thearkhound

[thearkhound]

Serious Play, Sincere Review - Target 11: Paving the Way for Japanese games on western PCs

Originally written in Japanese by Akira Yamashita for the July 1989 issue of Micom BASIC Magazine

Currently Japanese video games are highly regarded around the world. If you go to a video arcade in the United States, 9 out of every 10 cabinet will contain a so-called "overseas version" of a video game originally developed in Japan. Moreover, the Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES) has been conquering the nation for over a year. Famicom games that were already popular in Japan have been gradually ported over to the NES and achieved great success in the States as well. It seems the word "Nintendo" has entered the vernacular of American children as a word that represents a form of entertainment. By contrast, Japanese developed PC games haven't been making much of a splash overseas in the same way that their arcade and NES counterparts have done. But lately they are suddenly starting to get attention, as many ports are now being released. This month we tried shining a spotlight on these Japanese games that paving the ways on the foreign market.

Japanese Games From Sierra

Sierra On-Line is headquartered on the west coast of the United States, in a small town located on the outskirts of California. With around 200 employees, Sierra is among the top five software houses in the United States, with their titles always dominating the top ten best-selling charts.

If you've been playing adventure games for a while now, perhaps you might had heard of the name Sierra at least once. They were the great company that made the original versions of several adventure games, such as Mystery House and Wizard & The Princess, that were released in Japan by Starcraft. It is well-known that these games, which were part of the so-called "Hi-Res Adventure" series, were the first adventure games to feature graphical screens and were very popular even in the States.

Their latest line of games, the King's Quest series, have also attracted a lot of attention, becoming a big hit with over a million units sold. They're adventure games that are a bit different from the rest, in which the player types in a command on the keyboard and the on-screen character will act accordingly.

For example, in the fourth entry of the series, The Perils of Rosella, if you type the command "clean room" after the heroine has entered an unclean room, it will trigger an event in which she will fix each of the beds, takes a broom out of the shelf and starts sweeping the floor, gathers all the dishes scattered on the kitchen table and then washes them on the sink. The animation is quite detailed too.

What sets this apart from a usual Japanese game is that such a scene in the game exists not necessarily to have the player progress through the story, but simply to entertain. The King's Quest games employ a score system in which the amount of points a player has increases for each event that they managed to do. However, the game can still be completed, even if the player's score is low. This means that there's no pushy obligation for the player to watch all the scenes in the game, which is good. The more you play, the more discoveries you make that makes the game's world feel deeper. Sierra On-Line calls this kind of game a "3-D Animated Adventure Game."

When we learned that such a company that has been leading the computer game software industry in both, the past and present, has been porting and publishing Game Arts titles in the United States under their own brand, we immediately went to the company's Japanese subsidiary, Sierra On-Line Japan. to get to the story.

"When it comes to Japanese arcade games, particularly in the action genre, our staff recognize their tremendous quality and how much they have evolved. Our staff, starting with our company's president, would repeatedly visit Japan to research our country's games and study their market, and it was during one of such visits that they encountered a game titled Thexder running on the NEC PC-8801 Mk. II SR. They felt in love on first sight and immediately went to Game Arts to negotiate for the license and that's how we ended up introducing the game to the IBM PC." says Eiji Nagano, President of Sierra On-Line Japan.

Two of Games Arts' titles have already been converted and published by Sierra On-Line. Both titles have been selling relatively well, with Thexder, released on August 1988, moving 200,000 units, while Silpheed, released on April 1989, has moved 35,000 units a month after its release.

I was curious about the quality of these ports, so I tried them out on the spot and I was surprised at how good they turned out.

Starting with Thexder, the explosion patterns were not included due to hardware limitations and the music is now rendered in beeps, but other than that, I found almost no difference with the original PC-8801 version. I've been told there are many hardcore Thexder players in the United States, with some mighty players having even achieved a score of 10 million points.

As for Silpheed, there is no doubt that it holds up quite well compared to its PC-8801 counterpart. Aside from the fact that it's a bit slower, its MIDI-generated soundtrack is, in a single word, amazing. I played the game using a Roland MT-32 sound module and I was deeply moved by the breadth of its sound. Perhaps there aren't that many people experienced with the MIDI music format, but if you play this game, you will certainly be captivated by it. It seriously made me wish that more Japanese game developers would support the MIDI format.

I went on asking Mr. Nagano how they managed to put out such faithful conversions with high-degree of accuracy.

"The conversions of both of these titles were handled by American programmers. Immediately after the contract was signed, a programmer would be sent to Game Arts to stay for around a week and they would be given technical guidance with detailed instructions. Since there isn't that much of a difference between Japanese and American programmers in terms of technical skills to begin with, it's simply a matter of mastering the proper know-how quickly. Perhaps the most difficult part is the fact that the comments on the source code are written in Japanese. But even I, as someone who was involved with the conversion process, was surprised at what they achieved."

It appears that Sierra On-Line plans on converting more Japanese titles to western machines at a pace of two titles a year. Their conversion of Sorcerian, which is currently under development, is scheduled to be released this December.

In contrast, Sierra On-Line Japan is also planning on releasing several of its own original games to Japanese PCs. Just the thought of being able to play a King's Quest game on the NEC PC-9801 is enough to make me excited.

However, the accuracy of the conversion could be an issue. Everyone knows that factors such as disk access and screen loading times are great factors in affecting a player's motivation. Since the original versions are great games, I hope that any conversion could be just as good as the Silpheed port.

Mr. Nagano has this to say on the matter.

"When it comes to porting software between Japan and the United States, there must be adjustments made to suit each country's climate and characteristics. For example, it must be said that getting a Japanese person to comprehend dry American humor can be quite a difficult task. Knowing how to adapt that is the key."

To become a software exchange base between the United States and Japan. Sierra On-Line Japan has become an interesting place.

Report of Japanese Games in the United States Part 1

John Williams, a representative of Sierra On-Line, writes

"Japanese video games are quite popular in the United States thanks to their unique atmosphere. But if I'll be frank, when it comes to [Japanese] PC game publishers, it must be said that they're struggling quite a bit.

For example, when it comes to the U.S. market, I think the Japanese company with the biggest share is Taito, but they don't quite stack up to Nintendo, even if they seem to be doing well porting their own arcade titles.

Koei is also praised by magazines for their historical simulation games, but they aren't available in many formats, so they're unlikely to have a hit at this point.

When you keep that in mind, our company's Thexder is a Japanese-developed PC game that did quite well. I'm sure Silpheed will also become a hit like Thexder. However, I don't think it will be a tremendous hit due to the current overwhelming popularity of Nintendo in the United States.

But we'll do our best. Silpheed will be the proof that the Nintendo is not necessarily the perfect game machine. It's a splendid game. I'm sure everyone will appreciate the MIDI compatibility as well."

Japanese Games From Kyodai

Kyodai Software Marketing, with its unusual name, was founded last spring as a joint venture between Broderbund Software and 11 Japanese PC software houses. Their offices are located in San Rafael, California, which is north of San Francisco. I can't helped but be surprised by their first lineup, which includes Ys, Murder Club, Hydlide III and Curse of Babylon, because it's quite extravagant.

The following is the full list of companies participating in Kyodai

Broderbund

Hummingbird

T&E Soft

Pony Canyon

Kogado Studios

Xtalsoft

Game Arts

Telenet Japan

Nihon Falcom

BPS

Micro Cabin

Riverhill Soft

Mr. Tsumura, the President of Kyodai, explained to us the reason for the company's formation via an international phone call.

"When it comes to games that were ported over from the United States to Japan, there aren't that many that ended up becoming hits. However, when you look at the arcade and Nintendo markets, in other words, Japanese games that were converted to the United States, it's been a great success. Therefore we turned our attention towards Japanese PC games, which have yet to reach the U.S. market in any significant way. Within that background we couldn't overlook the matching needs between the Japanese software houses who were seeking business opportunities in the foreign market, and Broderbund Software, who wanted to handle Japanese software with their own distribution channel."

The selection process on which games to port over was started immediately after Kyodai was established. Naturally the criteria of choosing a game was based on what suits the American market, but the way they handled it is quite interesting.

"We started by creating three evaluation teams comprised of Americans. They're very different from each other, with one team being comprised of business people, the second of high school and college students who are enthusiasts, and the third one of people who don't know much. We then have them play a game on a Japanese computer, whether it's a PC-8801, PC-9801 or an MSX, and gauge their reactions. Naturally we have an interpreter on their side to help them out. For our current lineup, we picked games that were popular with all three teams."

Unfortunately I was unable to look at any screenshots of the ports themselves, but the company aims on releasing all four titles within the year and are developing them at a rapid pace. I asked Mr. [Tokihiro] Naito from T&E Soft, who have apparently seen a sample version of the Hydlide III port, on his thoughts on it.

"The resolution of the [western] machine is half of the Japanese PC, so it was a bit painful to some extent, but they still did a pretty good job. The arrangements that gave me a sense of the American programmer's sensibilities were quite interesting. For example, the trees on the plain were moving in a noisily matter and the hero's weapon could be fired rapidly with somewhere up to 6 to 9 shots on-screen (as opposed to the 3 shots on the original version). As the programmer for the original version, I'm hoping that the port doesn't completely loses the sense of the game."

During my conversation with Mr. Naito, I could get a glance of the difference in the national characteristics of a Japanese player and an American player. When pondering on what makes a game a hit in Japan and in the United States, it's a factor that can't be ignored. American players are likely to think about a puzzle for months, no matter how absurd it might be, while Japanese players will likely drop a game if they get stuck even if it was only for a bit. On the other hand, Americans like games where they mindlessly shoot things, while the Japanese like games such as the Tower of Druaga, in which knowledge is important.

In the end, can a Japanese PC game overcome such difference in national characteristics and truly become an international hit. Mr. Tsumura calmly analyzed that in the following matter.

"Americans as a race are, by their very nature, rich when it comes to their imagination. They have the ability to enter a game's world and immerse themselves into a role without much explanation needed. Therefore, most American games, if I have to say, are rather simple in terms of graphics and we're created to stimulate the imagination of the player. In contrast, Japanese games are neatly designed from the start, with good graphics and a good story. When it comes to Americans, I don't see any reason why they would dislike such a game. If we can built a brand image that says 'this is what Japanese PC games are like', then we would have more than sufficient capability to create hits."

Mr. Tsumura continued explaining his aspirations for Kyodai.

"Ultimately I want Japanese software houses to start producing games for the American market from the get-go and release them under the Kyodai brand. For that purpose we intend to gradually provide information about the American market to Japanese developers. To everyone in Japan, if you have anything you want to learn, contact us without hesitation We will keep working like we were representatives of Japan, so please support us."

Kyodai's Release Lineup

Murder Club (by Riverhill Soft) - The first installment in the J.B. Harold series. A detective-themed adventure that uses a menu-driven system, it was praised for its beautiful graphics. There were perhaps many people who were moved by the amazing visuals of the recently-released Sharp X68000 version. Can the U.S. port achieve the same quality of graphics? And will they also include the investigative journal?

The Ancient Land of Ys (by Nihon Falcom) - An active RPG with a user-friendly design that allows any mystery to be simplified enough to be solved by anyone. We're particularly curious if the United States could be receptive of this kind of game.

Hydlide III (by T&E Soft) - An active RPG that implements features such as a notion of time and a carrying limit. The objective of the game is to defeat the dark ruler Gaizack in order to bring back peace to Fairyland. Since the original version already included an English language mode, a conversion should be simple.

Curse of Babylon (by XTALSOFT) - A somewhat unsual active RPG played from a side-view perspective, but uses a bum-rush system. The game's option to freely choose your background music was much talked about. It was also known for its very large map. Taking a look at this, it seems that most of the games being ported are Active RPGs.

Report on Japanese Games in the United States Part 2

Akira Hibiki, Micom BASIC Magazine's U.S. correspondent, writes:

"When it comes to arcade games, the Pac-Man series, along with Final Lap and Operation Thunderbolt are all popular in the video arcades around my area. Tetris also seems to be popular here, but it's a version of the game developed by Atari [as opposed to the Sega version that was released in Japan]. Surprisingly Gradius doesn't seem to be very popular here. Seeing a black person credit-feeding his way through Splatterhouse until getting to the end made me smile.

As for the NES, Japanese games are overwhelmingly popular. The Legend of Zelda and The Adventure of Link are always selling out in stores, so they're pretty hard games to obtain. However, most kids don't seem to be aware of their Japanese origins. With that said, a game magazine here ranked Zaxxon No.1 in popularity. I suspect there must have some secret way to enjoy that game.

As for Japanese-developed PC games, unfortunately they don't seem to be that well-known, if at all."

In Conclusion

When thinking about it, there has been many things that Japanese PC games had learned from American games. The most obvious example being the RPG genre. Many types of RPGs have been born by using the systems of two great series, Ultima and Wizardry, as a foundation and then adding several flavors of originality. And there's no mistake that this is a development that will continue in the future.

The debt that Japanese games have receive from the United States is truly immeasurable. But now that the environment has been set up to allow Japanese PC games to enter the market, perhaps it's time to return the favor. It's difficult to know whether a game that was a hit in Japan could also be a hit in the United States or not. Perhaps a game that didn't do well in Japan might capture the hearts of Americans. At any rate, if a Japanese-produced PC game can make an American game player or developer feel something, then I would be really glad as someone who participates in this industry.

Advancing into the foreign will be one of the big challenges that must be faced when it comes to Japanese-made PC games.

#Akira Yamashita #Micom BASIC Magazine #Kyodai Software #Sierra On-Line #Broderbund Software

[thearkhound]

Konami Magazine Volume 4: Metal Gear Solid preview and Policenauts The Best reissue (September 1997)

Metal Gear & Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake

AWACS(早期警戒管制機)E-3A内に仮設された臨時指揮所で、国防省長官ジム・ハウスマンは額の汗をぬぐった。閉所恐怖症の傾向がある彼は、この空間効率だけを追求した狭苦しい指揮所が未だに好きになれずにいた。高度9000メートルを時速約450キロメートルで巡航する機の振動を感じながら、彼の机上の砂色と黒色の二冊のファイルに目をうつした。双方とも表紙には，「Top Secret」 「Eyes Only」 「MSX2」の赤字を躍っている。ハウスマンは心中の焦燥と不安から目をそらすように、砂色のファイルを開いた。

それは1995年、OUTER HEAVEN蜂起について記したファイルだった。南アフリカ奥地に突如出現した武装要塞国家アウターヘブン。そこで核搭載型二足歩行戦車メタルギアが開発されていることを掴んだ西側はFOX HOUNDに潜入工作を要請した。先に潜入したGREY FOXは敵の捕虜となるも、新入部員のSOLID SNAKEが開発途中にあったメタルギアを破戒、OUTER HEAVENを陥落させた。尚、OUTER HEAVENの実際は南アフリカに拠点を置く傭兵派遣会社に類する組織であり、その指揮官はFOX HOUND総司令官BIG BOSSその人であったことを未確認情報としてファイルは付記していた。ハウスマンは砂色のファイルを置き、続けて黒いファイルを開いた。ザンジバーランド騒乱。それがそのファイルのタイトルだった。

1999年、石油を精製する微生物OILIXを開発したキオ・マルフ博士が拉致された。中央アジアの少数民族自治区を占拠、主権を宣言している独立武装勢力ザンジバ ーランドが 、OILIX を手に入れることでエネ ルギー危機にあえぐ世界に対し軍事 的政治的優位を確立せんと図ったのだ 。当時のFOX HOUND司令官ロイ・キャンベルは退役していたSOLID SNAKEを呼び戻し、ザンジバーランドへの潜入、マルフ博士の奪還を依頼した。鉄壁の防御をかいくぐり、ザンジバーランド奧深くへ潜入を果たしたSNAKEは、OUTER HEAVENから移管されたこの地で完成していたメタルギアを破戒、傭兵部隊を束ねるかつてのFOX HOUNDの先輩GREY FOXとの死闘を制して、OILIXの精製法を奪還することに成功した。また、ザンジバーランドを影で率いていたのが、かのBIG BOSSであったという噂もあるが、唯一真実を知るSNAKEが固く口を閉ざしているため、その真嘘は不明である…。

The U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Houseman was in a temporary command post set provisionally inside an AWACS E-3A plane, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. Houseman, who suffers from claustrophobic tendencies, could never get used to such a cramped control room designed solely with spatial efficiency in mind. As he sensed the vibration of the plane, which was flying at an altitude of 9000 meters above the ground and a speed of 450 kilometers per hour, he glanced at the two files on his desk, one sand-colored and the other one black. Both files had words such as "Top Secret", "Eyes Only" and "MSX2" stamped in red on their covers. Hoping to distract himself from his own impatience and anxiety, Houseman opened the sand-colored file.

