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Famitsu: Bethesda's 2013 will be defined by Mikami's Zwei (in Japan, at least)?

StuBurns

Banned
You don't think this could be another Resident Evil 4, kind of a game changer?
Resident Evil 4 was a design game changer, but I don't think it was a technical challenge. But you're right, just to get the fundamental design, then pace it correctly is a major undertaking, and it would be better after five years than three, most likely.

I don't know really, I trust him implicitly. PN03 is pretty weak, but it was practically thrown together. Any time he's put reasonable time and effort in the result has been at worst great, at best industry changing.

RE4 was a special situation, he had a great track record as a director, RE was his creation, the IP was huge, even if the game wasn't good it was going to be a hit. But more importantly RE4 was in development for a long time, but he wasn't directing it for long. He took over Summer '03, it shipped January '05.
 

Neiteio

Member
It's not impossible that Mikami and company could be inspired, creating something that breaks boundaries AND is content-rich AND in a short period of time. Mikami said he's "found his focus," and he also has the resources of Bethesda/ZeniMax available to him, and he has a team that comprises top talent from huge productions like Bayonetta and Okami, and all the knowledge gained from past HD console productions (assuming it's current-gen), not to mention plenty of time out of the public eye to form his vision.

It could be a case like Fire Emblem Awakening: Everyone hits their original deadline but is so inspired that by the time they get there they have created way more than they originally expected.
 
So its coming this year. So far given the concept art and pedigree of the developer it has a lot of potential to be great and im a big fan of mikami. It also seems to obviously be a current gen title. It was anounced as such, had job postings for those experienced with the 360/PS3, has 360/PS3 in the office with them and the development team seems to small to be able to release a next gen title this year.
 

Neiteio

Member
Cool, I didn't realise this game was being released this year :)
To be clear, we don't have explicit confirmation of such, but like I said in the OP, Bethesda has indicated to Famitsu that 2013 will be about Zwei for them, which strengthens the notion the game is on track for this year.

Looking over the art again, I'm getting a real Siren-esque vibe from the monsters. And seeing the soldier, I realized only a Mikami game could get me excited about playing as one.
 

Necron

Member
This looks amazingly surreal.

Nothing short of greatness will come from Mikami and his team. I'm hyped.
 

Badoor

Neo Member
It's possible that Ikumi Nakamura is the Game Director, but that post is two years old, pre-Bethesda acquisition. And when she was asked on twitter back in may 2012, she said that Mikami is the game director:

https://twitter.com/nakamura193/status/205540208878436353

It could be that Mikami was always the Director, or maybe Ikumi Nakamura is still the real director but Bethesda wants Mikami as "Director" in quotations for marketing purposes. Or maybe there were position changes between now and then, spurred by Bethesda or as an internal decision by Mikami, who was probably busy with business stuff establishing Tango Gameworks early on in 2010 and now that things are stable he can focus on the game. Whatever the situation is, I feel that Mikami is absolutely more involved in ZWEI than SotD or even Vanquish regardless of his job title.

And I'm super hyped.
 

AntMurda

Member
It's possible that Ikumi Nakamura is the Game Director, but that post is two years old, pre-Bethesda acquisition. And when she was asked on twitter back in may 2012, she said that Mikami is the game director:

https://twitter.com/nakamura193/status/205540208878436353

It could be that Mikami was always the Director, or maybe Ikumi Nakamura is still the real director but Bethesda wants Mikami as "Director" in quotations for marketing purposes. Or maybe there were position changes between now and then, spurred by Bethesda or as an internal decision by Mikami, who was probably busy with business stuff establishing Tango Gameworks early on in 2010 and now that things are stable he can focus on the game. Whatever the situation is, I feel that Mikami is absolutely more involved in ZWEI than SotD or even Vanquish regardless of his job title.

And I'm super hyped.

Really not worth losing sleep over. Mikami might be "Chief Director" and Nakamura "Director". Something like that.
 
Wikipedia states that Mikami has said this is the final game he'll direct. I've no doubt he'll keep on as a creative consultant for future titles, but it's interesting that he's essentially come full circle from his early days with Resident Evil to Zwei.
 

