*This article is compiled from IGN JP related content, unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
At the beginning of 2022, the organizational structure within Platinum Studios underwent major changes, and Atsushi Inaba and Hideki Kamiya, who were in charge of the game development in the front line, took office as the company's president and vice president, respectively. At this moment when a new system is being established and a new step is about to be taken, IGN Japan's editorial department has interviewed the two heavyweights who have led the development of Platinum Studios, and they have an in-depth exchange with them about games such as "Angel Hunter Witch 3", "SOL CRESTA" and the fantasy work "Dragon Scale Avatar".
A platinum studio with a solid foundation and growing wings
—— First of all, congratulations to the two presidents and vice presidents of Platinum Studios. What are the main aspects of this organizational structure change?
Atsushi Inaba (hereinafter referred to as Inaba): At the heart of this organizational change, I think Kamiya should be the vice president, because many people on the Internet have reacted to this is "Is it really okay to let this kind of person be vice president?" [Laughs).
Hideki Kamiya (hereinafter referred to as Kamiya): Don't say goodbye, I will try to correct my words and deeds from now on.
Inaba: Platinum Studio has been established for more than 15 years, has gone through various periods, and has made many preparations for the goal of issuing its own IP. Now this stage of laying the foundation can be said to have finally come to an end, and the next step will be to step into the process of gradually enriching its wings. In addition, another important reason for the organizational structure change is that I was in charge of leading the development work and leading the entire company forward may be the best way to realize my own value.
With Kamiya and I in charge of development as president and vice president, I believe that it is the simplest and most understandable form to bring Platinum Studio back to its original intention of "a company that creates a new and interesting play experience" and guide Platinum Studio's future development path.
—— Do you feel pressure to change positions?
Inaba: Pressure... It may be the relationship of my own personality, and I basically don't feel any pressure. As my position changes, I will be able to do more and more, and more and more weight, and all I feel is excitement.
Kamiya: In the past, I used to focus entirely on the work I was responsible for, and it wasn't until this system change that I really started to deal with things like quality checking of works that I wasn't involved in, or suggesting changes based on certain needs, which gave me a completely different kind of work pleasure than in the past. Since the scope of work has been extended to Project G.G. and other unpublished works, every day is a lot of fun.
There was a long-lost tension about SOL CRESTA, which was released in February
—— Next, I would like to inquire about the works that have been published, such as "SOL CRESTA", "The Fall of Babylon", and "Angel Hunting Witch 3". Let's start with SOL CRESTA, and when I watched the latest gameplay released on my last livestream, I noticed a few changes in content compared to the version I tried out on BitSummit in September. Can you elaborate on this part?
Kamiya: Because we make all kinds of changes to the game every day, it's hard to tell exactly how every detail is changed. And if you compare the official version of the game with the previously released live video of the game, you may find that some details have changed with the progress of development. The barrage shooter genre may seem simple, but just adding a little variable or making a small change can make the playing experience completely different, so we need to spend a long time testing what is best.
—— The release date of this game has undergone a short postponement, why?
Kamiya: The postponement is not because the core gameplay content such as levels or bosses is too late to be produced, but it feels that the polishing of various elements is still not enough, and the overall impression is still slightly rough, and I hope to spend a little more time polishing to improve the look and feel of the game.
—— Through activities such as "Apology Live" and "Release Date Decision Meeting", it can be seen that you are more positive about sharing game information. What is your player community operation and maintenance policy?
Kamiya: Our approach is to get close to the players and have more friendly interactions with them, although this may sound a bit contradictory to my own tweet content and blocking operations that have often caused controversy over the years (laughs). Since we now have complete freedom to control our IP, we will also share more actively about these works.
—— Overseas players are also paying attention to this game. After all, when it comes to fans of bullet screen shooting games, the overseas player group must not be ignored, and you should also want overseas players to contact this game.
Kamiya: It's very happy that overseas players can also pay attention to this game.
You've asked me if I've felt the pressure before, and I'm a person who is very confident in my work, so I don't usually feel the pressure when making games, but this time when I developed SOL CRESTA, I rarely felt the tension of muscle trembling.
This is because in the field of bullet shooters, there are many hardcore players who have strict requirements for games, including me. As a result, I felt a completely different sense of tension during development than before, and I often struggled with how possible the game was and whether there were any highlights that were impressive. Since there are legendary works such as "Space Cruiser" and "Alien Fighter" that are famous enough to be remembered in history, I am still afraid and uneasy about whether this work as a latecomer can make everyone feel that it is a work of challenging value.
The Fall of Babylon, which is also fresh on a development level
The Fall of Babylon
—— Let's talk about "The Fall of Babylon". This game has been held in a closed beta test, how do players feedback on the test experience? Have you made any adjustments based on this feedback?
Rice leaves: There are both positive and negative feedbacks. Based on this feedback, the development team has quickly tweaked the game. Holding closed beta tests is something we've never tried before, so the whole process is fun and very fresh.
While negative opinions are usually more likely to get the attention of development teams, we've also received a lot of positive feedback on the same elements. Therefore, exactly how to choose is especially critical for creators. I think Babylon's Fall does a pretty good job of that and should be able to make the game better and better.
—— The Fall of Babylon has changed a lot from Platinum Studios' past works, so what difficulties did you encounter in development?