The file described the details of the Outer Heaven uprising that occurred in 1995. Outer Heaven, an armed fortress nation that suddenly appeared deep within South Africa. Having learned that they were developing Metal Gear, a nuclear-equipped bipedal walking tank, the West gave orders to FOX HOUND to infiltrate. An operative named Gray Fox was sent first, but he captured by the enemy. A newly enlisted member named Solid Snake was later deployed and he managed to destroy Metal Gear before it was completed, bringing down Outer Heaven with it. The file also has unconfirmed reports that Outer Heaven was actually a sort-of mercenary dispatching company established in South Africa, led by none other than Big Boss, who was also the commander-in-chief of FOX HOUND. Houseman closed the sand-colored file and moved on to the black file. The Zanzibarland Disturbance. That was its title.

In 1999, Dr. Kio Marv was abducted after discovering OILIX, an oil-refining microorganism. Zanzibarland, an armed separatist group that claimed sovereignty by occupying a minority-ruled region in Central Asia, conspired to use OILIX in order to establish military and political superiority over other nations during a period of energy crisis. Under orders from Roy Campbell, the commander of FOX HOUND at the time, Solid Snake was brought back out of retirement to infiltrate Zanzibarland and extract Dr. Kio Marv. Having slipped by their defenses, Snake managed to infiltrate into the depths of Zanzibarland, where he destroyed Metal Gear, which had been completed after it was transferred over from Outer Heaven, and successfully fought against Gray Fox, his former senior and now leader of the enemy mercenary forces, in a battle to the death, allowing Snake to reclaim the OILIX refining formula. There were rumors that it was Big Boss himself who was leading Zanzibarland from the shadows, but the only person who can ascertain the veracity of such information, Solid Snake himself, has remained tight-lipped...

Metal Gear Solid

ハウスマンはファイルを閉じた 。確かに素晴しい戦績といえる 。 しかし、 それを何度確認しても 、たった 一人の工作員に世界の命運を委ねることへの不安を拭いさる事は出来なかった 。だが、 それでも彼に賭けるしかない 。他にこの緊急事態を収拾しうる選択肢がハウスマンには残されていないのだ 。

状況はまさに危機的だった 。本日未明 、アラスカ 、フォックス諸島沖の孤島、シャ ドー・モセス島の米軍核兵器保存庫がテロリストによって占拠された。 テロリストはハイテク不正規戦部隊FOX HOUNDの精鋭6人と彼等が率いる宇宙SEALS。宇宙SEALSは 、遺伝子治療によって兵士に必要な肉体的資質を全て与えられ 、最新の装備と訓練を施された次世代特殊部隊だ 。テロリスト達は核兵器保存庫占拠成功と同時にある要求を突きつけてきた 。現政権の根幹を揺るがす恐るべきその要求にホワイトハウスは震撼し、大統領は即座に武力によるテロリストの排除を決定した 。しかしテロリスト達は、24時間以内に要求が受け入れられなければ 、核を発射する事を合わせて通告してきている 。果たして彼等の核発射能力は事実か否か。 それによっては政府存続措置 (COG)の発令すら検討されなればならない 。正確な情報の入手が急務だった 。だが相手は現代最高の傭兵達に指揮された次世代特殊部隊だ。デルタフォースも潜入できまい。さらにあそこには…。

作戦総指揮を任されたハウスマンは決断した 。最高機密体制コード ・ホワイトをしいた上での特殊工作員による単独極秘潜入 。現状で内部の情報を得にはそれ以外に方法はない。工作員の人選に迷う事はなかった 。全米にこ任務を果たしうる能力を有する 者は一人しか該当しなかったからだ 。元FOX HOUND隊員 、SOLID SNAKE。 例のファイルの男だ 。既にオハイオ級原子力潜水艦が彼を回収し、現地に到着しているはずだ 。

机上のデジタルクロックが電子アラームを鳴らしハウスマンの注意を促す。シャドー・モセス島はちょうど日没を迎えたはずだ。作戦開始の時刻だった。

Houseman closed the file. It was certainly an impressive resume. But no matter how many times he looked at it, he still felt uneasy about leaving the fate of the world to a single soldier. But there was no other choice. Snake was his only bet during this moment of crisis.

The situation was critical. A U.S. nuclear weapons storage facility in Shadow Moses island, an island in the Fox archipelago of Alaska, was seized by terrorists on that very morning. The terrorists were the Space Seals, led by six members of the high-tech unconventional special forces group FOX HOUND. The Space Seals are the next-generation special forces who have received all the physical qualities a soldier requires through gene therapy and were provided the latest in equipment and training. The terrorists were successfully seized the nuclear weapons storage facility and were now making demands. Their demands frightened the White House, shaking the very foundation of the current administration, causing the President to order the immediate neutralization of the terrorists by force. However, the terrorists warned that if their demands were not met within 24 hours, they would launch a nuclear strike. The question of whether they were capable or not was crucial. A COG (continuity of government) order was being considered depending on the answer. Verifying such information was vital. But the enemies were the Next-Generation Special Forces under the command of our generation's greatest mercenaries. Delta Forces wouldn't be able to infiltrate them. Moreover, there was something else awaiting there too...

Houseman, who was given complete command of the operation, had made his decision. He decided to have a single agent infiltrate the facility covertly under the top secret system "Code White". There was no other way to obtain information within the current circumstances. There was no doubt over the choice of candidate. There was only one person within the United States who was capable of accomplishing such a mission. Former FOX HOUND operative SOLID SNAKE. The man from the dossier. He should've already been retrieved by an Ohio-class nuclear submarine by now and should've been on his way to the island.

The digital clock on Houseman's desk alerted him with its alarm. It was exactly sunset at Shadow Moses island. The mission has begun.

未曽有の臨場感! 脅威の3DCG演技 !

An unprecedented sense of realism! Menacing 3DCG Performances!

人物、背景、武器、アイテム…。METAL GEAR SOLIDでは全ての表示物がリアルタイムフルポリゴンで表現される。巧致な3DCGで描き込まれた戦場がフルポリゴンならではの自在なカメラワークで演出され、潜入任務の緊張感が極限までリアルに描き出される。そのかってない臨場感は、正に3D CG BAND-DE SSINEE (劇画)だ。

Characters, scenery, weapons, items... Everything in Metal Gear Solid is rendered in full real-time polygon. The exquisite 3D CGI battlefield is directed by a free-moving camera that only full polygons can provide and the tension of an infiltration is depicted in its utmost realism. Such unprecedented sense of realism truly makes a 3D GCI Bande Dessinee (graphic novel).

FIM-92Aスティンガー対空ミサイル - 携帯地対空ミサイル。有効射程4200メートル、有効高度3800メートル。携行火器でありながら戦闘機や戦闘ヘリに十分対抗しうる性能を持つ。 低空侵入する敵機に対し師団用防空システムを補完する目的で運用される。

FIM-92A Stinger Missile - A portable anti-air missile. It has an effective range of 4200 meters and an altitude of 3800 meters. It has a destructive power capable of taking tanks and attack helicopters while being a portable firearms. Its intended use is to support a divisional anti-air system against enemy vehicles infiltrating from low-altitude.

C4プラスチック爆弾 - 扱いやすぐ強力な爆発力を誇るプラティック爆弾 。点火装置を使わない限り火の中にいれても爆発しない高い安定性を持ち、壁、床等あらゆる場所に設置出来る。無線式点火装置で任意のタイミングによる遠隔爆破が可能 。

C4 - A plastic explosive that boasts impressive explosive power that is easy to use. It possesses a high stability that doesn't explode even when put in fire, as long as the ignition device is not used, and can be placed in various places such as walls and floors. It can be detonated remotely at any time through a radio detonator.

リモコンミサイル(偵察用爆薬) - 通称ニキータミサイル。有線誘導式で発射後、自由に進行方向の制御が可能。弾頭に搭載されたCCDカメラからの映像を見ながら自分は物陰に隠れたままで、敵陣奥深くを偵察・攻撃することができる。

Remote Control Missile - Nicknamed the "Nikita". After being launched with a cable guided system, its direction can be controlled freely. It can be used to scout and destroy the depths of the enemy's frontlines, while hiding from plain sight, by viewing the image transmitted from a CCD camera equipped onto the warhead.

双眼鏡 - SOLID SNAKEが使用する軍用双眼鏡。赤外線オートフォーカスシステム装備。高倍率のガラス製のため衝撃にも強い。遠距離からの敵地偵察には欠かせない基本装備。

Binoculars - A pair of military binoculars used by Solid Snake. Equipped with an infrared auto-focus system. It's resistant against impact thanks to its high magnification glass. A basic equipment that is essential for scouting enemy territory from a long distance.

六月下旬 、 小島監督をはじめとする開発主力スタッフはアメリカに渡り、E3でのMETAL GEAR海外版の発表 、開発資料取材を敢行した。その模様を報告しよう 。

In late June, the main members of the development team, including the director Mr. Kojima, went to the United States to announce the western version of Metal Gear Solid at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, as well as gather research data.

E3(Electronic Entertainment Expo) 取材報告

E3

6 月20日-21日 。 世界最大と言われるゲームショーE3。そのコナミブースで「メタルギアSOLID」のゲーム画面を編集したプロモーションビデオが上映された 。ディスプレイが吊られた柱の周りは人の山 。ブースに収まりきらずに柵の外側にまで人が群がるほどの大盛況だった 。ディスプレイに集中する多数の視線 。息を飲む観客達 。そしてビデオの終了と共にブースは盛大な拍手と歓声で溢れた 。その様子はさながら映画の試写会やコンサート会場のようでもあり、我々はこの反響からユーザの期待の大きさを肌で実感することが出来た 。その後、小島監督を中心に質疑応答を行ったが、来場したプレスからはこれまでの小島監督作品をよくふまえた上での質問が数多くなされ 、小島監督作品が日本だけではなく世界中で評価されているのだと感じることができた 。

June 20-21. The Electronic Entertainment Expo could be considered the biggest game show in the world. A promotional video for Metal Gear Solid consisting of edited screen captures was shown there at the Konami booth. Surrounding the pillar where the screen was suspended was a huge crowd. The booth was so packed, that it became so overcrowded to the point that some of the people had to watch it from outside the fence. Audiences had their eyes fixed on the screen. They were completely were breath-taken. The booth was filled with overwhelming applause and cheers once the video ended. It felt like an advanced movie screening or a live concert. We could truly sense the anticipation that players had in person by such a reaction. We then held a Q&A session hosted by Mr. Kojima and many members of the press asked questions about his previous games. We truly felt that Kojima's games were well-received, not just in Japan, but around the world as well.

戦車, 武器庫, 銃 , 取材報告

Tanks, Arsenal, Guns

6月17日 、ロスに到着した我々はその足でハリウッドへと向かった 。目指すは「STEMBRIDGE GUN RENTALS INC.」。ほとんど全てのハリウッド映画に銃火器を提供 している銃器レンタル会社だ。建物の中には壁一面に多量の銃が並べられている。その質感・重量感を、我々は自分の手にとって確かめた。

そして6月18日、夕刻よりリトルトウキョウ近くの射撃ブースで実弾の射撃を行った。同行して頂いた軍事コンサルタント、毛利元貞氏から射撃指導を受け 、 銃の握り方 、立ち方 、腕の伸ばし具合等、すべてがちゃんとした理由と意味を持っているということを理解した。この取材によってMETAL GEAR SOLIDの射撃シーンの迫力は従来のゲー ムとは明らかに一線を画すものとなるはずだ 。

6月23日、ロスとラスベガスのほぼ中間のモハベ砂漠に位置するIRWIN基地で我々は戦闘車輌の取材を行った。 我々は通常では立ち入ることのできない戦車部隊エリアの見学を許可された。数百台の戦車が整然と並ぶそのエリアで、我々はM2ブラッドレー歩兵戦闘車両の操縦室に入ることが出来た 。M2の操縦室はかなり狭く、思うように身動きをとることもできない 。資料で事前に知ってはいたものの、身をもって体験する兵器の居住性の低さは 、 想像以上のものだった 。次に見学したのは、M1エイブラムス主力戦車だ。残念ながら操縦室に入ることは出来なかったが 、特例として小島監督が戦車の天井に上がることが許された 。 また 、M 1 戦車の整備場にも入る事が出来た 。様々な方向に砲塔を向けたM1戦車を見ることがかなった上に、整備場自体も大いに美術的な参考となった 。 基地内の無造作に置かれた戦闘車輌群に対し、我々はあらゆる角度からビデオを回し、ひたすらシッターを切った。テクスシャーやモデリングのための資料は多いにこしたことはない。 だが、何よりも本物の戦闘車較の匂いや複合装甲の肌触りを確かめることが出来たのは 、何にも代え難い経験だ。これを最大限に生かし、我々はゲーム内に最高の臨場感を実現してみせる。

June 17th. As soon as we arrived at Los Angeles, we immediately headed towards Hollywood. Our destination was Stembridge Gun Rentals Inc. It's a company that provides firearms to practically every movie in Hollywood. Inside the building there were many guns lined up on a single wall. We could truly sense their weight and texture with our very own hands.

June 18. After the evening we went to a shooting booth near Little Tokyo and practiced with live ammo. We received firearm training from Mr. Motosada Mori, the military consultant who accompanied us. We learned that the way we carry a gun, stand, aim and so on, all have their meaning and purpose. With such research, the shooting scenes in Metal Gear Solid will surely be more impactful than those from conventional video games.