IrishNinja

Member
it's Mikami on survival horror; it's already infinitely more interesting to me than anything elder scrolls has ever done

Wikipedia states that Mikami has said this is the final game he'll direct. I've no doubt he'll keep on as a creative consultant for future titles, but it's interesting that he's essentially come full circle from his early days with Resident Evil to Zwei.

pretty sad to hear, but hopefully he sees it this way too & goes out with a bang!

there goes the playable bits of future Suda games, haha
 

StuBurns

Banned
Really not worth losing sleep over. Mikami might be "Chief Director" and Nakamura "Director". Something like that.
I think regardless of what his actual credit, or role is, Tango is his studio, and everyone is going to see this game as his, it's not coming out if it's not worthy.
 

madkiller

Member
QkKew.jpg
 

Hindle

Banned
A game like this usually requires 12 to 15 months of PR and coverage so I don't think it's coming this year.
 

UrbanRats

Member
StuBurns, why do you think RE4 wasnt a technical challenge? I mean it had mind blowing graphics and an insane attention to details. I remember at the time thinking just how fucking absurdly good it looked, so much so, that at the start of next gen we joked about RE4 still being *more next gen* than launch titles.
Im sure that must have come with a ton of technical challenges.

Not that im expecting Zwei to be as impressive, on the graphical side, of course.. times have changed.
 

Neiteio

Member
A game like this usually requires 12 to 15 months of PR and coverage so I don't think it's coming this year.
Wouldn't a horror game like this that depends so heavily on the element of surprise and minimal pre-release exposure work better with an explosive E3 reveal and several staggered trailers leading up to a Halloween or November launch, rather than 12-15 months as you suggest?
 

Shinta

Banned
Yeah, I can't wait for this. Mikami is just one of the all the time greats in the business. Any game of his is a day 1 buy for me.
 

Neiteio

Member
Fucking Skyrim only got 11 months, lol
Yeah, I think if anything, with Bethesda behind it, they can build plenty of awareness in half a year's time. They did fine getting the word out about Skyrim and Dishonored. In the latter's case, the hype train really kicked into high gear at E3. The same could hold true for Zwei, and would seem a more fitting approach since Zwei is an experience best served unspoiled.

On a side note, I repaired the pictures in the OP, in case they weren't showing.
 

Neiteio

Member
Maybe Mikami will take this opportunity to recycle some of the concepts seen in the old RE4 prototypes with the hookman, the possessed dolls, etc.

Getting a strong Siren-esque vibe from the creature concepts in this game. Maybe we'll be dealing with actual supernatural phenomena this time, rather than a "scientific" explanation like parasites or viruses. The creatures look like something manmade in one respect -- human faces grafted onto roaches, etc -- but demonically animated in another. Maybe they're the result of a sick and twisted experiment performed on slaves long ago, and the island is now cursed, the creatures still on the prowl...

...I can't wait to shoot, suplex and roundhouse kick them!
 

StuBurns

Banned
StuBurns, why do you think RE4 wasnt a technical challenge? I mean it had mind blowing graphics and an insane attention to details. I remember at the time thinking just how fucking absurdly good it looked, so much so, that at the start of next gen we joked about RE4 still being *more next gen* than launch titles.
Im sure that must have come with a ton of technical challenges.

Not that im expecting Zwei to be as impressive, on the graphical side, of course.. times have changed.
I didn't really think so, but even so, I don't think of that the same as a more abstract task like making Ellie. Just making a game look better is of course, challenging, but the games that have taken long periods for good reason seem to be those who've taken on those tasks that aren't well established. In fact with Ellie, believable and meaningful AI character interaction within a game has been a stopping block for a number of studios. It's why LMNO was in development for four years and achieved nothing, it's why BioShock Infinite has taken forever, and certainly, it's taking TLoU practically double the time it took to make Uncharted 2. Uncharted 2 looked better than anything on any console, it still only took two years, and they added multiplayer in that time.

I don't know much about the development of RE4, but based on the videos of the older versions, it actually got worse looking after Mikami came on as director, presumably because the environments were grander than that of the older game. So, yeah, it looked amazing, but I don't think looking amazing is the same kind of time sink. Three years should be enough for Tango to make something stunning, and immaculately crafted. I don't think it's coming this year though personally.
 

