Posts Tagged ‘Japan’

For me Shadows of the Damned achieved a sublime mix of creative talent. If I were to compare it to the classics I would see it as a mix of Shakespeare, Mozart and Da Vinci coming together for a production. To my Japanese centric mind, with a propensity for horror and narrative, the pool of creative talent EA pulled together was breath taking. Suda 51 brought his spin to the story, with Shinji Mikami handling game play and Akira Yamaoka on drums… I mean writing the score. Honestly there is nothing in this mix that could possibly go wrong. Right? Well, in theory yes, but as I proved one time when I made ramen with a beer and cheese, sometimes the whole can be far less than the sum of its parts.

Meet Garcia 'Fucking' Hotspur and his faithful friend Johnson, the talking and conveniently transforming skull.

I will confess before I begin that absolutely Shadows of the Damned IS better than beer-ramen with cheese topping, both in flavour and overall experience. Every member of the Japanese trio that had me so excited certainly delivers on their promise, with the outlandish plot, supported by solid gameplay and music that is both evocative and unique. But it is hard to ignore the feeling that none of the group are on top form. That, similar to the England football team, each of them was brought in at the top of their game and then became unable to produce their best performance.

To shed a little clarity for those unfamiliar with Shadow of the Damned it is a grind house inspired trip to the Underworld with the fantastically named Garcia ‘Fucking’ Hotspur (not sure if that is his real middle name but he seems to like to). Garcia is a demon hunter out to liberate his girlfriend, Paula, who had been captured by the king of the Underworld, Fleming, who is repeatedly killing her to teach Garcia a lesson for killing all of his minions. This may not sound too odd when I explain it, but I promise it is with all of the odd flourishes that Suda 51 is famed for making an appearance to make you utter befuddled and amused sounds constantly.

A light and dark mechanic allows somethings to only be hurt when in shadow, unfortunately this also hurts Garcia.

Supporting Suda’s story is more than slightly familiar game play, as Mikami reverts to his Resident Evil 4 roots, and a score that thanks to Yamaoka oscillates between appropriately odd and out right peculiar.

It should all add up to my dream title, but the amalgamation just never quiet meshes. Every time the team comes close to the harmonious chorus I long for it goes wrong. There is always a distraction from total enjoyment; a strange music choice here or a loose camera movement there; there is always something elusively that stays just outside my perception, distracting from my enjoyment. Perhaps it was that each of the creative minds involved work better when not constrained by others creative diversions, truly a case of too many cooks spoiling the broth.

Here is the girlfriend, Paula, being killed by Fleming hundreds of times seems to be taking it toll.

Of course there could be dozens of reasons Shadows of the Damned not reaching the lofty heights I had hoped for. A troubled development, difficulties in any number of areas, time restraints or simple lack of inspiration could have all contributed to the game’s underperformance. None of this changes the end result however, which is that Shadows of the Damned does not meet my (unreasonably?) high expectation. None of this is not to say I don’t like it, just where I was expecting a cheese board with a nice red wine I instead received a hearty ploughman’s with a pint of Stella, and I am not that keen on Stella.

I will confess this plan of linking to my other articles is becoming increasingly appealing as I try make DoFuss a more active site. It has the benefit of adding content, directing you to my other work, and perhaps most importantly minimal effort on my part as I begin to study game design.

That said this post has the genuine benefit of being unique content, an email interview by me with Brandon Sheffield, editor for Gamasutra and Game Developer Magazine as well as acting as a game consultant. The interview actually focuses on his time working alongside Japanese developers, and some of the issues and conflict that can ensue from differences in culture and work ethic.

I met Brandon at the Yokohama Beer Festival and was happy he agreed to this interview for Games Jobs Japan.

For reference Brandon drew on his experience working on a specific game he was aiding a Japanese developer with. Despite shaping up well the title was cancelled while still in alpha by the publisher due to lack of funds (along with eight other games).

GJJ – How did you find working with Japanese developers differed from with their Western counterparts?

BS – Working with Japanese developers was pretty different, mostly because one of the big things they wanted to know from me is “will Western fans like this,” which obviously a Western studio wouldn’t be asking. I felt like the team was mandated to ask this from above though, and they could’ve done a fine job without asking, really. Though there were a few cases where they tried to keep some gameplay elements that would look pretty stilted in the U.S. market.

Head over to Games Jobs Japan for a look at the full article, and if you want to keep up with Brandon check out Gamasutra and Insert Credit.

Last month saw the release of a number of significant titles from Japanese designers and developers, most notably Child of Eden and Shadows of the Damned. For a long time gamer like myself they represented hugely significant titles marking (in Eden) a spiritual successor to a classic (Rez), and (in Shadows) a collaboration of some of Japan’s greatest talents. Yet while my excitement was nearly over flowing at their release, the gaming playing community at large responded with a near inaudible, ‘meh’.

For all of my protestations and despite having bought it before huge price reductions, I am not enjoying Child of Eden.

The 360 timed exclusive Child of Eden, the first ‘core’ game for Kinect, shifted 90,000 worldwide, while Shadows of the Damned mustered even fewer at 60,000 despite being aimed more at a Western market and releasing for PS3 and 360. This is all set against the sales of the critically panned Duke Nukem Forever, which has (at the time of writing) had sales totaling of 750,000. I say these figures represent worldwide sales but in fact these games have only released in Europe and America, despite their Japanese roots. Interestingly in the same time frame the PS3 exclusive, Yakuza: The End, released in Japan and has managed sales of 400,000 units, proving Japanese games can sell to the right/home audience.

