So a few people have been wondering what exactly IS going on with Image Epoch.
The developer popped up sorta out of nowhere to release the mediocre Luminous Arc; unrelatedly (at the time), as soon as Atlus's Etrian Odyssey was released, we found out that its director (who also directed Trauma Center) Kazuya Niinou had left the company. Then Image Epoch's site mentioned that it had hired both Niinou and Hiroyuki Kanamaru, a former developer with Namco Tales Studio and Telenet. A few pieces of art were linked to ongoing game development projects, but there weren't any details. Then Image Epoch's site went down as they moved to a new office, and when it reopened, it... still didn't really have any details.
Anyway, there's a little bit more information now, courtesy of Mikage and Niinou making the PR rounds and another update on their website. Most of this was translated by ducky, so thank him for it.
Kazuya Niinou wasn't just randomly hired. He specifically was courted by the owner of Image Epoch, Ryoei Mikage, while Etrian Odyssey was in development. Further, he's not a peon there, either. He's named as a senior director and planner within the company, so expect him to play a big role in a lot of what they're working on. He mentioned that, in addition to directing his own game, he's giving his input on most of their ongoing projects.
The company has expanded. A lot. Image Epoch has 110 employees with about 20 additional freelance contractors working on projects for them. The staff is dividend into four and a half individual teams. While it wasn't specified, we can assume three of those teams are Niinou's, Kanemaru's, and Mikage's. No idea who might have been hired to head the rest.
The company also has pretty big plans. Following Luminous Arc 2, they're aiming to release a new game every three months. Look for the unveilings of some of their other projects (Project Ray, Project Salamander, Project DF) to happen near or after LA2's release.
Marvelous is the only publisher we know for a fact that Image Epoch is working with. But they may have stuff published by other companies, too. As a matter of fact, the company just updated its website to announce that Square Enix is a client, which means that it's possible they're currently working on a Square Enix game. And as it's unlikely they would've added that notice to their site for no reason, it's also possible we may see a specific game announcement soon.
Epoch is interested in following the Level-5 approach to development: good offices, good pay, and creative freedom with an eye towards making money. Feel free to take a look at their office. It's pretty snazzy.
Niinou made a closing statement on game development. "he's aware that at the moment there's a big contrast in east and west; RPGs made in Japan are more traditional and stuff, while western gamers look for more action. he mentions Capcom and the success they've had in action games, but he also mentions that many of the people at Imageepoch are huge fans of RPGs"
The only platforms they're currently working on are DS and Wii. They say the systems are accessible and easy to develop for, have brought in lots of new users, yada yada.
Mikage and Niinou aren't huge on ports. They feel if a game is ported to a different system, you need to add something original to it, because each system has its own strengths and benefits.
Mikage said it's really cool how both Final Fantasy and Mega Man recently celebrated their 20th anniversaries, and he hopes that in 20 years, people will be celebrating something he and his company have made.
And, the info we previously knew about their games...
Project Ray: seems to be a 2D game, no platform specified; this is the game being made by Hiroyuki Kanemaru, formerly of Tales Studio and before that Telenet
Project Salamander: a 3D DS game
And, key staff at the company...
Ryoei Mikage (the company owner):
Luminous Arc - director
Kazuya Niinou (senior director/planner):
Trauma Center: Under the Knife - director
Etrian Odyssey - director
Hiroyuki Kanemaru (director):
Emerald Dragon - design
Fang of Arunamu - design
Tales of Symphonia - script director, script editor, level concept designer
Tales of Rebirth - scenario script
The developer popped up sorta out of nowhere to release the mediocre Luminous Arc; unrelatedly (at the time), as soon as Atlus's Etrian Odyssey was released, we found out that its director (who also directed Trauma Center) Kazuya Niinou had left the company. Then Image Epoch's site mentioned that it had hired both Niinou and Hiroyuki Kanamaru, a former developer with Namco Tales Studio and Telenet. A few pieces of art were linked to ongoing game development projects, but there weren't any details. Then Image Epoch's site went down as they moved to a new office, and when it reopened, it... still didn't really have any details.
Anyway, there's a little bit more information now, courtesy of Mikage and Niinou making the PR rounds and another update on their website. Most of this was translated by ducky, so thank him for it.
Kazuya Niinou wasn't just randomly hired. He specifically was courted by the owner of Image Epoch, Ryoei Mikage, while Etrian Odyssey was in development. Further, he's not a peon there, either. He's named as a senior director and planner within the company, so expect him to play a big role in a lot of what they're working on. He mentioned that, in addition to directing his own game, he's giving his input on most of their ongoing projects.
The company has expanded. A lot. Image Epoch has 110 employees with about 20 additional freelance contractors working on projects for them. The staff is dividend into four and a half individual teams. While it wasn't specified, we can assume three of those teams are Niinou's, Kanemaru's, and Mikage's. No idea who might have been hired to head the rest.
The company also has pretty big plans. Following Luminous Arc 2, they're aiming to release a new game every three months. Look for the unveilings of some of their other projects (Project Ray, Project Salamander, Project DF) to happen near or after LA2's release.
Marvelous is the only publisher we know for a fact that Image Epoch is working with. But they may have stuff published by other companies, too. As a matter of fact, the company just updated its website to announce that Square Enix is a client, which means that it's possible they're currently working on a Square Enix game. And as it's unlikely they would've added that notice to their site for no reason, it's also possible we may see a specific game announcement soon.
Epoch is interested in following the Level-5 approach to development: good offices, good pay, and creative freedom with an eye towards making money. Feel free to take a look at their office. It's pretty snazzy.
Niinou made a closing statement on game development. "he's aware that at the moment there's a big contrast in east and west; RPGs made in Japan are more traditional and stuff, while western gamers look for more action. he mentions Capcom and the success they've had in action games, but he also mentions that many of the people at Imageepoch are huge fans of RPGs"
The only platforms they're currently working on are DS and Wii. They say the systems are accessible and easy to develop for, have brought in lots of new users, yada yada.
Mikage and Niinou aren't huge on ports. They feel if a game is ported to a different system, you need to add something original to it, because each system has its own strengths and benefits.
Mikage said it's really cool how both Final Fantasy and Mega Man recently celebrated their 20th anniversaries, and he hopes that in 20 years, people will be celebrating something he and his company have made.
And, the info we previously knew about their games...
Project Ray: seems to be a 2D game, no platform specified; this is the game being made by Hiroyuki Kanemaru, formerly of Tales Studio and before that Telenet
Project Salamander: a 3D DS game
And, key staff at the company...
Ryoei Mikage (the company owner):
Luminous Arc - director
Kazuya Niinou (senior director/planner):
Trauma Center: Under the Knife - director
Etrian Odyssey - director
Hiroyuki Kanemaru (director):
Emerald Dragon - design
Fang of Arunamu - design
Tales of Symphonia - script director, script editor, level concept designer
Tales of Rebirth - scenario script
