shmuplations

Galaga - 30th Anniversary Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/galaga/

This interview with Galaga creator and design Shigeru Yokoyama offers a unique look at the creation of this arcade classic, early development at Namco, and the storied “golden age” of the arcades in general. It was originally featured on the Galaga 30th Anniversary webpage in 2011.

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Tsuneki Ikeda – 2004 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/ikeda/

There are many interviews at shmuplations with Tsuneki Ikeda, leading man at Cave, but this one focuses on his “big picture” ideas about STG game design and danmaku. The italicized text at the top came from a shorter (unsourced) interview at the GSLA, while the remainder is from 2015-07-07 19:10:32 +0000 UTC View Post

Gunpei Yokoi x Yukihito Morikawa - 1997 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/yokoi/

This interview with legendary Nintendo designer Gunpei Yokoi and Yukihito Morikawa of little known developer MuuMuu was a personal favorite of mine to translate. It was conducted in 1997, just before Yokoi’s tragic early death, and sees him opining about where games have gone while also indicating a desire to return to his toy roots. One can only wonder at what he would have created,...

Clover Studios and Okami – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/okami/

These two interviews with Clover Studio founders Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya mainly cover the design philosophy of Clover and the creation of Okami. There are also a few small comments on Viewtiful Joe at the end.

KTL-NAL – 2008 Superplayer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/scorer8/
In this short interview, superplayer KTL-NAL talks about his experience playing Dodonpachi Type-B and scoring generally. He still holds the record for Type-B, at 704,468,390.

Animal Crossing – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/animalcrossing/

These two Dōbutsu no Mori (Animal Crossing) interviews from 2003 and 2001 explore the origins of the series, the guiding theme of “communication,” and its use of music and sound. Both interviews were sourced from the old Nintendo Online Monthly website.

Artdink Corp. – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/artdink/

Founded in 1986 and still active today, Artdink is a Japanese pc/console developer famous (in Japan, at least) for their simulation games. The first of these two interviews touches on the origins of Artdink and the A-train games.

The second is an unusual interview for shmuplations in that it is focused on the advertising and public relations side of the game industry. Perhaps mor...

http://shmuplations.com/scorer7/

This short but sweet interview with STG superplayer Dame KK covers his experience at the Japanese STG event Wasshoi (now in Europe). Although there is no specific strategy discussions, he ably conveys his passion for STG and scoring.

Shigeru Miyamoto x Yuji Naka – 2001 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/miyamotoxnaka/

This is a very special piece of gaming history: the first ever interview with former Sega/Nintendo rivals Yuji Naka and Shigeru Miyamoto. It took place in December 2001, right around the release of Sonic Advance for the GBA, a milestone in its own right. This interview has Miyamoto and Naka looking back on their rivalry, discussing their development philosophies, and excha...

Crimzon Clover - 2011 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/crimzoncloverost/ 

This very short Crimzon Clover interview with composer potechi was originally featured in the always excellent publication STG Gameside. I translated it mainly as a little nod to the newly released Crimzon Clover DLC which just came out (that I translated the superplay interviews for).

3DO - Console Discussion

http://shmuplations.com/3do/ 

These 3DO interviews represent a kind of time capsule, taking you back to the eve of the next-gen hardware wars in 1994. I don’t usually translate material that is this “promotional” in nature, but in between the shilling and (now laughable) bravado are some interesting thoughts about where gaming was headed. I’ve also attached a passage from a short interview with Nippon Ichi t...

Undercover Cops - 1993 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/undercovercops/ This Undercover Cops interview with creator Meeher (of later Metal Slug fame) and composer Takushi Hiyamuta is mainly centered around the creation of the character Rosa: her design, voice recording, and signature “bump” movie. Undercover Cops was something of a minor hit for Irem, and they clearly are trying to “exploit” it here… Because the interview is short, I de...

Koji Igarashi - Castlevania Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/kojiigarashi These three short Koji Igarashi interviews go over design details from several of his Castlevania games of the last decade. They are small, but represent my minor contribution to the Bloodstained hype. The third piece is also my first foray into subtitling video interviews, an endeavor I hope to continue and refine in the coming months.

Bloodstained - 2015 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/bloodstained This interview with Koji Igarashi about Bloodstained first appeared in game*spark, and was conducted when Igarashi returned to Japan after a week of promotions in the US. There have already been a number of excellent interviews with Igarashi about his Bloodstained, but this one contains some exciting new insights into the character design and project conception. Also, it's worth no...

Battle Garegga - Composer Commentaries

http://shmuplations.com/gareggaost/ This composer commentary on the Battle Garegga remixes for the Saturn port was found at the old Raizing homepage. It’s a light piece and comes off mostly as a Garegga/Namiki love-in, but is a fun read given the big names involved. I’ve also added Namiki’s commentary from the Battle Garegga THE MADNESS liner notes, which I had translated awhile ago, but never officially posted.