But should this be a surprise to anyone? Having followed gaming in both the East and the West it is becoming increasingly clear that games do not transcend culture as some once believed. There was a time when the limited number of games (and a focus on the pure mechanics of play) allowed sales of ‘good’ games to cross cultural boundaries. Yet with the market and range of games growing, a title’s ‘dressing’ has becoming increasingly important.

Shadows of the Damned lack of success in the West is a mystery to my, let's put it down to poor advertising.

In much the same way that all entertainment media struggles outside of its cultural home, games are now finding that the environment they are created proves an increasingly limiting factor. A fact that can be clearly demonstrated with Call of Duty: Black Ops, which sold a total 10,300,000 units, only 300,000 of which came from Japan.

The natural conclusion to this for companies will be that they should only release massive games, or those deemed able to cross cultural boundaries, outside their of home territory. In other entertainment media this would leave it to small, specialised companies to bring a title to foreign audiences, but in gaming the cost of translation and distribution are considerably higher, increasing the risks involved. Even endeavors such as fan translations are faced with the struggle of media that is hard to alter, and so doggedly protected by its owners that even purchasing a legitimate foreign copy is often frowned upon and expensive.

Attempts to bring Call of Duty to Japan have always been half hearted in the knowledge sales will be limited.

It is hard to admit, but the reality is that the market for translated foreign titles is not present, making doing so an unattractive proposition for companies. It is a sad truth for long time gamers (like myself) to accept that despite the affection we have for Japanese titles it isn’t enough to convince a company, whose main focus is profit, to localise them for us. We are lucky to have companies like Atlus importing niche titles, and even more fortunate to have had EA sponsor a title like Shadows of the Damned, but if sales continue the way they are such projects will become increasingly rare. When that happens we can only hope that holders of their copyrights will be willing to loosen their grip and allow fans to find some (at least vaguely) legitimate way to experience their games.

(All figures courtesy of VGChartz.com)

It has been a while since I did one of these link posts, and if all you do is follow me on DoFuss you could be easily mistaken for thinking that something horrible has happened to me — especially if you are still waiting for the last DoFuss Show (believe it or not it is still planned). I checked back the other day and I have posted alarmingly little in the past six months despite previous promises of increased content.

I will not make excuses, but my life has been turbulent and my attention drawn away from the site by my search for work and my writing for other sites. In truth though for all of this I have had more than enough time on my hands, and can’t really place how I wasted it all.

Things have been changing though. Firstly the number of sites I now contribute to has grown, now including Games Jobs Japan, a site set up by gaming recruitment agency Interactive Selection to help place foreign workers in Japan. On top of this, while my furious hunt for work has met with a number of refusals recently I have at least been responding to follow up emails and even a few interviews.

A change came for me last week though as I realised that, in order to really get my first foot on the ladder of gaming employment, a bit more direct experience was need. So I joined the Train2Game design course. This two to three year is specifically constructed to help its pupils train for work in the industry. Backed by TIGA, and supported by a range of other gaming institutions, the design course I am on is set to give me a basic grounding in the skills I need to enter the production side of the industry.

But I don’t intend to rest on my laurels or let DoFuss fall to the way side, yes I will be busy studying… and writing… and hopefully working… but my love for this little site endures. With that in mind the direction is to shift slightly. My hope for the next few months is to post daily, but with a more eclectic range of topics (with gaming remaining at the core). The plan is to add news that catches my eye, links to my other writings, diary entries about my course and, on occasion, the kind of musings you have come to expect from DoFuss.

So starting soon, maybe tomorrow, expect DoFuss to get busier. Until then (like you can’t wait) below are links to everything you may have missed since my last link post, just to prove I have been keeping myself out of trouble. Also, for the record these big link posts may look lazy but they are a pain in the arse to do, so this will (thankfully) be the last one.

Scared Gamer Reviews- DJ Hero 2, Super Meat Boy, Braid (PS3), Dr Kawashima, Costume Quest, Dead Space 2, Dead Space Extraction, Dead Rising 2, Dead Rising Case West, Stacking, Pilotwings Resort, Marvel Vs Capcom 3, Portal 2, Steel Diver, Gatling Gears, Beyond Good and Evil HD, InFamous 2.

Reporting Gamer Previews - Yoostar 2, Ninja Gaiden 3, Serious Sam 3: BFE, Catherine, SSX: Deadly Descents, Rayman Origins, Ridge Racer Unbounded, Orcs Must Die, Prey 2, Blood Rayne Betrayal, The Darkness 2, Warhammer 40K: Space Marine, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, Track Mania 2: Canyon, Alice Madness Returns, Soul Calibur 5, Hunted the Demons Forge, UFC Personal Trainer, Resident Evil: Operation Racoon City, Wii Exerbeat, Red Johnson Chronicles, Dark Souls, Super Street Fighter 4: Arcade Edition, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Silver Earring, Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Future Solider, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Child of Eden, Anarchy Reigns, Star Wars Kinect.

Game People Podcast - Alan Wake, Stacking, Flower, Uncharted Series, LA Noire.

Reviews – LA Noire, Faery Legends of Avalon, Soldnerx 2: The Final Prototype – The Last Chapter, Mircobot, Zeit, Spare Parts, Hard Corps: Uprising, Nintendo 3DS, Pilotwings Resort, Super Street Fighter 4: 3D Edition, Nintendogs and Cats, Steel Diver, Dead or Alive Dimensions, Strania: The Stella Machina, Ghostbusters Sanctum of Slime, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile.

Previews – Bullet Storm.

Articles and Interviews – Nine Things to Remember About Japanese Business Culture, Interview with Q-Games Ariel Angelotti, Interview with Q-Games Jaymin Kessler.