June 23. We went to the IRWIN base located in the Mojave Desert, which is located somewhere between Los Angeles and Las Vegas, to research combat vehicles. We were allowed to inspect the tank area, which is normally off-limits. Among all the tanks that were stationed there in an orderly matter in that area, we were able to access the control room of an M2 Bradley tank. The control room was considerably cramped and we couldn't move as comfortably as we wanted to. While we knew this from prior research, experiencing it in person firsthand was more uncomfortable than we expected. The next tank we've inspected was an M1 Abrams. Unfortunately we weren't allowed access to the control room this time, but they made an exception to Mr. Kojima, who was able to climb atop the tank. He was even allowed to enter the M1's maintenance area. Not only did we get to see the tank pointing its turret in various directions, the maintenance area itself served as a huge artistic reference for us. We took footage of all the haphazardly placed tanks in the base and kept clicking on the shutter. There's nothing more suitable when it comes to having lots of references for modelling and texturing. But more importantly, it was an irreplaceable experience to able to smell a tank or touch its composite armor. We will put this experience to good use when it comes to achieving highest sense of realism with our game.

SWAT取材報告

SWAT Research Report

6月18日、ディズニーランドのすぐ側にあるホテルの廃虚。我々は朝早くがからホテルの裏で待機していた。待つことしばし 。やがて白塗りのバン数合を連ねて ��彼らは現われた 。HUNTINGTON BEACH警察SWAT隊 。彼等が月に1度行っている定例訓練の見学を、我々は特別に許されたのだ 。

最初に行われたのは、7/4独立記念日にむけての暴動鎮圧の屋外訓練だった。1列横隊で前進しながら、暴徒に見立てたドラム告へ模擬催涙弾 、ゴム弾等の射撃訓練が行われる。間欠的に発砲を繰り返しつつ、横一列でゆっくりと進んで 行く彼らの後ろ姿は静かなる威圧感に満ちていた 。白昼の銃声 、硝煙の匂い …。 日本では体験できない世界がそこにある 。その雰囲気を肌で感じとり、その感覚を覚えて帰ろうと我々は皆 、神経を極限まで集中した。

ホテル屋内ではドア破壊、強行突入訓練などの後 、 制圧訓練が行われた。ホテルの室内を容疑者の家と仮定、容疑者は銃を所持しているかもしれないという設定で突入を行う訓練だど。ペイント弾を使用するため、隊員は皆、首、腕、フルフェイスの完全防備で訓練に望む 。我々にもフルフェイスのガード装着が義務づけられた。まるでアクション映画のワンシーンのような突入が終わると、その場で教官と隊員全員が輪になって突入パターンを振り返り討議を始める。様々な意見、提案等が繰り返し検討され、納得が行くまで訓練が行われるのだ。何度も状況を変え、突入メンバーを交代させて繰り返される突入訓練に我々は見入った 。 隊員達の呼吸のとり方、瞬間の足の運び、目線の動き…。まさに本物ならでは、と喰らせる新鮮な発見が彼等の動作の一つーつにある。METAL GEAR SOLIDの大きな魅力のーつは「潜入の緊迫感」の体感だ。この時撮影したビデオ、そして何よりもその場を体験した我々の記憶は、必ずやMETAL GEAR SOLIDに今までのゲームの次元を越えたたリアリティーと緊迫感を与えることができるはずだ。そう我々は確信した。

June 18. We immediately went to an abandoned hotel building located nearby Disneyland and waited on the back of the building during the early morning. We waited for a while. Eventually they appeared driving a swarm of white-painted vans. The Huntington Beach SWAT Team. We were given the special privilege of observing one of their monthly scheduled drills.

The first thing they did was an outdoor riot control drill in preparations for the Independence Day celebrations on July 4th. While moving in single file, they threw mock tear gas and shot rubber bullets at drum cans representing rioters as part of their training. Their backs as they move slowly in a single line while firing intermittently gave away a calming sense of intimidation. The sound of gunfire in the middle of the day and the stench of gunpowder smoke... It's a world that cannot be experienced in Japan. We all concentrated our sensitivity to their utmost limit in order to understand such an atmosphere from experience and bring back home that feeling.

After the door-breaking and forced entry drills, a control drill was conducted within the hotel. The raiding drill was conducted with the assumption that an apartment room within the hotel contained a suspect who might be armed. Since the squad members were armed with paint bullets, they wore protective gear that covered their whole faces, necks and arms. We were also asked to wear full protective gear on our faces. Following the raid, which seemed like a scene straight out of an action movie, the squad leader and the rest of the team gathered in a circle and began reflecting on the raiding pattern they could've used. Various opinions and suggestions were repeatedly exchanged and the drill was conducted until they were satisfied. We observed as they repeatedly changed the situation and rearranged members for the raiding drill. The way the guards breathe, the pace in which they moved their legs, and their gaze... One of the major attractions of Metal Gear Solid is experiencing the tension of infiltration. The footage we shot, but more importantly the memories of our experience in that place, will give Metal Gear Solid a a sense of realism and tension that goes beyond the dimensions of games up to this point. That's our conviction!

Source: Konami Magazine Volume 4 - September 1997

#Metal Gear Solid #Konami Magazine

[thearkhound]

NOTES OF POLICENAUTS (from The PlayStation Vol. 21, February 9, 1996)

小島秀夫　ポリスノーツを語る

Hideo Kojima talks Policenauts

決定版ともいえるPS版「ポリスノーツ」を送り出したばかりの小島秀夫氏に、みずからの監督作品について余すところなく語っていただいた。ゲームという言葉だけ片付けてしまうには抵抗を感じさせるこの作品は、どういった意図で制作されたのか。遊んだあとの心に宿るものの正体とは。

Having just released Policenauts on the PlayStation in what may be considered its definite version yet, Hideo Kojima has come to talk about his own directorial work thoroughly. What was his intention in creating a work that can't be dismissed as just a mere game? And what lingers on player's minds after playing the game?

空間や時間をどんなに超えたって人間どうしの結びつきは変わらない

The relations between people never changes no matter how far it transcends time and space

-今回のPS版は異機種からの移植ということになるんですが、PSへの移植作業にもたずさわられた部分はあるんでしょうか。

--Since this is a port of a game previously released on other platforms, how were you involved with the porting process to the PlayStation?

小島　ええ、全部ですよ。演出とか、編集のし直しとかやってます。マニュアルを書いたりとかも。

Kojima: Yes, I was involved with everything. I redid everything from direction to editing. I even wrote the manual.

−−PC-9821や3DO版から、具体的に変わった部分は。

--Was there any specific changes from the PC-9821 and 3DO versions?

小島 シナリオとかは一緒なんですけど、それを元に、作り直したとまではいかないですけど…‥やっぱり不満な点がありましたんで、その点をPS版で解消していきました。

具体的にいうと、まず絵のほうですが、ムービーのほうも30カットほど、デジタルで描き直したんですよ。静止画に関しては3分の2以上のものをすべて加筆したのと、新たなカットを入れたという感じですが。

セリフのほうは、最初のPC-9821版のとき、多めにとってたんですけど、使ってないやつっていっぱいあるんですよ。３DO版でも、PC-9821版よりさらに削った部分とかいっぱいありまして。そのへんもうちょっと見直しして、ストーリーの流れに邪魔にならない程度のものをすくいとって入れこみまし

Kojima: The script is practically the same. Based on that, while I wouldn't necessarily say that we remade the game, but there were some unsatisfactory parts that we naturally fixed for the PlayStation version.

Specifically, when it comes to the artwork, we digitally redrew over 30 frames for the video portions. As for the still images, over two-thirds of them were completely renovated and we even added new frames.

As for the dialogue,we recorded a lot of stuff for the PC-9821 version, but most of it ended up being unused. We ended up making even more cuts for the 3DO version than we did for the PC-9821 version. Taking that into reconsideration, we took bits of dialogue that didn't interfered with the flow of the story and restored them into the game.

−−ポリスノーツで表現したかったこととは？

--What did you wanted to convey with Policenauts?

小島　「スナッチャー」とかの他のゲームもそうなんですけど、まず、道具として、オモチャとしてのゲームといえば、やっておもしろいこと、というのは当然ですよね。

やってるときは時間を忘れて楽しめるというのはあるんですけど、それプラス、何かしらの心に残るようなものがあればいいなと。例えば映画とか小説読んだあとに、楽しかったけど、こういうことを感じたとかありますよね。で、そのあとこういうことについて調べてみようとかいう、ま、ひとつのステップになるようなものが、楽しい間にも、知らず知らずの間に頭に残っている。

そういう、ゲームが終わったときに、前向きに、自分に残るものを与えくれるようなゲームっていうのが、なかなか出てこないので、そのへんを作ってみようと思ったんです。「ポリスノーツ」も「スナッチャー」も「メタルギア」もそうなんですけど。

Kojima: Like any other games such as Snatcher, it's natural that, as a tool or as a toy, a game must be fun to play first of all.

When you play a game, you lose track of time while enjoying yourself, but I also think that it would be nice if it left a lasting impression as a plus. Take for example, after watching a movie or reading a novel, you might had enjoyed the story, but it also left something within you. And then afterward, while enjoying myself, it would leave something in my mind that would serve as one step to look into such sort-of thing without even knowing it.

With that said, there aren't many games that leave you with something to look forward to after completing it, so I thought I would create games like that. Metal Gear, Snatcher and Policenauts were all made in such a matter −−具体的に、こういうことを心に残らせたいというのが、やっぱりあったんですよね。

--Of course, you had an idea of what you wanted to convey to players specifically.

小島 ストーリのテーマのほうですね。これは、ビヨンドっていう、人間関係と宇宙と、それを母親とに例えた時の、そのへんの……宇宙に人間が出て、その時の親子関係とか人間関係とか、親友関係とか、そのへんのところをテーマにしました。うーん、どうしようかな、筋に関わるとこがあるんで（笑）、なかなか言えないんですが。

キーワードは、”ビヨンド”なんですよ。（卓上のカップをめ指して）これはオンですね。オン・ザ・デスクですね。で（カップを持ち上げて）これはビヨンド。

Kojima: It's the theme of the story. It's called "Beyond" and it's about human relationships and outer space, and how that starts resembling motherhood... The theme covers subjects such as parent-child relationships, interpersonal relationships and friendships after mankind starts going into outer space. Hmm, I don't know how to describe it, since it relates to the plot (laughs), so I can't say much.

The keyword is "Beyond." (points to a cup on the table). This is "on." "On the desk." And this (holds the cup into the air), is Beyond.

−−ああ、離れている。

--I see, it's far away.

小島　（卓上を指す）地球があって、（持ち上げたカップを指す）コロニーがある。ビヨンドコーストっていうのは、こういう位置関係を表しています。

地球から、宇宙に進出するということで、ビヨンドっていう位置関係が出てくるんですけど、このとき、人間は宇宙人になるのでなく、人間はどこまでいっても、地球、というか母親の影響を受けていると。そういうつながりがあることを……例えばジョナサンとカレンとの関係、マークとエド、それからレッドウッドとクリスとか、あるいはエドとジョナサンという友達関係といったつながりを織り交ぜながら、確認できる形にするっていうのが、ひとつのテーマなんです。

Kojima: (Points to the table) This is Earth and (points to the cup), this is the space colony. Beyond Coast [the name of the space colony Policenauts takes place at].

Mankind leaves Earth during this period, but they do not become aliens yet. Instead, they are still influenced by Earth, by their mother, no matter how far they go. One of the themes was to weave together all the relationships, such as the relation between Jonathan Ingram and Karen Hojo, Marc and Ed Brown, and even Tony Redwood and Chris Goldwin, as well as the friendship between Jonathan and Ed, into a comprehensible form.

−−距離的な離れかだけでなく、ジョナサンの30年間の空白という、時間的な離れかたもあって。

--Not only is there a distance gap, but there is a 30 year time gap between Jonathan Ingram's past and his present.

小島 ええ。それも同じことなんですよ。ビヨンドって、超えるっていう意味なんですよ。空間を超えるっていう意味と、時間を超えるっていう意味をかけあわせてます。

ただ、空間も時間も超えた関係ですけども、結局取り巻いているのは、人間どうしの織りなす同じ空間ですよということが、最終的な「ポリスノーツ」のストーリーのテーマ。

例えば、親から子供が独立したからといって、別れるわけじゃない。いつまでもその関係は続いているという意味での人間関係です。

Kojima: That's right. It's the same thing. "Beyond" means to exceed somewhere. It could mean to exceed somewhere in time or space.

However, even though relationships transcends time and space, what ultimately surrounds it is the same space woven by fellow human beings. That's the ultimate theme of Policenauts.

For example, just because a child moves out from their parents, doesn't mean that they broke up with them. In terms of personal relationships, that relationship still goes on no matter the distance.

なぜ殴りあうのか

殴りあった後どうなるのか

人を傷つけることの意味を考えてみてほしい

I wanted players to think about why people fight, what happens after they fight, and what it means to have scars.

−−その表現方法として、いわゆるアドベンチャーゲーム的な手法をとった。

--As a way to express that, you employed an adventure game approach.

小島　そうですね。あの、「メタルギア」とかも、あれはアクションゲームですけども、やりたことは一緒なですよ。ただ「スナッチャー」とか「ポリスノーツ」の手法というのは、カメラワークとかカットとか、映画の手法が使えるということで、この形式を選んでいます。

ですから、「メタルギア」みたいなアクションでも表現できるんですけど、ただ今回はちょっとビジュアルとかカメラワークに重きをおきたかった。

Kojima: That's right. It's the same thing with the Metal Gear series, even though those are action games. But with Snatcher and Policenauts, I went for the adventure game format since the methods used, such as camera work and shots, are the same techniques used in filmmaking. So while I could had conveyed the same things in a Metal Gear-like action game, I wanted to emphasize the visuals and camera work.

−−ゲームというよりも、映像作品として観せたかった？

--Did you wanted Policenauts to be perceived more as a cinematic work than as a game?

小島　ではないんですけどね。

何ていうか、今の子供っていうのは、モニター文化ですよね。僕らのときはゲームっていうのはなかったけど、今の子供はモニターを使っている時間は、圧倒的にゲームが多いですよね。で、そこからいろいろ吸収してるわけです。テレビとか映画とか小説とか、そういうものよりも、デジタル化されたゲームからいろいろ学んだり、経験したりして。

それを考えると、僕らやっぱり、ただ単におもしろかっただけでは、あかんのじゃないかと（笑）思いまして。今後のゲーム業界を考えて、ある程の作家性が見え隠れするようなものができればなあと思っています。ま、ゲームが先にありきですけども、ゲームで遊んで楽しかったけども、そのあとに、何かちょっと残るような。トランプゲームではない（笑）というか、道具としてのゲームではなくて、何かそういうものを受け取れるものが中に存在していると。もちろん、それは押し付けがましくなるとまずいんですけど。

格闘ものとか、シューティングとか、あれはあれでいいと思うんですけど、僕が作るゲームは、例えば、なぜ殴りあうのか、殴りあったあとに、人がどうなるかっていうのを、それとなく考えてくれるようなゲームにしたいわけです。

ただ、そのへんばっかり表に出てしまうとおもしろくない。ザコ殺してボス敵に怒られたりしたら（笑）、当然ゲームですから、リアリズムとかカタルシスがないと。

最近はいろいろ規制とかあるじゃないですか。殴りあいの格闘ものでも、血が出なければいい（笑）、顔ボコボコにしてって（笑）。結局何のために殴りあいしたかっていうと、俺が一番強いんだっていうのを分からせるため。そういう理論はないんちゃうっていう（笑）。まだしも、女の子を助けにいくために立ち上がるっていうほうがね。

僕らの子供のころって仮面ライダーとかタイガーマスクとか、あれって闘う男だったんですけど、理由があったんですよ、はっきりとした。誰々を守るためとかね。そういうのが最近のゲームにはない。

Kojima: Not at all.

