good as to play well, when it comes to combat…
YH: Both are important, and I wouldn’t place one of those things above the other. And this is something that is evident in the E3 build of Bayonetta 2 — it’s our goal to surprise players. And whether that surprise comes from one element of the other, they’re both equally valued in the production of the game.
On how to define “surprise” for players…
YH: Of course, how surprise is defined and where people are surprised, that depends on the player. We come at it from a stance that if all the people making the game aren’t surprised — if everyone isn’t surprised by an element — then it has no chance of having that effect to as many players as possible. So we approach creating a game with trying to surprise everybody on the development team.
On whether Platinum feels they have as much to prove with Bayonetta 2 as they did with the original…
YH: Of course, this time, we want to prove ourselves in the sense that we want to show we can make something even better than the original. We’re known for making original titles — this is our first sequel. In that sense, there’s still a lot to prove. We want to achieve something greater than the original in many ways.
AI: When Platinum Games was first established, we were working on a number of titles. But, in particular, Bayonetta was the first major title, and we felt like we had to put a lot into it — so much so that we felt like the future of the company depended on the title. So in that sense, everybody in the company had a strong feeling of value placed in that title, so in that sense it was a very, very critical title.
This time around, with Bayonetta 2, we have to increase the bar. So in the same way, not so much in establishing our reputation around this title, but establishing where we can take the company — and in that sense, again, it’s just as critical as the original.
