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The director of upcoming hack-and-slash reboot DmC has spoken about the cultural differences in game design, saying that Western development tends to focus on graphics before systems and gameplay.
DmC is being developed by UK-based Enslaved developer Ninja Theory, with assistance from Capcom Japan. Discussing the game’s development with Siliconera, director Hideaki Itsuno said “it seems like with the West and Ninja Theory they focus on the visuals stuff at the beginning and then build the gameplay on top of that.”
“I think this speaks to the differences in the core of how Western games are developed compared to games in Japan. Well, at least at Capcom because we can’t speak for everyone. Given our experience,
While seemingly more than happy to cast judgement on the entirety of Western video game design, Itsuno does mention how he can’t speak for Japanese developers outside of Capcom Japan.
What’s it like at Capcom Japan then, Itsuno? “At Capcom Japan, we focus on the game logic and getting the systems down in the beginning then we gradually build the visuals on top of that.”
“The key to the feedback and the kind of advice we’ve been giving is we’ve been trying to find a hybrid system where we take a best of both worlds approach.”
“It hasn’t been easy, but I think we’re happy with the results we have.”
VideoGamer.com saw the most recent build of DmC at E3 2012. “I’ve always thought that Ninja Theory has produced good games but has the potential to make something really special, and while I won’t be fully convinced until I’ve got the finished product in my hands I’m really hoping that DmC will be it,” we said in our latest DmC preview.
Ninja Theory’s DmC will be released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on January 15 2013.