I mean, the current generation of kids are part of a monitor culture. While my generation didn't have video games when we were kids, kids today spend an overwhelmingly amount of time playing video games on their screens. And they internalized many things from them. They learn and experience things from playing digital games than they do from TV, movies or novels.

Thinking about it, we realized that video games are not just for fun (laughs). When considering the future of the game industry, I hope I'll be able to create something with some degree of authorship. Of course, the game itself comes first, you play it and have fun with it, but it must also leave something behind too. It's not a playing card (laughs), or rather, it's not a game as a tool, and there should be some sort of presence within that could be passed down. Of course, you don't want to be too preachy about it.

I think fighting games and shooting games are fine, but I want to make game that would make you wonder, for example, why are the characters fighting each other and what happens to them after the fight.

Of course, it wouldn't be fun if that was all there is to it. Naturally it's game where you kill a bunch of small fries and then make their boss angry (laughs), so there's no realism or catharsis.

Lately there's a lot of restrictions being put on games. It's okay to show a fistfight, as long as no blood comes out (laughs), just show their bruised faces. And in the end, what was the reason why they fought? To show who is the strongest. But then no such reason is given. (laughs) Perhaps it would've been better if you were fighting to rescue some girl.

When we were kids, we had heroes like Kamen Rider and Tiger Mask. They were fighting men, but they had a clear reason to do so, like protecting someone. Nowadays, video games don't even have that.

--ただ、そういったメッセージを汲み取ってほしいっていうときに、どうしても表現上の矛盾というか制約が出てきそうです。映画みたいにストレートに観せられない。

--However, if you want players to grasp such a message, there will inevitably be contradictions, or rather, constraints with the presentation. You can't just present things straightly like a movie.

小島　そうですね、キャラクター行動からして、いろんなことができないとダメなんですが、なかなか巧くいかないんです。

例えば女性の胸を触るっていうのがありますが、ジョナサンはハードボイルドだからそんなことはしなとかいっても、したいユーザーさんっがいるわけで。だから、そういうことをやる人はそういうことをやって許してくれる人だろうと（笑）。逆にそういうことをやりたくないっていうか、世界観を崩したくないっていう人はやらないだろうということで。ただ、一線を越えると話にならないんで、そこはとどめないといけない。

やっぱりジョナサン関係が一番大変なんですよ。どこでラインを引くかっていうのが。だから後半にいくほどほとんど何もできなくなる。いろんなものを入れたいんですけど、テンポが悪くなる。そのへんの葛藤がなかなか……あれでもううまいこといってないと思いますけど。今後の課題というか。

Kojima: That's right. A character must be capable of doing many things based on their behavior, but it doesn't work out very skillfully.

For example, when it comes to the choice of grasping the breasts of the female characters, there are players who might want to do that even if Jonathan is supposed to be a hardboiled character who shouldn't be doing such a thing. Therefore, there might be players who will likely try to overlook that. (laughs) On the other hand, players who don't want to do such a thing or they don't want to break the game's worldview, won't do it. However, those who crossed that line will probably won't talk about it and will keep it to themselves.

It's the most difficult when it comes to Jonathan himself. When do you stop crossing the line? That's why there isn't much to do in the latter half of the game. There are many things I wanted to put there, but they would've ruin the tempo. There's quite a considerable amount of conflict in that area... I don't think I'm quite satisfied with how it turned out. Perhaps it might be an issue for the future.

−−「スナッチャー」 「ポリスノーツ」のような形式のシリーズは、今後は？

-Will there be another game in the vein as Snatcher and Policenauts?

小島　ええ、やりますよ。実写なんぞもやってみたいと思ってます。

今回ももっとやりたことはいっぱいあったんですけど、なかなかできなかったんで。手法的なことなんですけど、「ポリスノーツ」には、ムービーがあって、一方ゲーム部分は止め絵じゃないですか。ま、細かいアニメはありますけど。ムービー部分とゲーム部分には、はっきり限界がある。あれがないものを作るはずだったんですよ。簡単にはいきませんが。ゲーム画面で、ユーザーが何もしない状態でもアニメーションしていて、で、クリックしたり行動すると、それ相応に切り替わるとか。ムービーの切り貼りじゃなくて、コンピュータの中でデジタル的に処理して。

誰もが通る一本道のところはムービーでも、ゲーム部分との境界は分からないっていうのが、もともとの、やろうとしたことなんですけど。それがなかなか。アニメーション作るのも大変ですし。

Kojima: Yes, there will be. I think I might want to try doing a live-action game.

There are many things I wanted to do this time that I couldn't. In terms of presentation, Policenauts has its [pre-rendered] video portions, while the gameplay portions are just still pictures. Well, it has some subtle animations. The movie portions and the gameplay portions have their clear limitations. I wanted to make something to overcome that, but it simply wasn't possible. Like during the game screen there would been animation even when the player is not doing something and if they click on something then it would switch to the appropriate reaction. Rather than just insert some video, it would've been processed digitally within the computer.

What I originally tried to do was to have the video portions served as the main road that everyone goes through and combined that with the gameplay portions without anyone noticing the limitations, but that was very difficult to do. The main problem was creating the animations.

−−設定の細かさには圧倒されました。例えばNARCひとつとっても、ほじょればほじるほど、情報がどんどん出てくる。月面で、月のことを質問すればいっぱい出てくる。

--The setting of the world is overwhelmingly detailed. For the example, the more you click on a single NARC capsule, the more information comes out. And when your character is on the moon, you can ask all sorts of question about the place there.

小島　聞かなくてもいいんですけど（笑）。

Kojima: There's no necessity in asking them though. (laughs)

−−あれ、ひとりじゃ無理でしょう。

--Was it unreasonable to write that all by yourself?

小島　考えることですか？いや、ひとりで。好きなんですよ、ああいうの。ウソつきなんですよ（笑）。

でも可愛いウソをつこうというポリシーがありまして。ほんとにリアルで、ウソだと聞いたら腹立つようなウソじゃなくて、ちょっとウソっていうの。なんか臭うんだけど、ウソの理由で固めている（笑）。設定資料とかそうなんですけど、ウルトラホークの設定みたいに（笑）、そんなバカなっていう、それぐらいがいいですね。

Kojima: You mean coming up with ideas? Yeah, I came up with it all by myself. I like that sort-of things. But it's all made-up. (laughs)

I have a policy to come up with little white lies. Not the kind of lies that make you angry when you realize they're actually false, but that are only a bit false. They're a bit fishy, but you come up for the reason for the lies. (laughs) Setting materials are like that, such as the setting for the Ultra Hawk (the ship in Ultraseven). I like it when they're that ridiculous.

−−薬学はなさってたんですか？

--Did you studied Pharmaceutics?

小島 いや、うちの親が薬剤師なんで。

Kojima: No, but my father was a Pharmacist.

−−それでNARC関係の執拗なウソが（笑）。いちいち化学式まで出るという。

--Then there are the persistent lies regarding the NARC capsules (laughs). They even give the chemical formulas for each.

小島 あれでたらめですけどね（笑）。LSDとアヘンを足しあわせたんですよ。かっこ悪いんであんまり見せたくない（笑）。

Kojima: But they're made-up nonsense. (laughs) I basically combined LSD and Opium. I didn't want to show them very much since it wasn't very cool. (laughs)

−−徳川製薬の”日本的なやり方”というのは、現実にあることなんですか。

--Does the "Japanese way of doing things" described by Tokugawa Pharmaceuticals exists in real life?

小島　ええ、あれは日本のシステムです。脱線しますけど、病院に行くと、薬もらいますよね。ふつうは何の薬であるか、製剤識別コードじゃないですけど、ヘリに書いてあるんですよ。それは総合病院なんですけど…これオフレコで（笑）、ひどいとこは、医療点数の高い薬を発注したふりして、もっと安い、点数の低いやつを納品させて、ヘリを折って患者に配る。そして差益で儲ける。そのために、製薬会社の人たちは、斡旋とかゴルフとか、いろんな手を尽くすわけですよね。すごく悪いんですよ、もう。アメリカはそういうことないですよね。ドラッグストアに処方箋持っていくんで。

Kojima: That's right, it's the system used in Japan. I'm digressing here, but when you go to the hospital, you're given a medicine. What kind of medicine it is, it's usually not given as a pharmaceutical identification code, but instead it's written on the rim. That's in a general hospital, but... this is off the record (laughs), in the worst cases they pretend to order the medicines with the highest medical scores and then they end up delivering the cheapest ones instead, snaps off the rims and end up distributing them to patients. And that's how they earn some marginal profits. In order to achieve that, the people from the pharmaceutical companies do all sorts of manipulations, from negotiating to playing golf. It's pretty bad. It's nothing like that in the United States. You just go to the drugstore and hand out the prescription.

−−それ書きますから（笑）。

--I'll write about that. (laughs)

小島　いやいや（笑）。そういうのを改善しようって声は何回もあがってるんですけどね。点数の低い薬とかいっても効用もそんなには変わらないと思いますし、最近は何の薬かわかる本も売ってますしね。

Kojima: No need. (laughs) There have been many voices calling for the reform of that. But I don't think there's much of a difference in the efficiency of low-scoring drugs and on top of that, lately they've been selling books that tells you what kind of medicines you're using.

現実の日常とはまったく違う人生を楽しんでもらいたいからストーリーにこだわっている

I'm obsessed with the story because I want players to enjoy a life that is different from their everyday living

−−細かいところですが、爆弾の迷路って、失敗するとどんどん簡単になるんですか？

--It's a small detail, but I've noticed that the more you fail the maze in the bomb disposal sequence, the easier it gets, doesn't it?

小島　ええとですね、エドに1回頼むと、簡単になって、そのあと自分でやろうとすると難しくなるんです。最後はまったく簡単になりますよ。誰でもできるような。

Kojima: Err, that's right. If you ask Ed to do it once, it becomes easier and if you do it yourself afterward it becomes difficult. In the end, it becomes so easy that anyone could do it.

−−エドに1回頼んだら、曲芸見せてくれて失敗しちゃったんですけど（笑）、エドは成功しなんですか？

-- But if you leave it to Ed once, he just does a lot of messing around before it explodes (laughs) Can he do it right?

小島　成功しますよ、もう1回やったら。あの2人は極限状態でおちゃらけるんです。

Kojima: Yes. He will if you let him one more time. Those two (Jonathan and Ed) like joke around during serious situations.

−−「いいかもう1回やるぞ」って、もう1回じゃねえよ、みたいな（笑）。

--He's like "let me try one more time" and then you let it. (laughs)

小島　「気にするな」とかわけの分からんことをえんえんいってるし。うるさいって（笑）。建物に潜入するとき必ず、もうええからはよ行ってくれってくらいおちゃらけて（笑）。ああいうキャラクターなんですよ。

Kojima: He goes on endlessly telling you "not to worry" about it incomprehensibly. (laughs) He's the kind of character that when he sneaks around into a building, he jokes so much that he could as well just leave suddenly. (laughs)

−−ああいったおちゃらけは、足かせになる危険性よりキャラクターの印象づけを優先した結果？

--Is that kind of tomfoolery the result of prioritizing impressive characters to the point of making a liability?

小島　そういうとこもあります。あまり自由度を高めると、どんどん人間関係の表現とか難しくなるんですよ。

例えば、デイブとの関係は、すごくインタラクティブにしたんで、デイブに話しかけると彼のいろんなことが分かるんですけど、ストーリーには関係ないと。ただ、それをやらない人は、その後のデイブがらみのイベントがいまひとつピンとこない。その前にデイブと��らむ強制イベントとか設定すれば���もうちょっと練り込みができるんですけど。

Kojima: That's part of the reason. If you raise the amount of freedom too much, it becomes difficult to express human relations.

Take for example, I made the relationship with Dave Forrest very interactive. If you talk to him, you'll learn a lot about him, but most of it has nothing to do with the story. However, if you miss out on that, the later events involving Dave won't have much of an emotional impact. Perhaps if I had set up a mandatory event involving him before that, it would've been possible to elaborate on him.

−−ただ、そこまで至れり尽くせりやっちゃうと、ほんとに映像垂れ流しになる。

However, if you take it that far, you'll really end up with a discharge of videos.

小島　そうですね。

なぜ僕がストーリーにこだわるかっていうのは……また映画の話になりますけど、映画とか小説に触れて楽しいことっていうのは、自分の知らない世界をみたり、自分は絶対しない行動をとっているっていうこととがいえますよね。

例えば気の弱い人が、シュワルツェネッガーの映画観て、自分だったらそういうことしないのに、大男放り投げてるのを見て、すーっとして帰ってくるじゃないですか。

そういうのを、ほんとにインタラクティブにしていくと、日常になってしまう。ゲームの空間の中に街があって、あなたの名前を入れて、自由にやってくださいとなると、それって自分ですよね。擬似の自分が擬似の世界に入っても、やっぱり自分の性格どおりに動いてしまうんです。やっぱりいじめられっこはゲームの世界の中でもいじめられっこ（笑）。

例えばコンピュータ・ネットワークで、ハビタットとか、ああいうところでも、コミュニケーションのへんな人は、コミュニケートできないんですよ。

例えば法律ものでも医学ものでもいいんですけど…普通の人は知らないじゃないですか、手術の仕方とか。でも、すごい専門用語を並べつつ活躍する主人公のこのへん（頭の後ろを指す）に付きながら、ストーリーを味わうことはできる。で、執刀して成功したとか、裁判に勝ったとか、そういうことってやっぱり、ある程度のストーリーと、役割を持った主人公が必要になる。

それがひとつの、僕の作りたい方向なんです。例えばコロニーだけ作って、この中で自由に遊んでくださいとか、友達なんかもネットワークでつないでくさいとか、確かにそれもひとつのゲームなんですけど……。

Kojima: That's right.

Why am I so obsessed with stories you may ask. Well, I'm gonna talk about movies again, but the fun thing about a movie or novel is that you get to witness a world that you don't know about and witness a protagonist that oneself wouldn't make.

For example, when a weak-willed person goes to see a Schwarzenegger movie and watches him throw off a big person, he comes home feeling refreshed, even if he wouldn't do such a thing in real life.

If you make something like that really interactive, it just becomes mundane. If you put a city within the game, enter your name and do whatever you want, the character truly becomes yourself. Your avatar enters the virtual world and behaves exactly as you would in real life. After all, a bullied kid is still a bullied kid. (laughs) For example, in a computer network, such as in a habitat, a person who is poor in communicating will not be able to communicate well.