UrbanRats

Member
I didn't really think so, but even so, I don't think of that the same as a more abstract task like making Ellie. Just making a game look better is of course, challenging, but the games that have taken long periods for good reason seem to be those who've taken on those tasks that aren't well established. In fact with Ellie, believable and meaningful AI character interaction within a game has been a stopping block for a number of studios. It's why LMNO was in development for four years and achieved nothing, it's why BioShock Infinite has taken forever, and certainly, it's taking TLoU practically double the time it took to make Uncharted 2. Uncharted 2 looked better than anything on any console, it still only took two years, and they added multiplayer in that time.

I don't know much about the development of RE4, but based on the videos of the older versions, it actually got worse looking after Mikami came on as director, presumably because the environments were grander than that of the older game. So, yeah, it looked amazing, but I don't think looking amazing is the same kind of time sink. Three years should be enough for Tango to make something stunning, and immaculately crafted. I don't think it's coming this year though personally.
I think you have a point.
Still, and probably i'm biased due to nostalgia, i remember stuff like being able to shoot Ganados in various body parts, or their way of attacking you and their AI being a pretty big deal at the time.
I remember the video of the initial village section, with Leon blocking doors and them picking up the stairs he had just kicked down and so forth, it looked amazing to me.

Now Last of Us (looks like) it's far, far more complex, yet, contextual to its time and what else was innovating and bringing new to the table, RE4's AI was still pretty impressive.
 

Melchiah

Member
I'm cautiously optimistic, as I haven't been a fan of his work after he ruined the Resident Evil franchise with the 4th installation, and I don't really like any of the games Platinum has made. Never liked Devil May Cry series either. So, basically the only games he has made that have been to my taste are the first four REs (including Code Veronica), and the first Dino Crisis (never got to play the sequel). I'm also a bit wary about his well-known negative attitude towards the PlayStation.
 

Hindle

Banned
Wouldn't a horror game like this that depends so heavily on the element of surprise and minimal pre-release exposure work better with an explosive E3 reveal and several staggered trailers leading up to a Halloween or November launch, rather than 12-15 months as you suggest?

Yea that would work way better actually. But I still don't think it's coming this year. Late 2014 I'm thinking.

I'm thinking an awesome CG trailer similar to what Dishonored received, then a select preview that's shown in different ways.

The amount of talent behind this game is just incredible, I'm confident they can make the true successor to Resi Evil.
 

sublimit

Banned
If this ends up as a "pure survival horror" game (as Mikami says it will) then Capcom can go fuck themselves with their shitty pew pew RE games.
 

StuBurns

Banned
I think you have a point.
Still, and probably i'm biased due to nostalgia, i remember stuff like being able to shoot Ganados in various body parts, or their way of attacking you and their AI being a pretty big deal at the time.
I remember the video of the initial village section, with Leon blocking doors and them picking up the stairs he had just kicked down and so forth, it looked amazing to me.

Now Last of Us (looks like) it's far, far more complex, yet, contextual to its time and what else was innovating and bringing new to the table, RE4's AI was still pretty impressive.
I guess I'd have to go back and play peers from the time. I know in MGS2, which was years earlier, you could shoot different parts of soldiers, and they'd react differently, some would give up items if you pointed a gun at there head, some when at their gentiles, they'd hear sneezes and see shadows and wet footprints, you could shoot out their radios too. That alone seems a lot more complex than anything I remember from RE4.

I'm certainly not trying to down play RE4 of course, it is an utterly stunning game, as good as anyone has ever made more or less. There are games I prefer, but there are still none I think are 'better' as such.
 

UrbanRats

Member
Uhm you're totally right about MGS2 (another mind blowing game for me, at the time).
I guess the nature of MGS2 first person controls (read: clunky as all fuck) made it feel less natural and fluid.. you had to wrestle with the pad to perform cool stuff with it, even because some of the actions used the analogic face buttons.

In RE4 everything was much more simple to pull off, so i guess that shaped up my general impressions.
After it, basically everyone started to use that kind of camera, in 3rd person shooters, from Gears of War to all its clones.
 
I sincerely hope Mikami is just jesting with the retirment thing. He's probably among the 10 best game designers in the world. The problem is he needs a good budget and some time to produce amazing things. So he has a lot to offer still.
 

Neiteio

Member
Did Mikami consider RE4 to be "survival horror?" Today, many people call that style of gameplay "action horror," but I wonder if Mikami still considers it "survival horror." In which case, Zwei returning to "survival horror" could still make for something action-packed like RE4 -- not altogether improbable, given the soldier seen in the concept art, and all of the guns they're playing with at the office.

