We catch up with prolific game designers Goichi "Suda 51" Suda and Shinji Mikami the day before the official 2010 Tokyo Game Show kicks off to talk about their newly announced "psychological action thriller" Shadows of the Damned.
What we're talking about: Shadows of the Damned, the newly announced second collaboration between iconic creative forces Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami.
Where we saw it: At the Keio Plaza Hotel in downtown Shinjuku, Tokyo, the day before the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.
What you need to know:
* Shadows of the Damned was described to me as a "psychological action thriller" -- a white-knuckle, fright-fueled third-person shooter that supposedly combines the action-oriented elements of Resident Evil 4 with Suda 51’s incomparable imagination and "punk rock" attitude. Damned follows tattoo-adorned demon hunter Garcia Hotspur through the depths of hell on a Dante Alighieri-esque journey to reunite with his betrothed. "I wanted to create a world with death," Suda says. "A lot of death, and with not so much dialogue."
* Grasshopper Manufacture's library has always been heavily steeped in and driven by elements of pop culture, and Shadows of the Damned is no exception; both Mikami and Suda cite the stylistically over-the-top films of director Robert Rodriguez as a hefty influence on Damned's aesthetic. Suda references Ridley Scott's feature-film adaptation of Blade Runner as well as 2K Games' Objectivist-driven first-person shooter BioShock as inspirations for the dense world and immersive narrative he's hoping to craft.
* Suda and Mikami are quick to note the importance of appealing to both Western and Eastern audiences with a game like Damned. Where Suda cites Western appeal as an inherent attribute to Grasshopper's stylistic flair and unique development style, Mikami expands on the idea, noting the publishing partnership with EA as an exceptional opportunity to better reach an international audience. But he stresses the importance of Japanese developers not straying too far from their cultural roots in concurrent endeavors.
* Suda and Mikami share a stellar rapport, citing one another as idea-driven yet straightforward thinkers. Having worked together on Grasshopper's surrealist genre-bending shooter Killer7, the designers say that collaborating again on Damned feels natural and easy.
* Shadows of the Damned is set for an original score courtesy of prolific and expertly atmospheric composer Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame.
Point in development cycle: Shadows of the Damned is slated for a 2011 release on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
What we're talking about: Shadows of the Damned, the newly announced second collaboration between iconic creative forces Goichi Suda and Shinji Mikami.
Where we saw it: At the Keio Plaza Hotel in downtown Shinjuku, Tokyo, the day before the 2010 Tokyo Game Show.
What you need to know:
* Shadows of the Damned was described to me as a "psychological action thriller" -- a white-knuckle, fright-fueled third-person shooter that supposedly combines the action-oriented elements of Resident Evil 4 with Suda 51’s incomparable imagination and "punk rock" attitude. Damned follows tattoo-adorned demon hunter Garcia Hotspur through the depths of hell on a Dante Alighieri-esque journey to reunite with his betrothed. "I wanted to create a world with death," Suda says. "A lot of death, and with not so much dialogue."
* Grasshopper Manufacture's library has always been heavily steeped in and driven by elements of pop culture, and Shadows of the Damned is no exception; both Mikami and Suda cite the stylistically over-the-top films of director Robert Rodriguez as a hefty influence on Damned's aesthetic. Suda references Ridley Scott's feature-film adaptation of Blade Runner as well as 2K Games' Objectivist-driven first-person shooter BioShock as inspirations for the dense world and immersive narrative he's hoping to craft.
* Suda and Mikami are quick to note the importance of appealing to both Western and Eastern audiences with a game like Damned. Where Suda cites Western appeal as an inherent attribute to Grasshopper's stylistic flair and unique development style, Mikami expands on the idea, noting the publishing partnership with EA as an exceptional opportunity to better reach an international audience. But he stresses the importance of Japanese developers not straying too far from their cultural roots in concurrent endeavors.
* Suda and Mikami share a stellar rapport, citing one another as idea-driven yet straightforward thinkers. Having worked together on Grasshopper's surrealist genre-bending shooter Killer7, the designers say that collaborating again on Damned feels natural and easy.
* Shadows of the Damned is set for an original score courtesy of prolific and expertly atmospheric composer Akira Yamaoka of Silent Hill fame.
Point in development cycle: Shadows of the Damned is slated for a 2011 release on both the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
