Interview with Executive Producer Masanori TakeuchiPublished April 3, 2009 Ninja Blade™ is an exciting new action game developed by FROM Software, set in modern-day Tokyo, and featuring a unique new enemy in the parasitic Alpha-Worms. As the threat converges on the city, it's up to the player to use ninja warrior techniques to make Tokyo safe again. Recently, we had the chance to interview Masanori Takeuchi, the Executive Producer of the game, and he let loose with some intriguing details.
Ninja Blade ships April 7. Queue up the demo for download from Xbox LIVE Marketplace.Characters Takeuchi: Ken is the son of Kanbé Ogawa, grand master of the elite ninja unit. Due to his status within the unit, he's considered to be different from the rest and therefore treated as an outsider. Although most members consider Ken an outsider, Andy Walker has experienced many intense close combat missions with Ken, and through their combat experience they have become brothers in combat. To find out more about Ken's background, you'll need to play through the game to unlock his secrets. Ken's unit is called to eradicate the "carriers" spreading through Tokyo. The carriers are extremely dangerous, powerful and ultra-aggressive mutated animals infected by the Alpha-Worm parasite. During the mission, Ken's unit becomes infected and mutate into carriers. Ken has to stop them, but during battle it becomes evident that the infected carry over their previous skills, which coupled with their extraordinary mutant strength, makes them formidable enemies. Disaster Movie Takeuchi: We were inspired by the breathtaking action sequences of Hollywood movies and wanted players to have that same experience when playing Ninja Blade. We created situations where the protagonist faced a constant barrage of dangerous obstacles. A massive mutant outbreak in a metropolitan area fit the setting that could best showcase Ken's ability to overcome such extreme situations.
An Alpha-Worm infected creature is not pretty. During the initial planning phase, we discussed various types of natural disasters, such as massive earthquakes or the eruption of Mt. Fuji. But when we set the stage in densely populated Tokyo, we felt people could relate more to a pandemic striking an urban setting. The Action Takeuchi: We implemented the ghost-like effect to accentuate the following three areas:
On any title the Ninja Blade development team has worked on, we have always placed the greatest importance on the rhythm of the action. There are some action games that are just fast-paced. We don't believe that simply having continuously fast action results in the player having fun. Because there are breaks in the game's action, we feel this helps emphasize the speedier section leading to a more satisfying combat experience. Cutscenes Takeuchi: The full game does make extensive use of quick-time events. But the demo has a higher ratio of these since it doesn’t include navigation, puzzle, and shooting sequences that are in the full game.
The action is intense, but you have your ninja abilities to help. The main reason we used quick-time events is to maintain the flow and continuity of gameplay. We wanted to engage players to participate in the cutscene and not watch passively. We didn’t start with the desire to create them, rather we wanted to create a continuous and immersive gameplay experience that keeps the player in the driving seat. Ninja Abilities Takeuchi: Ken starts out with one type of sword, then acquires new swords as he progresses through the game. A maximum of three different types of swords can be utilized. He also obtains special skills called "Ninjutsu." Additional attack combinations are unlocked each time a new sword or new Ninjutsu is unlocked. Regarding attack combinations, new attacks can be used by upgrading the different types of weapons. You must collect "blood crystals" left on the ground after defeating enemies or destroying objects to upgrade weapons. The player can select which weapon to upgrade that most suits their playing style. Ninja Vision Takeuchi: In addition to what you mentioned, Ninja Vision is extremely useful for scoping out the environment. It highlights concealed parts of the landscape that can be used for navigation or finding hidden items, and it also allows players to detect and attack stealth enemies who are normally invisible. Real Tokyo Takeuchi: By setting the game in modern day Tokyo, we wanted players to be immersed in a highly authentic game world. We also wanted to utilize Tokyo's massive skyline and provide situations where players could use their superhuman ninja abilities on the high skyscrapers.
It's the real city of Tokyo. Players may just burst out, "I can't believe I just did that in Tokyo!" after executing an unbelievable ninja move among the famous Tokyo skyline. Challenges Takeuchi: We wanted to create a ninja action game for the world. The challenge was identifying characteristics of a ninja that appealed across the regions and not just Japan. We worked closely with Microsoft in creating Ken. They provided us with lots of useful feedback and insightful consumer research of worldwide gamers. By cooperating and working together, Ken has become more appealing to a wider audience. Maybe I'm biased, but I think that Ken is a world class ninja hero. The process of creating the game and Ken were very fulfilling and I'm very satisfied with the results. The Game Interview by Ryan Treit |