In terms of the world, I'm hoping for something as creepy and surreal as what I've seen of Shadows of the Damned -- a bit more breathing room in terms of the actual action, but the same lurid look of glowing colors against dark backdrops:



Compare these with the environmental concept art for Zwei...


6TOdja2.jpg




Zwei's environmental concept art looks similar in terms of color -- green skies, red lights, etc. It looks like they're aiming for more "natural" lighting in Zwei, but similar colors, which I love.

With the lead CGI artist from REmake crafting the environments, I'm sure we'll see some tremendously detailed and atmospheric stuff. :)
 

Feindflug

Member
Maybe Mikami will take this opportunity to recycle some of the concepts seen in the old RE4 prototypes with the hookman, the possessed dolls, etc.

Getting a strong Siren-esque vibe from the creature concepts in this game. Maybe we'll be dealing with actual supernatural phenomena this time, rather than a "scientific" explanation like parasites or viruses. The creatures look like something manmade in one respect -- human faces grafted onto roaches, etc -- but demonically animated in another. Maybe they're the result of a sick and twisted experiment performed on slaves long ago, and the island is now cursed, the creatures still on the prowl...

...I can't wait to shoot, suplex and roundhouse kick them!

lol! me too man. ^_^

Can't wait to see the game in action, your hypothesis about the creatures is making the wait harder.
 

AHA-Lambda

Member
A game like this usually requires 12 to 15 months of PR and coverage so I don't think it's coming this year.

Dishonored had less than 12 months of any meaningful advertising and PR after its initial announcement. We are seeing more of this these days and frankly that's a good thing, getting tired of games being announced that are 3+ years out.
 

Neiteio

Member
Man, when you think about this game's importance, it's fairly stunning: Zwei could be the game that brings back J-horror. An uphill battle, to be sure, since devs tend to see horror games as high-risk, low-reward projects these days, at least when it comes to AAA horror games like we saw in great abundance during the PS2 era.

If Zwei were capture people's imaginations like RE4 did, it could help speed up the snowball Amnesia started rolling, helped along in recent months by indie efforts like Slender, and get the horror genre back up to speed. But it's J-horror, in particular, that I miss, and Mikami is the perfect person to bring it back.
 

Oichi

I'm like a Hadouken, down-right Fierce!
Interesting tidbit is that Ikumi Nakamura is also a huge urban exploration fan. You can see some of her stuff on her "secret" website: http://www.tomboy-urbex.com/

I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of her stuff factors into the game.
 

Neiteio

Member
Hard to get hyped if you haven't seen anything except concept art yet.
I'm already hyped because:

1) MIKAMI is at the helm -- the man who brought us Resident Evil 4, Vanquish and God Hand!
2) It's a return to "pure survival horror" -- J-Horror could be coming back!
3) Lead environmenal artist is the CGI artist who handled REmake!
resident-evil-mansion.jpg

4) The concept designer from Bayonetta is a director on Zwei!
5) Other staffers with Clover and Platinum pedigrees!
6) The monsters look crazy as hell -- like Siren: Blood Curse, on ACID!
7) Setting looks like Shadows of the Damned X Pirates of the Caribbean!
8) Guns at Tango office, soldier in art, etc = GREAT MIKAMI GUNPLAY
9) Bethesda was a great publishing partner for Dishonored, and is backing Zwei!
10) The Famitsu news suggests we'll see this in 2013 -- maybe even have it!
 

Neiteio

Member
This is Mikami, guys.

Resident Evil.

God Hand.

Vanquish.

Resident Evil 4.

(Didn't play PN03 but I know it didn't light the world on fire. Didn't play Shadows of the Damned, either, but I hear it was a bit rough. Still sounds like the best-playing Suda51 game, though, and Suda51 was probably what fractured the game's focus in the first place. Sounds like even Sudad51 wasn't happy with how it turned out.)

Still... Resident Evil 4.

Mikami said he's found his focus with Zwei. I have faith it will be incredible. And the fact Zwei is survival horror -- one of my favorite genres, woefully absent this generation, Amnesia aside -- is all the more cause for celebration.

Mikami's one of the few devs who can get me hyped on concept art alone.
 
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