Inaba: Since we didn't have experience designing multiplayer gameplay, we put a lot of effort into this part. In fact, the refreshing action system and multiplayer gameplay that Platinum Studio is best at creating are not so good, so it is not easy to find a balance between the two.
I personally love slash-and-slash games, so I'd love for the studio to try this area, and we'll continue to challenge it in the future.
If you have played previous works, Angel Hunter Witch 3 will be more fun
—— Many players are very concerned about the follow-up information of "Angel Hunter Witch 3", what kind of experience can we get in this game?
Angel Hunter Witch 3
Kamiya: Although there is no information to disclose, I am finally relieved that this game, which has been dormant for a long time, can return to the public eye in the form of the latest real-life video, and I think everyone should be more at ease after watching it.
Players who have watched the video should be able to find that this game has added a lot of elements that were not in the past "Angel Hunting Witch" works, and everyone can expect more in this regard.
Inaba: It can even be said that no matter how much information about Angel Hunter Witch 3 is leaked, this game still has countless new elements.
Kamiya: Another point I want to convey to all of you is that I hope that you will definitely experience the past works of the series before playing Angel Hunter Witch 3. Although from the script point of view, whether you play the first part or the second part first, or even start from "Angel Hunter Witch 3", you can enjoy the complete story and have no fun at all. However, if you have experienced "Angel Hunter Witch" and "Angel Hunting Witch 2" beforehand, the fun of this game will undoubtedly be further improved, so before playing the latest game, please be sure to review the previous game. If you lose some fun because you haven't played the first two games, I think it's a pity.
For players who are not good at action games, this game is also specially designed to experience the same fun mechanics, which is very safe to rest assured.
—— The previous works of the series have launched the linkage costumes of characters such as Peach Blossom Princess, Sams and Link, will there be similar IP linkage content this time?
Inaba: Since these are not Platinum Studios IP, our focus is more on "how to make Angel Hunter 3 more interesting".
Kamiya: Incidentally, since the game was published by Nintendo, there are rumors that "some of the game's design and performance may be limited", but this is not the case at all.
When watching the latest real-world video, many people may have watched the beginning and will have "What kind of game is this?" The question, and the difference between this work and the previous "Hunting Angel Witch" work is really as everyone thinks. Although it still has the familiar side of the "Angel Hunting Witch", at the same time, a large number of new gameplay has been added, which is very fresh to play.
—— Such a long-brewed work, and in time to catch up with the Switch console has been fully popularized at this point in time, its sales performance looks worth looking forward to ah.
The development progress of the new IP and the magic work "Dragon Scale Avatar"
—— Regarding "Project G.G.", which is completely owned by Platinum Studios, what is the development progress now?
Screenshot from the official
Inaba: I happened to talk to Kamiya about this topic before. The project itself is indeed moving forward. Well...... Maybe that's it... I think it's funny (seems to be fretting about not knowing how much to reveal).
Kamiya: It's almost possible to do some simple hands-on tests, but because the visual presentation content has not yet been integrated, it is not yet possible to show it to everyone. At present, we are still in the process of "Is it okay to follow the direction of the project's key content?" This type of question is a stage of discussion and verification.
Inaba: I hope to disclose new information about this game around the end of this year.
—— "Magic 101: Replica Edition" and "Hundred Devils" You have tried to release independently, have you gained anything in the process?
"Hundred Devils and Demons"
Inaba: Whether it's Magic 101: Replica or Hundred Ghosts and Demons, we're all challenged with the mindset of trying it out first. Since they didn't know anything about game publishing before, the members of the studio were busy, but at the same time they gained a lot of publishing-related experience. Therefore, starting this year, our distribution system and strategy will usher in further upgrades, and I still have the idea of actively exploring overseas distribution. I hope that we can gradually get rid of the previous independent publishing model with a strong independent temperament and further improve the quality of game publishing.
—— Recently, there have been frequent big moves in the game industry, such as Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, have you considered taking this opportunity to restart the previous work "Dragon Scale Avatar" developed in the form of independent distribution?
Inaba: Kamiya has been talking about wanting to do Dragon Scale Incarnation. It's not the kind of beautiful scene like "If there is a chance~", kamiya and I really want to do it. So we'd love to talk to Microsoft about that again.
Kamiya: After all, a lot of results have been achieved. But since the project itself is in Microsoft's hands, there's nothing we can do but see what else can be done (laughs). Phil! Let's do it together!
- Thank you very much for answering so many questions about each work. Do you have any types of games you want to challenge in the future?
Kamiya: That's too much. Inaba is a very ambitious person, and often throws me a lot of "want to do this kind of thing" thoughts. And I happen to be the type of person who is more willing to be inspired by existing proposals and then think and create ideas than to start from scratch. So as long as you have an interesting idea, many times you can really advance to the stage of actually writing a plan.
Inaba: When it comes to the type of game we want to challenge, there is actually a genre that we are already working on, but since I can neither disclose more information about this game, nor can I skip the direct answer of this game, this question is more or less difficult to answer. I can only say "I have a creative inventory ready for the next decade or so".
After that, the two also shared their inspiration for game development, recent exposure to games and movies, and Mr. Kamiya's recent obsession with Marvel. However, considering the length of the article, this part of the content is not included in this article. However, it is clear that Platinum Studio, which may have further big moves in 2022, is still very worthy of everyone's attention and expectations.