Senko no Ronde - 2010 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/senkonoronde/ This interview with G.Rev director Hiroyuki Maruyama mainly covers the origins and design of the “vs. shooting” series Senko no Ronde, but also touches on some general questions about STG. Unfortunately, there is little detailed info about the gameplay design itself, and one senses that the interviewer was not especially familiar with the series.

Ys IV - 1993 Developer Interview Collection

http://shmuplations.com/ysiv/ These lengthy Ys IV interviews mainly came from an Ys IV strategy guide published in 1993. They cover the music, game design, and challenges of the joint development between Hudson and Falcom. Also included at the end is a special (and funny) development diary which was originally featured in the Hudson Fan Club, in serial installments from March to December of 1993.

Capcom 1991 Retrospective

http://shmuplations.com/capcom1991/ This 1991 Capcom retrospective catches the arcade all-star team of Okamoto, Nishitani, and Funamizu just before the runaway success of Street Fighter II. The candid talk features design details from several of their earliest games and anecdotes about the old days at Capcom.

Motoi Sakuraba - 2002 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/motoisakuraba/ This interview with veteran composer Motoi Sakuraba of tri-Ace, Wolf Team, and Dark Souls fame covers some obscure details of his early FM work, as well as his personal history and composition process. I’ve also appended a miscellaneous selection of comments from another interview, with remarks on specific games.

Valkyrie Profile - 1999 Developer Interview

http://www.shmuplations.com/valkyrieprofile/ This Valkryie Profile interview with director Yoshiharu Gotanda covers the design, difficulty balance, and origin of the game as a strategy RPG. I have also appended a small portion of another interview with composer Motoi Sakuraba.

Metal Slug - Developer Interviews

http://www.shmuplations.com/metalslug These three Metal Slug interviews cover the design of the first two entries in the series. The heavy focus on character-based questions may seem odd for a Metal Slug interview, but it should be remembered that, thanks to the vs. fighting boom, “characters” were all the rage in arcade games at the time. I have also included a large selection of concept art from both games, wit...

Metroid Fusion / Zero Mission - 2003 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/metroidgba Closing out April, these two short interviews with Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission director Yoshio Sakamoto cover the changes in Samus’ design, the contrast between these games and previous Metroids, and the challenges of training a new development team. Interestingly, there is a note of condescension towards this “Wario” team that is hard not to notice.

Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap – 2004 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/minishcap/ This very short Minish Cap interview with supervisor Eiji Aonuma and director Hidemaro Fujibayashi from Famitsu magazine briefly goes over their design ideas and the influence of Capcom on Zelda.

Cosmic Fantasy – 1992 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/cosmicfantasy/ Cosmic Fantasy is a relatively unknown series of four RPGs by Telnet released for the PC Engine. Kazuhiro Ochi is an animator who tried his hand at game design, though he never made anything past the Cosmic Fantasy series. This short interview covers how Ochi came to Telenet, his design process for Cosmic Fantasy, and some of his thoughts on gaming generally.

Gimmick! – 2011 Composer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/gimmick/ This short Gimmick! interview with composer Masashi Kageyama was featured in the liner notes of a Sunsoft remix cd. Though brief, it makes a nice companion piece or appetizer to the longer Gimmick interviews over at glitterberri’s site.

Dragon Quest vs. Dragon Slayer – 1987 Developer Interview

http://shmuplations.com/kiyahorii/ Yuji Horii and Yoshio Kiya were two of the giants of the Japanese RPG world in the 80s. This short but sweet interview offers a candid, broad look at their development process before turning to speculation on the future of RPGs. “Network rpg” is the term they use, but clearly the modern MMORPG is what they had in mind… in 1987!

Ace Attorney: Justice for All - 2002 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/justiceforall/ Long before it was re-released on the DS in the west, Ace Attorney (or Gyakuten Saiban) was a critical hit in Japan on the GBA. These two interviews go over the influences of the series and the differences between the first and second games. The second interview betwen Hideo Kojima and Shinji Mikami is more lighthearted, and features Kojima’s effusive praise for the series.

Mega Man X Development Diary

http://shmuplations.com/megamanx/ This Mega Man X developer diary is a funny look at what sounds like a very difficult development. While light on technical insights into the Mega Man X development, it's a nice a slice-of-life piece from Capcom in the early 90s. It’s also interesting to hear that Inafune was stumped at the planning stage for awhile, considering his previous experience with Mega Man. The “epilogue” ...

After Burner II – Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/afterburner/ These two Afterburner interviews are from 1988 and 1996, but I have compiled them (by subject matter) into a single interview. The seminal arcade title was mostly developed by the three-man team of Yu Suzuki, Satoshi Mifune, and musician Hiroshi “Hiro” Kawaguchi. Here they discuss the cabinet design, stage design, and conclude with a series of humorous anecdotes about working a...

Blazing Star - 1998 Developer Interviews

http://shmuplations.com/blazingstar/ These two Blazing Star interviews from 1998 cover the game's stage design, characters, and its relationship with Pulstar. The first interview was featured in Neo Geo Freak magazine, and the second was conducted by Japanese fans at an old forum. I’ve also included the story and character descriptions; the story was translated for the recent mobile re-release, but it was very inacc...