It can be law or medical terms for example, but the average person doesn't know how conduct surgery. But you can savor the story if you follow this part of the protagonist (points to the back of his head) as he works with complex technical terms. Therefore, conducting a successful surgery or winning a court case, requires a certain amount of story and a protagonist with some sort of role.

That's one way of how I want to make games. However, I could also make some sort of colony where players can play however they want and even network with their friends. That's another alternative...

−−それだと、ほんとに入り込んで別の世界を楽しんで、ということはできないと。

--When you say that, you mean you can't really get into and enjoy the other world.

小島　別の人の人生は体験できない。そういう醍醐味のせいで、一本道のRPGとかは決して廃れないのかなあって思う。インタラクティブとデモゲームの間で。

中高生の頃って、よく妄想するじゃないですか。なんか宇宙から来て俺ヒーローになれないかなとか（笑）。ま、最初は現実逃避でもいいんですけど、その中で、がんばりましょうっていうのかエンターテイメント役割だろうと思ってます。

Kojima: It's impossible to experience another person's life. Because of that, I don't think linear RPGs will ever go out of fashion. They're somewhere between being interactive and being a demo [cutscene] game.

When you're in middle school, you would often have fantasies about what it would be like to become a hero who came from outer space. (laughs) While escapism is good, I also think that the role of entertainment is to encourage us to do our best.

小島秀夫

Hideo Kojima

’63年生まれ。映画が撮りたいといってコナミに入社「アホかっていわれた」。監督作品「スナッチャー」「メタルギア」。この次はヘンなゲームを作りたい、とのこと。

Born in 1963. He joined Konami because he wanted to make films and was asked "are you an idiot?" His other directorial works include Metal Gear and Snatcher. He says he wants to make a weird game after this.

Source: Biweekly The PlayStation, Vol. 21 (February 9, 1996), p. 152-156

Special Thanks to Project Umbrella at Twitter for providing the scans.

#hideo kojima #Policenauts #The PlayStation #interview #1996

[thearkhound]

Riverhill Soft: Burai, the first full-scale encounter between PCs and anime (MSX-FAN, December 1989)

Mr. Ijima, who writes the Super Data School article for this magazine [MSX-FAN], is none other than the same Takeo Iijima who wrote the scenarios for Nukenin Densetsu/抜忍伝説 [Legend of the Fugitive Ninjas] and Last Armageddon. When Iijima left his previous company and became a free agent in Tokyo, Riverhill Software in Hakata has just started developing a full-scale RPG. However, when Mr. Kazuhiro Okazaki, President of Riverhill Soft, met with Mr. Iijima in Tokyo, he felt like abandoning the RPG he was developing up to that point and give Iijima's idea for a scenario a try.

The original art is scanned into the leftmost computer and then transferred to the next computer on the right, where corrections are made to keep the images faithful to the actual drawings. The finishing touches are then made by Mr. Miyazaki.

"I didn't have any prior relationship with Mr. Iijima" says Mr. Okazaki. "I simply went there for a talk without expecting anything serious." That was a pretty good timing in retrospect.

"This was going to be our first RPG" says Rika Suzuki, developer at Riverhill Soft. "That's why I wanted it to proceed differently from prior projects."

Until now, Ms. Rika Suzuki (center) has had a major involvement in all of Riverhill Soft's titles, but this time Mr. Yoshiko Miyazaki (right) plays a large active role. To the left, Riverhill Soft president Mr. Kazuhiro Okazaki.

Mr. Kakei, a game music producer at Polystar, introduced the company to the rock band Show-ya, who were hired to perform the music, as well as character designers Shingo Araki and Michi Himeno, who were hired to draw the original art for the game's graphics.

Yoshiko Miyazaki was able to perform triple duty, overseeing the music, graphics and public relations.

"Mr Araki has never touched a personal computer before" says Ms. Suzuki. "so we sent him an NEC PC-8801 and explained to him how to turn it on via telephone." Nevertheless, Mr. Araki seems to be deeply engrossed by the world of computers.

"In order to adapt Mr. Araki and Ms. Himeno's art into the personal computer, it took us around a month just to create such a system." says Yoshiko Miyazaki, who was in charge of music, graphics and public relations. An innovative system to handle everything from the dimensions of the original drawing, to the animation techniques and then color and line corrections after scanning, was developed through the exchanges by the duo of Mr. Araki and Ms. Himeno, and Mr Miyazaki between Tokyo and Hakata. We were deeply moved by this story, but unfortunately we ran out of space. When you see Burai once it's completed, perhaps you might understand the greatness of this system.

Color copies of the original art by Mr. Araki and Ms. Himeno. The production process is very similar to making a celluloid for an anime.

Source: MSX-FAN No. 33 (December 1989), published by Tokumashoten Intermedia

[thearkhound]

PC Engine Fan #44 (July 1992): Interview with Hideo Kojima on Snatcher: CD-ROMantic

"I don't want games to just be time wasters" A direct interview with the developer of Snatcher!

Hideo Kojima (game designer and writer) - The developer of the computer versions [of Snatcher] is now working on the PC Engine version himself.

The person in charge of this new PC Engine version of Snatcher is none other than Mr. Kojima, who also worked on the original version for personal computers. We interviewed him in order to learn about his thoughts regarding the title.

Why was Snatcher chosen to be Konami's first CD-ROM title?

The previous versions of Snatcher for personal computers ended with an unfinished story, so we received various comments, moreso from users than from within the company, that the story needed to end somewhere. There were talks about developing it for the Sharp X68000 or the Fujitsu FM Towns, but we ultimately decided on the PC Engine's Super CD-ROM² add-on. My projects usually end up having too much content, which gets people angry at me, but this time I could add to my heart's content without worrying about storage capacity, which has been unprecedented in terms of development environment.

Are the developers the same people who worked on the previous version?

The team who worked with me on the original PC versions were pretty capable (laughs), but we ended up being split and scattered around to different departments. That's why there hasn't been a sequel until now, but I was fortunate enough to had worked together with those key members on the same team.

Are there any anecdotes regarding the development of Snatcher?

The original Snatcher for the NEC PC-8801 was our first adventure game. We were completely fumbling our way during development, resulting in many issues, and quite frankly, it was very troublesome. On the other hand, it was also a profoundly memorable work. There were fights during the nights, staff members felt ill, and we all cried when we saw the ending. Snatcher was truly our youth. My mentality is that videogames should not just be something to waste time on. I want to make a game that you would want to play not just to entertain yourself when you have the time, but that it'll make you want to sacrifice other things in your life to spend time with it. Snatcher was made under such a concept. Even four years after its release, I still receive fan letters and Valentine's Day chocolates. I even get annual letters from fans updating me on their current affairs. More so than a mere product, it was like a mediator that allowed me to meet new people.

Finally, what can kind of people do you hope will get to play the PC Engine version of Snatcher?

I want for those who had already played the original PC versions of Snatcher to play it again, including the sequel portion. And to those who don't know anything about the game, I hope that they'll absolutely play it too.

The Snatcher development team gathering for a meeting. Go!

"What's next for the PC Engine? And Konami?" We press Konami, who seek to challenge various genres.

Akihiko Nagata (vice chief of Konami's Technology Research Institute) - He talks about how he personally wants to do great things for the arcade.

Hiroyuki Uchida (vice chief of Konami's domestic sales department 1) - He talks calmly about the future of the PC Engine from a sales perspective.

There are going to be high expectations from users if Konami is going to develop CD-ROM games. Mr. Nagata from the development side and Mr. Uchida the sales side talked to us about their general plans for future PC Engine projects.

How many ports requests have you gotten from PC Engine users?

Uchida: There are many ports for arcade games. Regardless of whether we can do them or not (laughs), most of them are for shooting games.

Lately the PC Engine library is focused on the CD-ROM format. What will become of the HuCard format?

Nagata: It's likely there's going to be fewer of them.

What about Konami's own software?

Uchida: It depends on the platform, but we'll likely make something in a form that suits the product.

Nagata: If we put out a game on a HuCard, then we'll likely have complaints from our users. They'll be asking why we didn't put the game out on CD-ROM. (laughs)

Uchida: That's why we'll be focusing on the CD-ROM format.

Will there be completely original titles for the CD-ROM format?

Uchida: As a sales person, I don't really like ports. If we could make something original, then we would like to harvest whole new titles on the PC Engine's CD-ROM format.

We heard rumors that you're porting Gradius II to the Mega Drive. Is that true?

Nagata: Not at all. (laughs)

What about putting it out on the PC Engine?

Nagata: If the demand is there, we'll consider it.

Uchida: It's a pretty popular title after all. As for the Mega Drive, we have no plans at the moment.

Nagata: Personally I want to make something great for the arcade.

As in an arcade game?

Nagata: We're in a period in which the whole industry is saving its strength to make something really good.

Uchida: Capcom are the only ones doing their best in this field, but we hope that we'll also have something to show at the AM show this August.

Any last words before we wrap-up?

Nagata: Making games is difficult, but as long as there's users supporting us we'll continue making our products.

Konami personnel who participated in this interview (with Konami's public relationist Ms. Taeko Hayasaka).

Source for the interview: PC Engine FAN #44 (July 1992), published by Tokumashoten Intermedia.

#PC Engine FAN #Snatcher #Hideo Kojima #Akihiko Nagata #Hiroyuki Uchida #Taeko Hayasaka #Gradius #1992

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 5: Tykho Moon and Bande Dessinée

Greetings from Kojima Cinema, But We Missed Out On The Fifth Element

Coincidentally two new movies were released recently by French filmmakers who were inspired by French comic books, so I planned on covering both of them and write about French films and comics (Bande Dessinée), but unfortunately I wasn't unable to attend a screening for The Fifth Element, so I ended up covering only one movie in this issue.

Watching Tykho Moon From Parco Space 3

I saw Tykho Moon at the Parco Space 3 theater. The truth is that this place holds a bitter memory for me. Earlier this year I went to see Death Drive starring Kimika Yoshino and even though it was the last showing of its opening day, somehow I ended up being the only audience. In a theater designed to hold an audience of 200, it was just me! It was just like Cinema Paradiso! I couldn't relaxed thinking about the projectionist and how he was going through the trouble of showing the film just for me and became nervous. I didn't believe my luck when I ended up seeing Tykho Moon on that same theater. The popularity of Enki Bilal, director and writer of Tykho Moon, is alive and well even in Japan.

A Historical Sci-Fi That's Not Futuristic

Tykho Moon does not employ any trendy CGI and special effects (perhaps with the sole exception of the lunar surface scene at the end). It's a historical sci-fi closer to the likes of Alphaville by Jean-Luc Goddard, the Ultraseven episode "Nightmare of the Fourth Planet" by Akio Jissoji, The Element of Crime by Lars von Trier, and Solaris by Andrei Tarkovsky. More than just being a low-budget sci-fi film, it's an allegory that takes the form of sci-fi to highlight a certain theme. Perhaps it might be seen as a fresh breath of air to an audience that's fed up with sci-fi movies that over-rely on CGI and special effects.

A Movie That is Bilal-like, yet un-Bilal-like

Tykho Moon is a movie that very much like Bilal, but also unlike him. The rich colors that stands out inside a colorless ruins... The desolated city, the multilayer shadows, a world with a sense of helplessness, the quirky characters, the oppressed citizens, and so on... This is exactly what Bilal is as a French graphic novel author. On the other hand, I get the impression that the direction and camera work is quite different. The long takes and flow of utilizing pauses between scenes are additions to his unique style as a film director. You can see it as recording a movie as a different means.

Characters Straight From A BD

What surprised me about the actors in the movie was that they strongly resembled the characters from the original French graphic novel, to the point that it seems as if they came out directly from it. Perhaps Bilal, as a person who uses the faces of his actors as canvasses, or rather as part of the scenery or props, to express his own imagination, has full knowledge of people's faces. Johan Leysen and Marie Laforet in particular strongly resembled the original characters, that I was convinced that they were given special makeup!

My Encounter with Enki Bilal

Just like Moebius and his work on Alien, I first got to know about Enki Bilal through a movie. It was a B-movie I saw by chance when I was a student titled The Keep, directed by Michael Mann. I went to see another movie, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, and they were being shown together as a double feature. Bilal was responsible for designing the monster in The Keep. Afterward, I would encounter his name again Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose and it was only after I've joined the company that I started to read Bilal's own graphic novels.

About Bande Dessinée

Bande Dessinee, or BD for short, is the French term for comic books. The pricing, binding, user base and type of content are all very different from their American counterparts. Whereas American comics have a strong sense of characters, French BDs have a strong sense of storytelling and authorship. Dark and cynical at times, they have enough content to be appreciated by adults. They're not aimed at kids, but are the closest thing to art in terms of print entertainment. They're in a position similar that animation and gekiga [a dramatic sub-genre of manga] has in Japan.

Aiming for a BD in the Game industry

For one of the advertisements for Metal Gear Solid, we came up with the tagline "a 3DGC Bande Dessinee". It's not just because we love French graphic novels and we're trying to recreate their dark universes (not the light colors of something like Moebius, but a chaotic world with a more Eastern European depth) with emphasis on shading with Metal Gear Solid. There's another reason.

The Reason to Call It a 3D Bande Dessinée

In France, BDs are clearly a rank above the realm of comics in the status of entertainment (they're even referred to as the nth art or something like that) [Kojima is likely referring to BDs being the ninth art]. The same could be said about manga in Japan. Before the war, they were just four-panel strips and satires. It was none other than the great Osamu Tezuka, who evolved manga into a storytelling reading material. The story manga would evolve into its present form as the gekiga, with a more social aspect added by titles such as Kamui Den by Sampei Shirato. Manga has already become grown-up entertainment that has reached a cultural level. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for videogames.

From Playthings to BD

My hope is to elevate gaming into the next step of entertainment and not just be mere toys. Not tools to waste time, but digital interactive media. I aim for the sort-of game where its worldview, story, characters, themes and reality are not just there to have fun while forgetting the time, but also to use your moment of enjoyment to add feedback into your life in a positive way. That's the hope I packed into the tagline "3DCGBD".

Source

Game Hihyо̄ Vol. 17 (November 1997)

#hideo kojima #enki bilal #tykho moon #kojima cinema #metal gear solid

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 4: Lost World

Greetings from Kojima Cinema in the U.S.

At the end of the previous month we went to the United States to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), as well to research data for Metal Gear Solid. For this installment of Kojima Cinema, I'll discuss Lost World, the sequel to Jurassic Park, which I snuck out to see after attending E3, as well as its creator Michael Crichton (who happens to be one of my favorite authors).

By the way, Lost Warld (as in a combination of World and War) was the title of a canceled project that was planned to be my first game.

Lost World from Atlanta

I saw Lost World in a movie theater inside the CNN building in Atlanta. Since it hasn't been released in Japan yet, I was able to see it without any preconceived notions, but it ended up being very disappointing. Certainly there's a lot more CGI than the first movie and the dinosaurs are even better animated, but the story was way too much like a Godzilla movie. (Or maybe it was more like King Kong? Perhaps it's closer to Gappa: The Triphibian Monster?) At any rate, what happened to Michael Crichton's original story? I felt like going to Steven Spielberg and tell him "please, don't ruin Crichton's work anymore!"

