Clock turned 12 AM on September 16th and I found myself getting out of bed and walking to the computer to view the live stream of the Tokyo Game Show. Of course I don't know a lick of Japanese and my speakers were off so I don't wake up my little girls. My goal was to observe and analyze without distractions. Analyze what? As I was watching the stream, reading blogs, watching some more, and the reading into the development of these announced games .. I was trying to understand where the east is heading. Are the creative gurus of the east finally accepting technology of the west to bring their visions to life? Is there western influence on new ips or is the east holding to traditional standards. In short, I saw a mixed bag. However, I think this is a turning point for game development in the east. I'm not entirely too sure yet of whether that's a good thing or bad thing.
It's a pretty strong opinion but most believe that eastern developers have the most to offer with respect to creativity in game design. It's not new news that The Last Guardian by Team ICO is one of the most anticipated games in 2011. What I was most interested about were the other announcements by industry giants in Japan. Asura's Wrath, DmC (Devils May Cry reboot), and Shadows of the Damned. An addition, Level 5's RPG, Ni No Kuni, was in full presence for all to be in awe of.
Here is a video of Ni No Kuni (credit gamersyde.com)
The question is, were these titles that creative enough to be impressive? This is not the first time Level 5 has been to the cel-shaded RPG dance. See Dark Cloud 2, Dragon Quest VIII, and Rogue Galaxy. The jury is still out on game mechanics and story-line but it sure is an impressive looking game! The point is that the technology is not new. It's certainly beyond Wind Waker technology but its been done before. The creativity of the story, character progression, and level design is what I think separates this title from a western RPG like Fallout 3. This is just opinion, not fact.
I watched the trailer for Asura's Wrath and thought to myself, why hasn't the west explored asian mythology? I have to give David Jaffe all the credit in the world for putting a twist on Greek mythology with the God of War storyline. The formula worked for a western developer. Yet, it was an eastern developer that's looking to extend this formula with Asian mythology. I've played Darksiders and Dante's Inferno. Both are good games focused on specific parts of Christian text/commentaries/novels but they certainly are not of mythological origin. Again, the point is whether the idea of Asura's Wrath is fresh and new. I'm not arguing for or against but just putting it out there in this conversation of eastern design and western technology.
Shadows of the Damned felt like a marriage of gaming ideas. Third person shooting mechanics of Dead Space and Gears of Warr. Atmosphere of Resident Evil. Over the top gun play of Vanquish. This of course is from just watching the trailer. This is perfect example of eastern game design meats western technology. Enter Unreal Engine 3. UE3 is not an engine designed by the east! Shocking! Interesting to note that Asura's Wrath is also powered by Unreal Engine 3. Fingers are crossed on platform parity! Grasshopper and CyberConnect 2 should have enough expertise on both platforms to deliver a worthwhile game to everyone. I guess the announcement back in April of Epic Japan is paying dividends (link)
Below is the trailer for Shadows of the Damned courtesy of gametrailers.com
I watched the trailer for Asura's Wrath and thought to myself, why hasn't the west explored asian mythology? I have to give David Jaffe all the credit in the world for putting a twist on Greek mythology with the God of War storyline. The formula worked for a western developer. Yet, it was an eastern developer that's looking to extend this formula with Asian mythology. I've played Darksiders and Dante's Inferno. Both are good games focused on specific parts of Christian text/commentaries/novels but they certainly are not of mythological origin. Again, the point is whether the idea of Asura's Wrath is fresh and new. I'm not arguing for or against but just putting it out there in this conversation of eastern design and western technology.
Shadows of the Damned felt like a marriage of gaming ideas. Third person shooting mechanics of Dead Space and Gears of Warr. Atmosphere of Resident Evil. Over the top gun play of Vanquish. This of course is from just watching the trailer. This is perfect example of eastern game design meats western technology. Enter Unreal Engine 3. UE3 is not an engine designed by the east! Shocking! Interesting to note that Asura's Wrath is also powered by Unreal Engine 3. Fingers are crossed on platform parity! Grasshopper and CyberConnect 2 should have enough expertise on both platforms to deliver a worthwhile game to everyone. I guess the announcement back in April of Epic Japan is paying dividends (link)
Below is the trailer for Shadows of the Damned courtesy of gametrailers.com
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