20 years ago, as the creator of "Reverse Judgment", Mr. Qiaozhou pushed this classic courtroom reasoning game to the world, and then released a series of game sequels, Famitong interviewed Mr. Qiaozhou after experiencing these 20 years, Mr. Qiaozhou reviewed the experience of the first production of "Reverse Judgment" 20 years ago, with the obsession of "to play a game that can be played for 10 years", poured his efforts into the creation of "Reverse Judgment", and shared some unknown interesting things about the production process. Let's take a look. (Please understand that the latter parts are not translated, taking into account the issue of length and time)
Twenty years back
--Regarding the development of the first game of "Reverse Referee", Mr. Qiao Zhou began production with the courage to "make a game that can be played even after 10 years", and now that 20 years have passed since the beginning of the first generation, this game is still loved by everyone.
Qiaozhou: No matter what, at that time, I didn't expect to be able to play in 20 years (laughs). Recently, the number of parents and children playing this game has also increased a lot, thanks to the love of fans, thank you very much for your support.
--At the time of development, was Mr. Qiaozhou in his 20s?
Qiao Zhou: I was almost 30 years old when I made my first work. Thinking about "hurry up and finish the script while you are still in your 20s", I worked so hard that I got stuck for nearly 10 days at the age of 30 (laughs). It's really the age of the 21st century, and the millennium is really nostalgic.
In the project of "Reverse Judgment" at that time, the teacher and boss who was the game production said to me, "Give you half a year to do the game you want to make." "In this way, a purposeful training program for young employees, mainly based on me, began. I loved making reasoning games, so I chose to work in the game industry, and the opportunity given to me by my boss was unique, so I started making games without thinking. Judging from the notes at the time, the production began in September 2000, first the whole team wanted to visit the court to study, and two months later, that is, in November, the first demo version was ready.
--2 months of prototype is ready?
Qiaozhou: We planned the concept of the project with very few people and time, and the schedule we got at the beginning was almost half a year. Everyone was very young and replied "Yes!" "After that, the production started, and a lot of things happened during the final production, and during the final production, the team of 7 people completed it in 10 months. Having said that, from the current point of view, it is really something that I dare not think of, and the speed of completion is really fast.
--At that time, the Nintendo GBA was also on the eve of its release, and I heard that there was a physical version of the game for the GBA.
Qiao Zhou: It's really nostalgic, in fact, the original plan was to make a game for GB. However, at the same time as the "Nintendo's new model is out" news, Capcom received a GBA trial machine under development, and the very beautiful LCD screen brought me a shocking feeling. So I wanted to make it on the GBA, and everyone's emotions were very high.
--The program itself is also moving forward, so has the initial cassette completion achieved good results?
Qiaozhou: That's not an interesting thing at all. We received a very poor review "What is this game, I don't understand it at all." And my teacher, who was mentioned earlier, also criticized it harshly: "If you continue like this, you will disband." Even so, I didn't really want to disband our team, but then I learned that it was to motivate us and wave the "whip of love" that allowed us to break through. ”
However, the actual degree of completion is really low, and with that in mind, we decided to completely rework the structure of the original game. The existing action is expressed in the picture, and the opportunity to find contradictions is separated in the form of "inquiry", and the intelligence of the evidence is minimized. In short, to make the game easier to understand, the completed version of the courtroom confrontation system was almost done until the end of the year.
--This is the basis of the Reverse Referee series.
Qiao Zhou: Now when I see the records at that time, I can't believe that the second chapter of the second chapter "Reversing Sisters" in February of the following year, the third chapter of March "Reversing the Great General", and the final words "Goodbye Reversal" in April were basically completed and written in May.
--One chapter per month! What about the monthly state of "Reverse Judgment".
Qiao Zhou: Although the original form of each script is already there, I feel the speed of this horror. If you don't follow this pace, time will be too late.
--Is the spur that becomes the driving force?
Qiaozhou: While pushing me forward, it also drove me to the edge of the cliff. Speaking of which, at the end of that year, the production department also had a year-end party, and I don't know why I performed magic on stage, but although I did these activities, my heart was very heavy (laughs).
--This is not the occasion to perform the dove (magic)! [Laughs]
Qiaozhou: I can't rest for a day on the schedule, but just at the critical time I had a cold, went to the doctor to get some drip, and the tears couldn't stop falling, which was a good memory (laughs). This was what happened when I was writing "Reverse The Great General".
--The development of the first week is a very strong project, although the series has been maintained for a long time, the most difficult place in the development process is not facing the problem of dissolution.
Qiaozhou: This may be true, but in fact, every chapter of each work faces challenges. Especially when making "Reverse Referee 4" and "Big Reverse Referee", it was very stressful at any time.
Especially when making "The Great Reversal Referee", it was really "magnificent". Through the concept of "making a new Reverse Referee", I was able to meet Mr. Holmes, who I had liked very much before, which gave me a lot of energy. In the first six months, the overall flow of the story was ready, and the result was too full.
When I was making the finale, because of the schedule, "I couldn't stop it if I didn't end the story", which made me regret it. My stomach was also uncomfortable at the time, and I was actually hospitalized about 2 times. "The Great Reversal Referee: The Adventures of Ryunosuke Naritado" went once during the development of the finale, and "The Great Reversal Referee 2: The Awakening of Ryūnosuke Naritado" also went once during the finale.
--Hospitalized?! Does the body matter?
Qiaozhou: I was discharged from the hospital safely, although it didn't matter if I couldn't talk about it (laughs). As a result, "The Great Reversal Judge" was divided into 2 parts for production, far exceeding the amount of stories expected at the beginning. Also, due to the players' reactions, the process has also been greatly changed.