Better CGI, But Half The Impact

I'm already used to seeing CGI dinosaurs, so there wasn't as much of an impact as there was for the first movie. I remember being moved to tears during the first movie when the Brachiosaurus, the first dinosaur, showed up as if I was glad to see one alive. There's a similar scene in this movie where they encounter a group of Stegosauruses and then Dr. Ian Malcolm says something along the lines of "everyone is impressed at first, but then they all run away" (there were no subtitles, so I'm not certain), which is nothing but ironic.

Jurassic Park: The Ride: The Movie

Ultimately the movie's priority is to charm the audience by showing off dinosaurs. It felt as if the plot and the characters were only added there as an excuse to showcase all the popular dinosaurs like the Compsognathus, the raptors and the T-Rex. It felt less like a movie written to tell a story and more like a film version of the "Jurassic Park: The Ride" attraction at Universal Studios. If you look at it with that perspective, it's a well-made and calculated film.

Despite A Noticeable Rut in the Production, Spielberg's Style is Still in Good Health

Spielberg's heart-pounding style is still in good health despite all of this. The scene where the trailer is falling off the edge of a cliff could be said to be one of the highlights in Spielberg's career. I don't like it very much, but the succession of one crisis after the other makes my hands sweat. Especially the gimmick of the glass gradually breaking is a novelty that no one else has done before. But I was left with one unanswered question. Why does the rear hatch of the trailer only has one sheet glass?

Unfortunately there were many scenes that ended up being not very interesting due to the usual hackneyed direction. There are many indirect effects that we're already familiar with, such as the camera tracking used since Close Encounters of the Third Kind, the use of lost limbs as seen in Jaws, rivers and waterfall turning red due to bloodshed, also seen in the original movie, and the swaying of trees and vibrations of water surfaces that gives the dinosaurs a sense of speed and weight... Perhaps the film would've been very different if the direction had been more creative. Was this the result of relying too much on CGI?

The Movie is Not The Novel

It's been two years since I've read the original novel by Michael Crichton, so I might not remember the details clearly, but it contained a certain message. He portrayed the habits of dinosaurs more extensively than in his first novel and even unraveled the dinosaur extinction theory with his novel ideas. In that sense, the book was less of a story and more of an academic study on dinosaurs. It also carried poignant criticisms and messages, such as warnings about technology and human society. As a fan of Crichton who was aware of the original novel, this film adaptation with its strong giant monster movie flavor left me dissastisfed.

About Michael Crichton

My introduction Michael Crichton was naturally The Andromeda Strain. Since then I've read all of his novels and essays that were translated to Japanese, including his work under the John Lange penname, all the way up to Airframe, with the exception of Eaters of the Dead. Crichton is one of the few authors whom I buy the first edition hardcovers from without hesitation. I've also seen many of the films he has directed such as Westworld, Coma, The Great Train Robbery, Runaway and even Looker. I like him as a filmmaker, even if he hasn't been holding the megaphone lately.

The Appeal of Crichton

Perhaps Crichton's appeal is that he has a visionary focus, creates a chaotic reality that is difficult to distinguish what is fact from fiction and skillfully embeds valuable information that few people know into his entertainment. The amount of data based on ideas and meticulous research is skillfully blended into products of entertainment. I aspire for the same thing Michael Crichton does in the games that I want to make. That's how I developed Snatcher and Policenauts, and it's the same thing with the upcoming Metal Gear Solid. The reason why I'm so fixated over creating a backstory or universe that doesn't really affect how a game works is because I want to get those aspects right.

Is A Fiction That Exceeds Reality Possible?

Lately there have been novels written by doctors, former mercenaries and even active policemen that ended up becoming hits. The realism and persuasiveness of such works is not something an average novelist can compete with just their imagination alone. Even I realized that when watching ER, a TV series that Michael Crichton created. What you create with knowledge will end up being completely different from what you create without. That's why asked for military advisor Motosada Mori to supervise the action and backstory in Metal Gear Solid. Recently, alongside Mr. Mori, we were able to gather research at a SWAT drill and a military base, where even saw an M1 tank. I think I was able to understand some things with such experience that I wouldn't able to from working at a desk alone. With Metal Gear Solid I hope I will able to create a video game with a Crichton-like aspect to it and not be lost in direction.

Source: Game Hihyо̄ Vol. 16 (September 1997), page 58-59

#Hideo Kojima #Jurassic Park #steven spielberg #michael crichton #Game Hihyou

[thearkhound]

Why are Konami’s MSX games fun? Interview from Beep #35 (1987/09)

We Asked Konami’s Development Division

Text by TAKE ON!

Photographs by: Keita Iwagami

While there are many gaming software for the MSX, there’s something special about Konami’s MSX titles that makes them stand out. Rather than just doing simple ports from other platforms, their titles have a unique charm to them that titles from other developers might lack. To find out how they do it, we tried asking Konami directly.

Just as Expected

“Hey, I knew it! It’s just like I predicted.” As I saw the results of this issue’s survey, I raised my voiced and shouted “Did you see this? Konami was voted the number 1 software maker for the MSX!” However, my voice was simply absorbed by the editing room, with no even a simple “yes” or “I see”-type of response. While I was happy that my favorite company Konami took the no. 1 spot, the editors around me didn’t seem very impressed by that. Perhaps they were exhausted by all the hard work they were doing everyday.

“Why are you guys not impressed? Maybe Konami being No. 1 was too predictable, but it’s still outstanding. Perhaps our readers might want to find out why their games are so interesting. I think such an article will probably be invaluable for this issue’s special MSX coverage...” After trying to argue with the editors in a way that made no sense, I went to Konami’s branch office at Tokyo to interview them.

Overwhelmed by the Company’s Policy

“Uhh, my name is Take On, I’m a writer for Beep magazine.” Like a country bumpkin, I went there without a business card stating who I was, so I had to spent time explaining myself away to the receptionist. After somehow managing to explain who I was and why I came there, Ms. [Akemi] Kamio, Konami’s spokeswoman, led me to what seems to be the reception room.

Before I knew it, I was sitting absent-mindedly at the reception room. “Where am I? Who am I? Ah! Ms. Kamio is such a beauty, that I almost lost my memory. I’m not so used to that. By the way, what was I going to talk about...”

While desperately trying to remember what kind of questions I had in mind, I noticed there was some kind of writing on the wall.

Company’s Policy:

Brilliance Begins With People

Cosmic Pondering

Earnest Action

Release the Fountain of Sensitivity

And Continue Sending Waves of Creativity

Into The Future

Huh. It has a very creative feeling to it, but I have no idea what it means by just reading it. What sort of company policy or philosophy was this? And what the heck was a “cosmic pondering”?

While I was thinking about this, Ms. Kamio guided me, or rather lured me to the “great developer”, so I automatically switched to interview mode. But I still didn’t know what was going to be my first question, so I ended up fumbling a bit.

Cosmic Pondering

Take On!: Uh-hello! I came here today to ask about the MSX and its “cosmic pondering”?

Akihiko Nagata: Uh, pardon me!?

T: (Crap! I fumbled my way so suddenly. Come to think of it, I did brought a notepad with me with the questions I had in mind. How silly of me.) Sorry about that! What I meant to say was that I came here to ask about why Konami’s MSX games are so popular. I would be glad if you could start by talking about Konami’s development department no. 1, the group you belong to.

Nagata: Our company’s development team is divided by three sections: Arcade, Famicom and PC. As you see, my department focuses on PC gaming development, even though most of our games are for the MSX. The company’s plan of action is to have the three sections assembled to work on the same level.

T: Does that mean that titles such as Ganbare Goemon and Akumajo Dracula [Vampire Killer], which were ported from Famicom games, have their own staffs for the MSX versions?

Nagata: That’s right. When it comes to porting a game from one platform to another, other companies tend to have the same team involved with the port. We could do that too, since it’s very efficient, but our company has a structure which allows the MSX team to independently research and develop its own ports. As a result, we hardly release any port that is just the same game with a few minor changes. In other words, because we feel the class of users for the Famicom and MSX, as well as the market, are different, we’re doing a full-time service for each, In that sense, each software is basically its own original product.

The Inside Story of the Gradius Development

T: (I see. With such a logic, you won’t have an identical product.) Speaking of which, the MSX version of Gradius [Nemesis] was very different compared to the arcade and Famicom versions when it came to aspects like the difficulty level and the additional stages.

Nagata: That’s right. When I saw the development of the Famicom version of Gradius I felt a sense of “I really want to do this”. When it comes to developing a port, we set milestones with the condition that “if we can’t complete this, then we must cancel the development.” In the case of Gradius, making the laser long was such a condition, so the first thing we ended up doing was the programming for the laser itself. If we could accomplish that, then we can surely port the game.

T: (He really knows how players feel.) That’s why I was glad when it had new area and the hidden extra stages.

Nagata: Originally we were set to develop the game on a 32 kilobyte cartridge, but that was not sufficient to fit everything we wanted, so it was increased to 1-Megabit. Because there weren’t that many Megarom cartridges back then, we worked hard to make the best of it. We ended up with excess space, so we added a new regular stage to make use of it, but that was still not enough content to fill the extra space, so we added the hidden extra stages, as well as title screen that took 8-kilobyte.

T: (I see. But still, doing your best to make full use of the game’s given memory is pretty amazing.) I had the chance to play Gradius 2 [Nemesis 2] a while ago. It’s a superb game with all new stages and inclusion of a sound source that seems like it was developed specifically for the Megarom cartridge format. Particularly with its opening story sequence that made me teary-eyed.

Nagata: That story was something that its lead designer was particularly fixated with. (laughs) The original arcade version of Gradius didn’t have much of a story other than “the Bacterions are coming, deploy the Vic Viper”, but that wasn’t enough for the manual, so we had to go back and write a new story.

T: And then Gradius 2 added a sound source to the software.

Nagata: The music is all new and composed by the same person who did the music for the original arcade version of Gradius. This time we were able to employ audio waveforms in addition to the standard 3 PSG channels. All in all, you could say it has 8 ports or 8 chords. Simple calculations are also increased by 2.8 times. The programming is already like a puzzle. As for the music itself, you might not be able to tell the difference when compared to a recent game, but when compared to the first Gradius, you’ll see that the sound itself was considerably improved.

A Gathering of Little Ideas

T: Lately Gradius 2 has served as the centerpiece of the MSX1, but where does that leave Metal Gear in regards to the MSX2? I was very impressed by the innovative direction it took.

Nagata: I’m glad that the game was well-received by your staff. (laughs) I was concerned whether or not the game would be well-received by players or not. But it seems like we’re off to a good start. The world of Metal Gear was also something that its designer was particularly fixated with. When it comes to directing, or rather structuring a game, there are ways to create it after deciding on its main ideas, but sometimes it’s better to mix up a lot of little ideas like a crossword. You’ll know the game’s overall balance when it’s finished.

T: That’s why all Konami games have subtle little touches or shine with their presentation. Are there any particular problems when it comes to developing an MSX game?

Nagata: Sincerely, while the world of graphics have expanded since the introduction of the MSX2, it is very difficult in terms of processing. The MSX was designed to be used on a home television set [as opposed to a computer monitor], so even if you make the graphics more detailed, it still won’t look very pretty on a TV screen.

And then there’s the scrolling. If you’ve seen TwinBee or Hinotori, you’ll understand. The machine is capable of vertical-scrolling, but not horizontal. That’s why you won’t see anything like points on-screen.

The LSI concept for the MSX’s image processing was designed with scalability in mind, but it wasn’t compatible with the kind of LSI employed by the Famicom, so that gave us a lot of problem.

T: You done a great job! Finally, I would be glad if you could tell us what’s Konami’s outlook for the future of the MSX.

Nagata: We’ve been allowed to make a living off the MSX, so we’ll continue to do our best when it comes to both, the MSX1 and MSX2.

When it comes to genre, our company has been basically making only action games up to this point, but we plan on adding more cerebral and adventure elements to future titles. The way users are viewing games are changing, so we want to grow while gradually attracting their needs.

Our MSX games have changed a lot content-wise since we started making them, but I don’t think they would changed that much in such a short time if we were doing only MSX games. There’s a sense of rivalry among Famicom and other PC users. We’re also going to do our best to compete with the arcade and Famicom sections anyway we can, so please continue to support us.

T: As an MSX user myself, I’m looking forward to Konami’s future games for the platform. I know it’s a lot of work, especially when it comes to the MSX1, but for the one million users out there please keep up the good work. Thank you for your time.

I was worried about what was going to happen at one point, but the interviewed ended in a hour without a hitch. If I get the opportunity, next time I’ll ask about what exactly a “cosmic pondering” is. Until then, see you again in “my own forum!” (Editor’s note: “Hey! Don’t advertise your own serial!”

Source

Beep Vol. 3 No. 9 - September 1987 issue (Softbank Publishing)

#Konami #MSX #Gradius #Metal Gear #Castlevania #Mystical Ninja #Akihiko Nagata

[thearkhound]

Interview with Fumihiro Hishikawa on TMNT and other Konami arcade games (from Gamest #46)

Interviewer: Zenji Ishii

How long have you been President of Konami?

It’s been precisely three years. Prior to that, I was a chairman for around three and a half years. So in total, it’s been six and a half years.

Is there any distinguishing characteristic within Konami that sets it apart from other companies?

The fact that the average age of the employees are pretty young could be said to be a benefit. Even with myself included, the average age seems to be around 27. But it’s not just the fact that there are many young people working for Konami. We empower them with bold authority and allow them to create games with absolute freedom. Since we are a company, we create things as an organization, but we hope to make the best use of everyone’s individuality. In other industries, such as steel collecting, engineers are only recognized as legit when they had been employed for at least ten years. However, in game development, especially within Konami, it is possible to have a leading role in the development of a game after only being employed within a year. I think game companies are the most rewarding in the sense that young people can stand in line and show off their talents.

How were things when Konami was first established?

Mr. Kozuki, who is currently our chairman, formed the company and started a game development business by piling up his wisdom and sweat. It’s not a well-known game nowadays, but Scramble was very well-received in the U.S., which served as the impetus to start putting out more arcade games into this world such as Hyper Olympics. Scramble would serve as the basic for the Gradius series.

Which game would you currently consider to be your company’s greatest hit?

That would be Hyper Olympics. It was a huge hit both, domestically and abroad. We produced over 40,000 units for it. Its release coincided with the L.A. Olympics of 1984 and the game ended up being rebranded Track & Field in the United States. The license for the Olympics was already granted to various other companies, so we had to change the title in the U.S.

Other of our successful titles include Time Pilot, Roc’n Rope, Mikie, and Yie Ar Kung-Fu.

But the peak of the arcade market was in 1982. Sales numbers has been gradually declining since then. While we sold 40,000 units of Hyper Olympics,  nowadays just having 10,000 units sold of any game is considered a huge success. We are blessed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has currently sold over 20,000 units.

