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Capcom: Western developers start with the visuals, while Japan focuses on gameplay.

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DaSorcerer7

Member
While Japan focuses on gameplay, says DmC director Hideaki Itsuno


Capcom developers working on the new DmC Devil May Cry title with Ninja Theory have highlighted some of the cultural differences between Japanese and Western development,the biggest being the starting point.

"Given our experience, 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," director Hideaki Itsuno told Siliconera.

"Whereas 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. I think this speaks to the differences in the core of how western games are developed compared to games in Japan."

Itsuno added that the two development teams have found a "hybrid system" to allow for these cultural differences, but it hadn't been easy.

During the interview producer Motohide Eshiro also praised the UK developer's visual tech, and their environment deforming Malice mechanic, while Itsuno had taken a shine to the management structure which gave different members of the Ninja Theory development team responsiblity for different parts of the game.

"We take the opposite approach. We like to look as if we have given all of these people different responsibility, but in reality we are very, very concerned about the schedule. It actually makes it difficult to get one man or one woman's work tied that closely with the product on the Japan side."

DmC was announced in 2010 and is due for release next January
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GI.BIZ
 
From what I played japanese games are always very solid in mechanics department. Not that I played a lot of them but it was noticeable.
 
untitled-94xks7w.gif
 
Well most japanese games usually have far better mechanics then there western counterparts, so it makes sense.
 
God, don't take Ninja Theory as a poster child for Western Development.

All I could think when I played heavenly Sword was "So, this is what a game is like when you leave the Art Team in charge of everything"
 
Pretty much why the best combat in action games have belonged to Japanese games thus far. The fighting games are also from Japan.
 
There are plenty of western studios that start with the gameplay and then build the game around that.

Ninja Theory is not one of those studios.
 
I.. yeah, I dont know.

Some time ago I would have said this is true but honestly sometimes I think right now you could say "Western devs start with the visuals, Japan focuses on reiterating the same gameplay over and over again" and it'd still be valid. Not to say it isnt true about western devs as well to a point.
 
I'm not sure I would say this is true for the entire west, but I do believe it is true for a lot of bigger non-Japanese developers. I mean, you can find a ton of system heavy gameplay focused experiences on the PC not made by Japanese devs, but most of those don't ever find their way to consoles.

That said, yeah, I certainly think most Japanese developers start with the gameplay and go from there. Outside of like FF13 I can't think of any other Japanese game this gen, off the top of my head, that focused on stuff other than gameplay first.
 
That sounds remarkably ass-backwards given the time and money JP companies spend on assets and CG (Square's $50k FFXIII assets, anyone?)

When have the best looking games in the industry ever not been Japanese in origin? Rarely. Very rarely.
 
No, Western developers start by trying to make everything into a shooter.

Japan focuses on not being as good as they were 10 years ago.
 
Honestly the only guys who focus on gameplay first are indies and that's why they're on top of the chain right now.

I took indie games in account when I mentioned western devs
 
So why did they give a combat heavy game like DMC to Ninja Theory?
I hate you Capcom so much!!!!! You ruin everything I love
 
Visuals > gameplay

If a game looks like fun, it's better than actually being fun, every real gamer knows that
 
SalsaShark said:
Honestly the only guys who focus on gameplay first are indies and that's why they're on top of the chain right now.

I took indie games in account when I mentioned western devs
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If only they were able to put their ideas into the huge worlds a huge budget pays for.
 
this isn't new information, see every pathetic HD twin console war thread, it's always about graphics.

farnsworthdontwanttoliveinthisworld.gif
 
Independent developers are doing a way better job of focusing on gameplay first before visuals, or tying them together in a way that's meaningful in some way. So seeing as there are waaaaaaay more indies that are Western as opposed to Japanese...yeah.

Also, 20 minutes CG cutscenes in an assload of Japanese games, yeah, blow me.
 
I bet money that DmC turns out great. I like how everyone screams at cacpcom for giving the franchise to Ninja Theory when they themselves turned Megaman and Resident Evil into shit.

They dont GET their own games anymore specially after people like Inafune leaving. Now that Seth Killian left, Ono went insane, and SFxT was a huge disappointment; I really fear whatever's coming.
 
I-hate-u said:
So why did they give a combat heavy game like DMC to Ninja Theory?
I hate you Capcom so much!!!!! You ruin everything I love
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They almost do, dont they? If they fumble street fighter 5 I will give up hope.

Mh wii was a let down compared to unite (for me.) RE5 was like going from a blow job (RE4) to a hug, dmc4 was cool. Lost planet 2 was booty butt cheeks. Sfxt.. Marvel is pretty cool though. I haven't played a great megaman game since MegaMan zero 3. Dragons dogma wasn't bad.

Verdict: Not looking good, but they still have the magic twinkle in their eye.
 
SalsaShark said:
I bet money that DmC turns out great. I like how everyone screams at cacpcom for giving the franchise to Ninja Theory when they themselves turned Megaman and Resident Evil into shit.

They dont GET their own games anymore specially after people like Inafune leaving. Now that Seth Killian left, Ono went insane and SFxT was a huge disappointment, I really fear whatever's coming.
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Yup. I think DmC will turn out great as well.

Though I do think that Capcom is still capable of making great games. Dragon's Dogma was pretty stellar, it showed their initiative in pushing the limits of their tech and design philosophies.

It's just too bad that the execs running the company are so short sided and looking for ways to gouge the market.
 
SalsaShark said:
Final Fantasy is a rare exception of japanese development now?
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You are right, there are a lot of other Japanese RPGs that focus on graphics:

Tales
Shin Megami
Persona
Valkyrie
Dragon Quest
Souls
Monster Hunter
Kingdom Hearts

Wow, so many Japanese RPGs that focus on graphics like Final Fantasy


(and I forgot how Nintendo and its partners have been focusing on graphics)
 
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