--Yu, so does that mean that the reappearance was a decision made in the first place?
Qiaozhou: It is not the same as the original plot. Although all kinds of things happened, through the efforts of the team, the game was presented in the best form.
Plot construction and script production
--In script writing, are there any difficulties in setting up the foreshadowing and constructing the plot?
Qiaozhou: That's right. In the beginning, I started writing without thinking about anything. In the first work, "Reversing Sisters", when Makoto's sister is arrested, Sungbudo asks "What about your parents?" At this time, I suddenly stopped, if so, then how should the parents of the sister of the real night be round, and I can't write it when I think of it.
From then on, I began to think about the construction of the plot. However, lines are also improvised. In the end, there is a parrot, which is not in the original plot. The nine that I had just written about "Reverse The Great General" were so well received that I wondered if the witness could be turned into something else, so I thought of using a parrot as a witness.
--Really important witness (laughs). Would it be better to add more occasions while writing a conversation?
Qiaozhou: After "Reverse Referee 2", the basic details are first composed and then begin to write. However, the plot of the final words of "Reverse Judgement 3" is not well written. Eyes closed, can you let others do it, thinking "can you let your future self help?"
--Dora A dreams of seeing the Kamen Rider way!
Qiao Zhou: Just like Mr. FujiFu of Doraemon (laughs). Then half a year later, the day before yesterday when it was time to really write, a miracle happened, and suddenly there was inspiration for the story, and it was finally completed.
The ideas of the characters themselves are intricate, and it is really unexpected to be able to write them like that.
Qiaozhou: There was a difficult problem in one plot, "How should criminals who cannot be punished by law punish them?" I couldn't find an answer, and after being forced into a desperate situation, I chose to try to change my usual way of thinking.
Before that, I started with pitfalls and situations, considered the logic of the story, and then embedded the characters into it, and I tried to change my thinking. That is, in a certain situation, "what will the character do himself?" Something like this, such as "In times of crisis, what will Sister Makoto do?" There will certainly be a conversation with someone else, so what kind of help will that person offer? When I thought about it this way, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration and thought of the only way to punish the prisoner, so that all the plots were connected into a line.
--It's a "reversal of thinking".
Qiaozhou: Exactly. Now that I think about it, it's a really celebratory thing to look at the records of the time, which also read, "So you can finally start writing, Duck Le Daze" (laughs).
The most interesting thing is the final adjustment
--You can see that the production process is still very difficult, so is there a happy place to make it?
Qiaozhou: The most interesting thing is the final adjustment stage, which is more and more interesting. Based on the improvised script, the production of characters, action music, and other materials forms the structure of the game, and the status of the temporary script is adjusted by me. Fixed lines to make them more in line with character settings, action assignments, and timing of insertion of music and sound effects. It's a time when I always want to do it, full of happiness. The more seriously you do it, the higher the degree of completion, and this feeling is very strong.
--In the final adjustment phase, do you remember the most specific scenes?
Qiao Zhou: The final words of "The Great Reversal Of Judgment 2: The Awakening of Ryunosuke Seibudo", the scene of the prisoner's collapse actually did not exist in the original script. However, when making the final adjustment, I really wanted to make this scene a little more interesting, and the schedule was still very tight, but everyone said "Do it!" And so the climactic part of the whole world was born.
--The important thing is to not let go in the end.
Qiaozhou: No matter how good the plot and trap setting, if you can't convey interesting places in the actual play version, it is a failure. If you are praised by everyone for being interesting, you will feel that you are the best, and you want to make more sophisticated production.
--Of the various traps and traps you have in mind in the plot, are there any ones you like?
Qiao Zhou: In Reverse Referee, "Reverse, See You Again", I like the traps set in the lake and boats. When I want to design a trap, there are many cases of drawing on the ideas of speculative fiction I have read before and then integrating them, but this trap for players, although very simple, is something I came up with myself. And, rarely on the stage on the lake, want to be a monster on the spot, just happened to be on the news on tv reporting that the liquefied gas cylinder exploded and flew into the homes of residents, I thought "this is it", and then I connected it.
Looking back on the past with gratitude
--Will Mr. Qiao Zhou still have something he wants to challenge in the future?
Qiao Zhou: The situation is very different now than it was 20 years ago, when anyone could be a producer, full of imaginative indie games. In that era, when large companies like Capcom let you make works that you found interesting, it is becoming increasingly difficult to have such opportunities.
Of course, it is not only the company, the needs of players, and the progress of the times is also an important reason. In this wave, if I can come across a miraculous plan, I think I can do my best there once again.
But what if, as in the beginning, we only gave half a year to make my favorite work?
Qiaozhou: Then I want to make my favorite small-scale works. Recently, I thought about doing my own original work. So I tried to buy "RPG ツクール" (a japanese software for making RPGs). However, my technique was not even satisfied with the people in the village, and it was hit (laughs). Speaking of which, when I was a newcomer, I used to make games with Nintendo's Super Famicom's "RPG ツクール".
--Haha, the game I want to play everywhere. So how do you feel now about the 20th anniversary of the series?
Qiaozhou: Although I was holding on to making a game that could be played for 10 years, I came back to God, and 20 years have passed. Now try again, and you can feel that you are integrated into each era in this game. I don't think I could have written this line if I wasn't in this era.
We, the makers, are born to make. Pour yourself into the game production. After such a long time of making recommended games with my head held high, there are still players who can play our games, and as a producer, this is my greatest happiness. Thanks to the support and support of the fans, I can greet the 20th anniversary of the series with great gratitude in my heart, and I really thank you all for your support.