It seems many game companies have entered the industry lately, but very few of them have produced a single hit.

It wasn’t among the games I’ve just mentioned, but Gradius is a masterpiece in my opinion. When you consider it as an evolved version of Scramble, the game that served as the foundation of Konami, it could be considered to be the game most representative of the company. It is the ultimate form of modern shooting games and served as a huge influence on all of Konami’s subsequent titles. While I’m glad that the Gradius have attracted all sorts of players, I do wonder if the content of the games are too tailor-made for hardcore players. A game has to be unconditionally fun as much as possible.

Is there a game that you yourself thought that should’ve been made in a particular matter?

To be frank, when it comes to the specifics of a game, I don’t know anything. However, I always pay attention to the games that do come out and even at trade shows I try to look around while listening to the sales people who understand the games. I won’t go into details, but I always say that we should create games that evoke emotions and empathy. If we make such a game, then we’ll get sales from all over the world. In that respect, we could say that Parodius sought a new direction for our company. It has adopted a comical policy that is slightly different from the classical and mainstream stance of the Gradius series.

I think Parodius, is much closer to the sensation of a console game compared to the Konami arcade games from before. Can you tell us about your approach when it comes to the difference between arcade and console games?

Ideally a console game is something that you play at your pace and becomes more interesting at repeated plays. In comparison, it is indispensable for an arcade game to have a huge impact from the beginning  and it must also be easy to get into. When we entered the home video game market, we were the first to establish ourselves with the technology built at the arcades and since then, our home and arcade games have served as two wheels of the same cart. The core of our games, whether it’s an arcade title or a home title, is the importance of its enjoyment. I believe the fact that Konami has been steadily accumulating on the enjoyment of the software, rather than focusing on developing new hardware that requires capital power, has led to the company’s current prosperity.

While Konami is popular in Japan, lately it has been flourishing abroad as well thanks to the success of TMNT. How are the company’s activities overseas?

We established Konami Inc. in the United States back in 1983, with Konami Ltd. in England and Konami GmbH in West Germany both being established the following year. In Spring of 1988, we formed a development team in Konami Inc. for arcade games.

The games made by Konami Inc., such as The Main Event and Crime Fighters, are pretty unique.

They develop games specifically for the U.S. market. Currently TMNT is a big hit not just in the U.S., but also in Europe. We hope to bring this game to Japan soon, so please look forward to it.

Can you tell us about your company’s plans for future games?

According to Chairman Kozumi, who was the founder of our company, the video games industry used to be very small, but it was a fascinating industry that could fuel individuality. Konami was able to set its foot there and establish itself, but now in a large industry where large companies participate, I think we are forming a large global market.

It is said that humans were formed not just by working, but also by playing. Playing is like the pendulum of a clock in that it swings away only to swing back towards the direction of itself.

In such times I think the future of game developers will be bright. However, I think competition will be fierce because of that, with large companies entering the industry and smaller companies also playing an active role, leading to coexistence of possibilities and fierceness.

In the past, when it came to game development, there were people that had some sort of disappointment about it, but now it’s a global industry and on top of that, it’s an industry that creates new motivations, so I think we should be more proud of it.

I think it is none other than the game industry that has accept Japan’s unique culture in the world, where the country has  85% of the market share. Please continue making leap forwards and conveying the wonders of video games. Thank you very much for your time.

Source: Gamest #46 (June 1990)

#Konami #arcade #Parodius #TMNT #Crime Fighters #Main Event

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 3: The English Patient and Vukovar: A Story

Double Feature in Kojima Cinema

I’m always concerned about the movie I will discuss every time I’m thinking about writing the manuscript for this column. It has to be important to some extent and it also has to be relevant at the moment. There were many movies premiering during these past two months. Picking just one movie was very difficult. So I decided to follow Kazutoshi Iida’s advice and decided to cover two movies for a change of pace. While the two movies have different themes, they both depict a man and a woman who are at the mercy of history (war).

Are Academy Award-Winning Movies Actually Good?

I haven’t seen an Academy Award-winning movie yet. Perhaps it’s because it’s not compatible with my personality. Even before actually winning an award, such a movie is given way too much lip service. I really can’t be fond of those big Hollywood epics that aggressively try to push emotions. Therefore, I haven’t yet seen Rain Man, Schindler’s List or even Forrest Gump. I ended up seeing The English Patient because one of my favorite actresses, Juliette Binoche, was in it. I’m glad that she won “Best Supporting Actress” for her role in this movie.

Visiting the English Patient in the Marunouchi Louvre

I saw The English Patient and felt immediately asleep during the beginning, but that’s probably because I haven’t been sleeping well lately. While it has its good points, like its elegant shots and elaborate editing, ultimately it feels like a mediocre movie that happened to won an Oscar. The details in the historical background was also pretty light, so it felt less like the story of a couple affected by war and more like a common tale of selfish adultery.

Anthony Minghella’s Cute Direction

Personally I was more enchanted by the innocent romance between Hana (Binoche’s character) and Kip than I was with the passionate drama between Almasy and Katharine. I’ve never seen any of Minghella’s other films, but I get the impression that his previous title, Mr. Wonderful, was really popular with female audiences. The direction with those characters was pretty cute, much like a Japanese “trendy drama” show, such as when Kip guides Hana with a torch or when they find a painting with a smoke bomb. Perhaps female audiences might be moved.

The Mona Lisa Smile of Juliette Binoche

Perhaps one of the highlights of this movie is Juliette Binoche herself. In contrast to Kathaline (Kristin Scott Howard), who wears a dress and has an erotic affair while living an elegant life, Hana, who is devoted to nursery while covered in dust from the ruins, is pretty and divine. Scenes such as when Binoche cuts her hair or when she washes away the dirt from her body, serve to well-visualize her inner beauty without relying on makeup or fancy dresses. I can even remember her natural behaviors that does not give up her worth as a person even after throwing away her pride. I can feel a beauty that goes beyond sex and a radiance for life. It’s worth seeing this movie just for Binoche’s smile and angelic face, especially when she’s taking care of Almasy and that last scene when she’s on the carriage.

Seeing Vukovar from Cinema Square Tokyu

I saw Vukovar: A Story [Vukovar poste restante] just two days after watching The English Patient. Unlike the nationally released nine Academy Awards-winning Patient, Vukovar was only released in art house theaters. To be honest, I didn’t any expectations for it, so I was overwhelmed by its awesomeness. Even though it’s not a big budget epic, the impact it conveys is unmeasurable. Vukovar is a city in old Yugoslavia that most Japanese people are not familiar with. It starts with a happy Serbian-Croatian newlywed couple. When the Berlin Wall falls, an ethnic conflict that would be incomprehensible to the Japanese ignites and the two are driven apart. People who were friends yesterday are suddenly exchanging fire and even spouses and relatives are becoming enemies. Why did the conflict started? Was it for race? Land? A dispute? Patriotism? Perhaps this is a masterpiece that depicts the sickening Europe as faithfully and as neutral as possible. 

A Movie That Aims to Convey Faithfulness

The structure, which features a lot of news footage edited in, while fictional, feels very much like a documentary. The ruins, sandstorms, bullet holes, dry gunshots, modest explosions and such all feel painfully real. I feel a terrifying sense of dread in the final scene, where it’s an aerial shot of actual ruins that goes on forever. It’s some that is completely impossible to replicate with special effects or CGI. The obsession of the film crew who risked their lives capturing reality is respectable. Even in the final scene, when the couple go on their separate ways on bus, there’s no dramatic reunion between them, just ruins and despondency. War could completely ruin one’s heart completely.

Moreso than being mere entertainment. Vukovar is a movie that educates you.

The Roles of Movies, Novels and Games

I believe movies and novels serve two purposes. The first purpose is entertainment that focuses primarily on amusement that “charm people with dreams.” The other meaning is to “bring attention to historical facts and events that people must never forget.” However, in the game world there still aren’t any titles that have traces of or brings attention to a theme. At the end, games still remain in the realm of playthings. What I want to make is an entertainment that has a trace of theme through interactive media. Metal Gear Solid, which has a theme of anti-war and anti-nukes, will be one step of that ideal. Oh, when will games have the power to appeal to reason?

Source

Game Hihyō Vol. 15 (July 1997)

#Hideo Kojima #Kojima Cinema #Game Hihyō #The English Patient #Vukovar: A Story

[thearkhound]

Metro Cross story manga and development team interview

Read from right to left.

Micom BASIC 4th Anniversary Special

*First Unveiling!!*

Exclusively to readers of Micom BASIC, we’ll be unveiling a manga drawn by the developers of Metro-Cross themselves. There’s also a direct interview with the developers themselves.

“In the year 2200 of the Tsutauro Star Calendar, the universe was walking a path of destruction...”

“....”

“WHO THE HELL AM I!?”

″DAMMIT! I can’t remember a thing.”

“And where am I?”

“This long corridor...”

“Am I inside some large structure? Or is this the insides of a spaceship?”

“I don’t know...”

“Why can’t I remember a thing?”

“WHAT THE HELL IS GOING HERE!”

DOKAN!

“Uhh”

ZUZUZU....

ZUZU...

BARIBARI

ZUGOGOGO

“Whoa!”

BATSU

“DAMMIT!”

“What the hell just happened?”

Sign: “Danger Ahead!”

“Oh great! A hole!!”

“YIKES!”

“HERE I GO!”

DOZU! 

URGH

“D-dammit!”

“OH CRAP!”

“Heave”

“Ho”

“Heave”

“I thought I was a goner...”

PITSU

“Whoa!”

GARAGARA

″WAH!”

Game Over

“Jeesh...”

“Somehow I’m not dead yet!”

“This is yet another corridor.”

ZUGOGOGO

“Wut!”

“They don’t know when to give up!”

“How long must I keep on running like this?”

“An exit!”

“That’s right! I must find one!”

“That is...”

"If there is an exit...”

“But first and foremost is where am I...”

“I still don’t know.”

“Ah!”

“Something’s coming.”

GOROGORO!

GORON GORON

“The hell!”

“I NEED TO DO SOMETHING!!”

“HA!”

“JUMP!!”

TAN

“HOH”

“ARAYO!”

“Phew!”

“Piece of cake.”

“WHOA!”

“ANOTHER ONE!!”

DAWARAN DAWARAN

“HIAH!”

GOON!

"GUH! A DEAD END!”

“Thank goodness! A ladder!”

GOGOGO

ZUUUN

“Phew... That was a close call.”

“This quite a long ladder.”

“But I have no choice but to climb it.”

“More importantly...”

“Many strange things have been happening...”

“What if the ceiling crumbles on me?”

“Or I get attacked by more oildrums?”

“Oh! It’s just another corridor!”

“But this one looks all deteriorated.”

"What an awful waste...”

″Atta!”

Zubu

“What the hell is this?

PERO

“Ah”

“Someone’s coming!”

“Maybe they’ll help me!”

“OVER HERE!”

“Thank goodness!”

“Maybe they know the exit.”

“Hey!”

“The hell...?”

GUWA!

“Whoa Whoat!”

“OH CRAP!”

“!”

"YOU SHIHEAD!”

“BAKIH!”

“Alright! If they’re going to come, they’re regret it!”

“BRING IT ON!”

GUWA

BAKI

DOKAH

BAKO

TORIKATSU

GATSU

“Heh... Serves you guys right!”

“Oy!?”

“....”

“I see...”

“So this was a video game all along.”

“I don’t know who is behind this, but I’m gonna move on.”

“Wait a minute!”

“I don’t remember putting a quarter in this kind of game!”

"If that’s the case, then alright!”

“I’ll keep moving forward regardless of what may come!”

“LET GO!”

MERI MERI

MERI MERI

BAKO MERI MERI GAJIN

BARIN

“WHOA!”

MERI MERI

“HELP ME!”

WAH!”

GASP!

“It was just a dream”

Huh.”

“My life expectancy was just reduced by ten years”

Yawn

“Well then!”

"I’ll be damned!”

ROUND 2 READY!

Visit to the Metro-Cross Development Team

Tsugumi: Good day!

Developers: Hello! Help yourself! This is the development department where all of Namco’s games are made. The six of us were involved with Metro-Cross.

T: It’s a pleasure to meet you! Thanks for sharing the comic. Which of you was the artist?

D: It was our team’s very own Dr. Aids. He also served as the model of the character. Perhaps if you look closely at the picture you might tell.

T: (Which of these guys is he?) Metro-Cross was a big hit among enthusiasts before the announcement, but where did the idea come?

D: There was this guy we saw everyday running to avoid getting late to work and that’s where we got the idea for the game.

T: (Sounds like Mr. Kage.) I see! It seems you can get a game idea from all sorts of places. Also, time is very important.

D: That’s right! Time costs a hundred yen [or a U.S. quarter]. (laughs)

T: Lastly, any advice you might give to children thinking about working on game development.

D: Have interests in many things, not just games. Have more than one thing to specialize at. And finally, keep yourself at good shape if you don’t want to lose a deadline.

T: Thank you very much!

Source: Micom BASIC Magazine July 1985 issue

#Namco #Metro-Cross #Micom BASIC Magazine #manga

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 2: Labyrinth of Dreams

Greetings from Kojima Cinema

Hello! Time sure goes fast. It’s already been two months since our premiere. I convinced myself that I had plenty of time, but those two months went by quick. It’s a good thing Game Hihyō isn’t a monthly magazine or I would had been in trouble finishing my manuscript. This issue I will be covering the latest work of director Sogo Ishii, my mentor in spirit.

A Labyrinth Seen From (Euro) Space

I saw Labyrinth of Dreams. It’s the best the film by Director Ishi in his post-comeback career since Angel Dust. Rena Komine in particular is pretty good. She’s completely different here from the girl we’ve seen in August in the Water, with a presence that completely outshines costar Tadanobu Asano. Ishi is truly skilled at bringing out the talent from new actors. Her performance, which can be described as a possession that emanates all over her being under the few limits of her sensuality, her dialogue, the way she moves herself, doesn’t make me think of her as a 17-years-old girl.

An Introspective Direction in a Monochrome World

Ishi’s introspective direction was a surprise. Dialogue and movement are both minimalist, the camera work is extremely simple, there are many long shots and perspective shots, everything is told through the rough shadows of the monochrome imagery, the swells of waves in those scenes, the flows of clouds, the thrusting rain, the wing flaps of moths, the swaying trees, ect. It seems that the dynamics of the natural world gives the movie rhythm and a sense of breath, as if its skillfully projecting the inner universe of the characters. The way that sound effects are employed is also first-rate. Did you noticed the ambient music that comes and goes like ripples on a water and the noises peculiar to film? To go as far as to be able to freely control sound effects in order to express emotions is pretty skilled!

Interactive Cinema That Makes The Audience Ponder Dialogue

The scene where the heroine visits Niitaka’s lodging house is a highlight. They stare at each other without making a slight noise or sudden movement, only time flows. The camera is set still, there’s no pantomime or dialogue, no camera work, the emotions between the two characters are expressed solely by the room and “distance” between them. Even without dialogue, the audience will ponder deeply about the feelings between the two characters. Perhaps it’s a kind of interactive cinema. “Distance” is a communication peculiar to Japanese people, but lately there are a few western movies that’s been using distancing boldly.

