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Shinji Mikami first worked on the world-renowned Resident Evil series during capcom's tenure, then founded Tango Gameworks in 2010 and then joined Zenimax Media's development studio to work on game development for Bethesda Softworks. What kind of work is Ghost Line: Tokyo, which took 12 years to finally be born, for Tango Gamewroks? This time, the editorial board of Fami-teru interviewed Mr. Shinji Mikami and asked him to find out.
▲ Shinji Mikami (referred to as Mikami in the text), representative of Tango Gameworks, game designer
Create studios that exercise the skills and ingenuity of developers
| Q: First of all, I would like to ask a question about Ghost Line: Tokyo, how do you think about this work from the perspective of the studio representative?
Mikami: Possessed by Evil Spirits is a series of works created after challenging players to the survival horror genre game in which we have high hopes. Some people may feel that the horror atmosphere of "Ghost Line: Tokyo" does not seem to be so strong, and please do not misunderstand, this game is not a horror game, but a box-style action-adventure game. But even with this explanation, there are still people who think, "Isn't this a sequel to Possessed evil spirits?" No, this game is a pure action game that freely explores empty Tokyo and defeats the enemies. We have also polished the art picture exquisitely, and just walking around the Japanese city is endlessly interesting. In addition, the unique gesture action is also very handsome, especially the action of pulling out the enemy's spirit core is refreshing and abnormal, I hope that everyone can experience it.
| Q: Since Tango Gameworks is a studio dedicated to developing games that amaze the world, does this game meet your expectations?
It's been 10 years since Tango Gameworks was founded, and while there are still many shortcomings, this time it's always a work with a distinct personality, and it's a style that only Tango Gameworks can do. We wanted to launch a game that would impress players in 10 years, and now I can confidently say that Ghost Line: Tokyo is one such work.
| Q: To what extent have you been involved in the development of this game?
Mikami: I didn't point fingers halfway through, but checked and gave advice at the stage when I was able to actually play the game, trying not to meddle in any specific matters. However, even if I think about "don't talk too much", I always can't help but blurt out my thoughts, and I have a deep reflection on this. Originally, I wanted to be a "kind old man who silently guarded his family", but he became a "long-winded strict father" (laughs). By the way, I played this game three times.
| Q: Three times... That's awesome. What are the parts of your opinion?
Mikami: I'll be pretty straightforward about what I think is boring. Because I already knew the elements of the game's pursuit at the planning stage, when I noticed that the development direction was wrong, I would complain, "This is not the same as what is required in the project, right?" Although I wanted to gently lend a hand to Kenji Kimura, the words came to my lips and became, "This is different from what I said before, right?" How did this happen?" (Wryly). Sometimes I may have a plan in mind, but I still try desperately to hold back and try to let Kenji Kimura solve it by himself.
| Q: Although you did it on purpose, many parts of this game are very orthodox, and I believe that this will be a work that many players will enjoy.
Mikami: Although I am confident in this game, this anxiety about whether the new game will be accepted by players is also the first time ever for Tango Gameworks. "Evil Spirit Possession" is a survival horror game that everyone is very familiar with, so we know how everyone will react. When I first saw the art design of this game, I made up my mind to take it seriously, so it was also my long-standing concern about whether players could enjoy the game and feel that I had become younger (laughs).
| Q: When you founded Tango, the predecessor of Tango Gameworks, 10 years ago, there were about 10 members, what is the size now?
Mikami: Although it is impossible to clearly tell the number of people in the studio now, it is true that it has increased a lot compared to the beginning of the establishment. In recent years, we have recruited some fresh graduates and gradually reduced the average age of studio members. The large number of new people was also a policy set at the beginning of the establishment of the studio, but because there were fewer start-up members at that time, the first task was to lay a solid foundation. Recently, it has finally been possible to recruit young graduates, and there will be a group of people with lofty ideals in the future. We can expect these employees to perform well in the coming years.
| Q: What do you think is the driving force behind the development of Tango Gameworks?
Mikami: The studio survived because it hadn't caught up with my ideals. Wouldn't it be boring if you catch up with your ideals? I'm an easily bored person, and so far I've rarely been involved in the development of sequels to the game. If development becomes stereotyped and the studio only makes games that continue the same content, I might quit (laughs). Of course, it is still on the road to chasing ideals.
| Q: What exactly do you mean by ideal?
Mikami: First of all, "launch a masterpiece in 10 years", and the second is "young people make new games on their own" because I want to "cultivate good developers". Although it is a studio for developing games, it is also a game school where employees learn how to make them. In addition to receiving the ideas and ideas of my employees, I also want to make the studio a place to exercise the skills and ingenuity of developers.
| Q: Development studios with a game school side are really rare.
Mikami: There was a time when I wanted to be a teacher, maybe because I liked to cultivate talent (laughs). Tango Gameworks still only has the "Mikami" signboard, and I hope that developers including Kenji Kimura and others will become our golden signboard in the future.
| Q: In today's environment where you have to continue to develop games, it may be difficult to achieve this ideal, right?
Mikami: To be honest, it is really difficult to cultivate new people in large-scale teams, and if you can form several teams of dozens of people, the training effect is the best. In recent years, for commercial reasons, development has been driven almost exclusively in the form of large-scale teams. But the advent of game subscription services in recent years has given us the opportunity to make small-scale games.
| Q: From the perspective of the commercial level of the market, it is now an environment conducive to young people challenging themselves.
Mikami: Yes. Today's young people can gain experience in small teams and then participate in the development of large projects, so that they can develop better games and projects go more smoothly.
| Q: Tango Gameworks launched the studio's first mobile game, Hero Dice, in February, is that part of your plan?
Mikami: This is a project that started after drawing on the opinions of young employees, in fact, I personally have no intention of developing a mobile game under the name of Tango Gameworks. I don't hate mobile games, in fact, as long as the work is interesting enough. However, this is just my personal opinion, and I did not like to add kryptonite elements to the design of the game, so I also blocked this project. But when I played a lot of games with kryptonite elements, I stopped resisting that element so much. As I gradually changed my mind and became more positive, the young employees submitted a project that was both interesting and promising, which was "Hero Dice".
| Q: It seems that you have changed your mind.
Mikami: I'm a representative of the studio, and it's important to challenge making a work that can sell well, but a fun game is more challenging. Fun is the premise of everything, and I was sure that even without kryptonite, players could fully enjoy the game, so I agreed to the project.
▲《Hero Dice》
| Q: Are there any other works under development?
Mikami: DLC for Haunted evil and John Johanas, director of Wicked Possession 2, is working on a new game that is the exact opposite of the genre of horror games. This is a really good game, so stay tuned.
| Q: That's great! Looking forward to follow-up news. Finally, please talk about Tango Gameworks' future goals.
Mikami: First, I strive to realize the ideal in my heart, and secondly, I hope to break people's stereotypes of the current Tango Gameworks. We are currently seen as a "studio that specializes in making survival horror games", and of course, we are very happy to have achieved such a position in the hearts of our fans, but we want to be a studio that can develop all kinds of games. With Ghost Line: Tokyo as a watershed, we will continue to introduce more refreshing works, please continue to support us.
Compilation: Shiina pear