A Truly Life-Waging Love

I have never read the original short story written by Kyusaku Yumeno, but my interpretation is that the serial killings was just something that the wild imaginations of the young girls conjured up. Niitaka did not have murderous intentions, but the yearning for a grown man and awe for sexuality of his young lovers created a sort-of “murderer” or “love to die for”. Perhaps the incident was an end of a fantastical love taking shape. I don’t think that to like someone means to create an ideal lover within yourself.

The Sogo Ishii Within Me

When I was in my teens I had an obsession to create homemade films. It’s a bit embarrassing, but I formed a group called Hidetatsu Productions alongside some friends from middle school and made some rather uninteresting 8mm movies. Back then it was the heyday of independently produced film directors, starting with Kazuki Omori (nowadays you think of people like Shinya Tsukamoto). Among such directors, I had a true admiration for Sogo Ishii. As someone who always dreamed of filming movies, titles like Crazy Thunder Road and Burst City made the idea that even a complete amateur could make a movie seemed even more plausible. Even though I ended up joining the videogame industry instead, my feelings for Sogo Ishii hasn’t changed. His next work will be an adaptation of Kobo Abe’s novel The Boxman. Kobo Abe is one of my favorite authors. In fact, tthe cardboard box that appears as an in-game item in the Metal Gear games was inspired by The Boxman. I’m looking forward to it. [Note: This movie was completed, but never released.]

Indies & Hollywood

Lately there has been many instances in which film directors of indie background from various countries have been call forth by Hollywood to hold the big megaphone. Luc Besson, John Woo and Robert Rodriguez are such examples, and lately we also have Roland Emmerich, Peter Jackson and Danny Boyle as well. On one hand it’s good that talented directors are being given a chance, but on the other hand there’s a fear that you’ll rob such a director’s talent by forcing them to shoot a huge budget sequel to an existing movie. It can create a situation in which pressure and a Hollywood-like restriction of entertainment (that aims for mainstream appeal) could suppress the director’s unique style. While there are directors who were capable of grasping success while skillfully walking around the Hollywood system, those who failed to do so end up having painfully bitter experience. I was concerned for Peter Jackson, but then I saw The Frighteners and it has the same vulgarity that Jackson is known for, so I was worried for nothing.

A Dangerous Omen for the Game Industry

The same thing is happening within the game industry. Although it’s only a few, there have been developers and even whole teams that were headhunted by larger companies to work an anticipated sequel or a game in a popular genre. It wasn’t that long ago when videogames used to be made by a small team of people. It was just like making an indie movie. You had to draw the artwork, compose the music and assemble the program by oneself. Naturally the authorship of a single developer was very noticeable. But that is all in the past. Just like in Hollywood, what sells is pretty much fixed and there is a struggle to gather developers to make those kind of games. While this is not a Hollywood example, it is necessary for developers to ask themselves what kind of games they can create or whether they can take an opportunity or not. Unless you’re a creator who is capable of that, I don’t think you can survive in the future. We must think a bit about the risk of what an opportunity means. Just like when Danny Boyle turned down Alien Resurrection.

Source

Game Hihyō Vol. 14 (April 1997)

#Hideo_Kojima #Labyrinth of dreams #sogo ishii #Game Hihyō #Kojima Cinema

[thearkhound]

Tetsuo Hara Muscle Bomber interview from V-Jump (December 1992)

The Truth is That I Was A Fan of Street Fighter II

What was the impetus [for working with Capcom]?

The truth is is that I have a daughter who turned 3 recently and we’ve been addicted to Street Fighter II, playing against each other sometimes, but she wins always against me. That’s why.

Against your three-years old daughter?

Yes. It’s quite frustrating to me as a grown-up, so I’ve been practicing by playing a lot against the computer and that’s how I got addicted. I can’t even get any work done. (laughs)

After that, I was wondering how it would be like to work on a game like that and at that moment, Capcom just happened to came and requested me for a job.

So what was your reply?

Of course, it was an immediate okay on both of our sides! To be honest, I was surprised by the request at first, but when I heard that the developers were fans of my work, I suddenly got motivated. After I realized that, I quickly said say “yes” when I was asked to work with them. (laughs)

How’s your self-confidence?

It’s a bit difficult! After all, when it comes to working on videogames, I’m a complete amateur. However, I can say for certain that I’m doing my best to give each wrestler a character design full of charm. I can’t say when they will be shown, but I may be able to show them exclusively to V-Jump readers soon. Please stay tune!

Source

V-Jump (December 1992) - Scans provided by by Frost Fusion on Twitter.

#Tetsuo Hara #Capcom #Muscle Bomber #Saturday Night Slam Masters

[thearkhound]

Kojima Cinema Vol. 1: Daylight

Game Hihyō (Game Criticism) was an advertisement-free videogame criticism magazine published by Micromagazine Inc. from 1994 until 2006 in which freelance writers, as well as game developers themselves, would provide their thoughts on the industry or the latest videogames. Among them was Hideo Kojima himself, who began a movie reviewing column on the February 1997 titled Kojima Cinema, which lasted for 23 issues. This first installment features a review of the Sylvester Stallone movie Daylight. If the reception for this one turns out to be overwhelmingly positive, I might translate more of Kojima’s reviews in the future (and possibly any other interesting article in the magazine that catches my attention).

Special thanks to the people at Gaming Alexandria for providing the scans.

Grand Opening of Kojima Cinema

Hello! I’m Hideo Kojima from Konami and I will be serializing an article starting from this issue. The editorial department told me “write essays about movies” and I immediately replied “if it’s about movies, leave it to me!” But then I thought about it seriously and wondered if was alright to write articles about movies in a magazine titled Game Hihyō [Game Criticism], which discusses videogames seriously, but I accepted their offer anyway since it gave me a pretext to watch more movies.

Love for Movies

I was told to pick a title freely, so I considered “Letters from Ebisu: The Sequel” after Kenji Eno’s column that used to be published in this magazine (since our companies are both located in Ebisu), as well as  “Ebisu Mail” (after Ebisu Beer) among others, but ultimately I went with “Kojima Cinema” since it was about movie reviews. I want to express my thoughts and impressions of my favorite movies and movies that I watched recently, regardless of whether they’re old and new, as well as write about Game Theory as a game auteur from the movie generation. Naturally, I also want to talk about the latest game I’m developing while it’s happening. With that said, I hope you enjoy your stay at Kojima Cinema.

Daylight, a movie to watch on Christmas Eve while smothered by your partner.

Since it premiered on the same day in Japan and the United States, I was able to watched Daylight without any prior knowledge. For better or worse, it’s a very conventional 1970′s style disaster movie. It feels like a tunnel version of Poseidon Adventure, as it depicts the tenacity and discords of people trying to survive under the extreme situation of being trapped inside a sealed underwater tunnel. The fact that it has Sylvester Stallone in the role of Gene Hackman is quite a problem. I’ll explain later why. While the explosions and collapsing scenes inside the tunnel that make use of digital special effects are a spectacle to behold, I would say the core of the movie is the human drama. The expendable characters that only exists to liven up the drama are not noticeable here and script, which distributes death equality, is somber but realistic. Particularly the resignation of the characters who realized they couldn’t be saved and their unfashionable lines before dying felt more documentary-like than cinematic. On the other hand, the plot is too light and although the tunnel is filled with poisonous gas, everyone is breathing normally and there is no sense of heat despite the characters being on the side of the flames, so there’s an overall lack of realism. I didn’t get the sense of oxygen shortage, entrapment and temperature that the movie was aiming for.

Stallone and the invisible enemy inside the tunnel

The biggest miscalculation of this movie is probably the casting of Stallone. Even though they were trying to make a human drama, Stallone is of course going to be Stallone.

That reckless and warlike mobility of him and his one-armed pull-ups are still alive! Especially in the second half of the movie, his thirst for (first) blood powers up! When a new problem (danger) arises, Stallone seems to be very joyful! It’s like he’s fighting an invisible enemy (an Enemy Zero) by himself. Conversely, putting such a character in a screenplay that goes against his type feels quite fresh. There is a scene where Stallone’s character, after risking his life and going to the place of crisis alone, gets coldly berated “why did you come here alone”, and there is another scene where he tries to lifts a car with his monstrous strength, but is unable to. It’s a reality that only the actor who played John Rambo could pull off.

P.S. It is recommended that you watch this movie during the daytime in an underground low-ceiling theater in an oxygen-free state with a full crowd. Once you leave the theater, you will truly appreciate Daylight.

Disaster & War Movies

Perhaps it’s an influence of the collapse of the Cold War structure, but lately Hollywood has been producing many disaster (kaijū) films lately such as Daybreak and Independence Day. Perhaps it’s a plan to depict drama only from the human side by making a powerful and overwhelming force (enemy) appear, such as a giant monster, aliens or a tornado, but this makes it very convenient to stand on the author’s side. All the bad things are monsters (or disasters) and every measure against them is justified. Since there is no need to come up with circumstances for the enemy’s side, it’s pretty easy to depict a valiant fighting hero. It also makes it easy to invite tears and project sympathy when the good guys win. It’s not so easy when it comes to depict a conflict between people. Even if one side were aliens, if they have a personality, it becomes a situation in which either side could be just or evil. That’s the difference between a war movie and a disaster movie.

Rewarding Good and Punishing Evil in the Game World

Ever since the days of Space Invaders, every game (including RPGs) has been made following this disaster movie template (of rewarding good and punishing evil). The enemy is always a one-sided invader or destroyer. “One day, invaders came from space.” “Suddenly monsters came from hell. A hero now stands up against those who sought to destroy mankind.” The player is clearly fighting for good and the enemy is an absolute evil that must be excluded. This formula leads to fundamental goodwill of every game. The act of defeating the enemy to proceed has become the foundation of shoot-’em-ups and action games. If you allow compassion to the enemy, then there wouldn’t be any game. “The enemy is evil, therefore he must eliminated!” That’s how games are now. Nevertheless, Metal Gear Solid won’t be using this formula. Although the theme is anti-war, it must be somehow established as a game. This part of MGS is difficult. It’s a dead end like an underground tunnel, a state of groping in the dark... But this is the theme and challenge of MGS. Perhaps one day I’ll find the Daylight within MGS.

Source

Game Hihyō Vol. 13 (February 1997)

[thearkhound]

Double Dragon production story from the 1988 Apollon soundtrack cassette

Double Dragon production story

Double Dragon is a violent action game where two players (dragons) can fight together. The title consists of three kanji characters (双截龍).

双 (sō) = Twin, as in twin siblings, a pair of people.

截 (setsu) = In China, this character means to punch or kick.

龍 (ryū) = A so-called [eastern] dragon.

I started planning Double Dragon around July of last year [1986]. I think it was the 20th.

July 20. That was the day in which one of my idols, Bruce Lee, died. It’s already been more than a decade since he left this world. When I was young, I wanted to be as strong as he was someway. That’s how I lived my life. As time goes by, I keep thinking about what kind of movies he would’ve been making if he was still alive. What kind of actions he would’ve come up with?

Currently I work as a game planner and director. Game development resembles film-making, but the way of thinking is different. A movie is an objective depiction. It is something that is shown to an audience to create an impression. The audience will then fantasize about becoming the hero or heroine.

In contrast, a video game is a subjective depiction. The player controls the protagonist in an already established setting. It is you, the player, who directs in that world and only the person who is playing the game can compose the story. It is up to that person whether the hero gets a happy ending or dies on the way.

Double Dragon is surely the peak of fighting games - a movie and game that was completed by inheriting Bruce Lee’s will. The development of this game lasted around 10 months. Most of those days were all-nighters. The staff were struggling to death betting on this game. I’m very grateful to everyone who was working alongside me. I will introduce such amazing comrades here.

Character Designer: Koji Ogata

Background Designers: Shin’ichi Saito, Koji Kai

Sub Designers: Kumiko Mukai, Misa Yazaki, Misae Nakatani, Akemi Tasaki

Music: Kazunaka Yamane

Sound Effects: Ken’ichi Mori

Programmers: Hiroshi Satoh, Tomoyasu Koga, Naritaka Nishimura

Engineer: Kenji Nishikawa

Package Designer: Masao Shiroto

That was the Double Dragon staff. It was because of them that the game was completed. We all of their cooperation and strength, we will continue making games that will become No. 1 hits.

Yoshihisa Kishimoto - Director of Double Dragon

Source of image:https://vgmdb.net/album/5002

[thearkhound]

Nekketsu Kouha Kunio-kun production story from the 1987 Apollon soundtrack cassette

Kunio-kun production story

This work was based on the youthful days of its creator [Yoshihisa Kishimoto]. The title also came from the name of Technos Japan’s president [Kunio Taki]. Mr. “Kunio-kun” is a natural born hot-blooded tough guy. Under such a president was Nekketsu Kōha Kunio-kun able to be completed. The development period lasted three months. The staff continued staying up all night day after day. Labor lasted around 18 hours a day. But it was all for Kunio-kun. This game was the fruits of Technos Japan’s blood and sweat.

Game Staff

Director: Yoshihisa Kishimoto

Designers: Koji Ogata, Shin’ichi Saito, Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Kumiko Mukai

Animator: Hiroshi Sato

Programmers: Noriyuki Tomiyama, Shintaro Kumakai, Noritaka Nishimura

Sound: Kazuo Sawa

Voices

Kunio: Atsuhi Tanimoto

Riki, Shinji: Koji Ogata

Misuzu: Mystery Woman

Sabu: Shin’ichi Saito

Source for image:https://twitpic.com/dp7yg7

#technos japan corp. #neketsu kouha kunio-kun #renegade #apollon

[thearkhound]

The Making of Snatcher (PC-8801/MSX2 version)

Planning Continuity

We begin by composing a planningcontinuity in accordance to the carefully constructed screenplay. Every rough idea related to the production, such as the layout of the whole game, the flow, structure, background music and sound effects for example, is presented here. At this point we consider how to express the scenario and how to get the player to process, and then make adjustments over and over again. The planning on the left is for the first scene of the game, in which the main character Gillian Seed arrives to JUNKER headquarters on a vehicle called the Tricycle. Since this is an important scene that represents the tension and charm of the whole game, the planning is carefully constructed and scrutinized repeatedly.

Picture Continuity

Next we construct the picture continuity [storyboard] based on the planning continuity. At this stage the establishment of characters, scenery and such must be completed. In the picture continuity characters and backgrounds that had already been established are arranged accordingly to the planning document. Inspections, notes and specifications are written regarding the planning, characters, sounds and coding on this storyboard. Of course, the commands and output are written here as well. This planning continuity serves as a bible for the developers.

Draft

At the end, a draft is drawn for the shot, based on the scene decided from the picture continuity. Detailed writing, color specifications, positions of light sources, animation, palette changes, framing, code processing, sound effects and such are specified here in great details. The completed picture is then imported, digitized and colorized.

Source

https://archive.org/details/SnatcherJP/page/n13/mode/2up

#Snatcher #Konami #Hideo Kojima #Tomiharu Kinoshita #MSX2 #NEC PC-8801