Rusty Rabbit is a 2.5D side-scrolling action game in which players take control of Stamp, a cute rabbit, who pilots his favorite machine "Junkster" on an adventure through huge ruins. The original text and script of the game were written by Gen Yububuchi, who has created many works such as "Madoka Magical Girl" and "PSYCHO-PASS".
During this ChinaJoy, "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path" provided the first trial in China, and 17173 also interviewed producer Yuichiro Saito, who shared with us many game design concepts in the game development process and behind-the-scenes interesting stories about the cooperation with Gen Xubuchi.
Here's what we got from the interview:
Q: Can you tell us about the process of the birth of Rusty Rabbit?
Yuichiro Saito: Rusty Rabbit Strange Path was originally a personal project of Gen Hibuchi, who created a demo version using the Unity engine. One of our employees has a deep love for Mr. Xuyuan's work and learned about this project during a visit. It is proposed to expand this demo into a complete game for the general public. This proposal received an enthusiastic response from both parties, thus kicking off the prelude to the commercialization of "Rusty Rabbit".
Q: Can you introduce some of the core gameplay and unique features of Rusty Rabbit?
Yuichiro Saito: Compared to side-jumping action games like Castlevania, the main feature of Rusty Rabbit is that its main purpose is not to fight or defeat bosses, but to explore and collect "scraps" in an abandoned world where humans don't exist, and constantly assemble and strengthen our robots.
Q: Is there any unique design for the core combat and weapons of Rusty Rabbit?
Yuichiro Saito: The core gameplay of Rusty Rabbit is divided into two parts: exploration and combat. In the game, players will carry four different weapons, including tools for movement and opening paths, such as grappling hooks and hammers, as well as combat weapons such as swords and firearms. Not only do these weapons play their own unique role in combat, but they also help players overcome various obstacles as they explore. Players can freely and quickly switch weapons in combat and exploration to suit different situations.
Q: Does this game have high requirements for players?
Yuichiro Saito: This game requires certain skill from the player, and incorporates RPG elements such as character upgrades, equipment, and skill systems. For hardcore players looking for a quick playthrough, they can use their skills and equipment flexibly to achieve their goals. For players who are less skilled or prefer to play more leisurely, you can progress through the game by leveling up your character and skills, as well as acquiring equipment.
Q: Will there be any other spin-offs after the game is launched? Like related anime or manga?
Yuichiro Saito: We invited a well-known Japanese designer to design the game's characters, and we collaborated with an animation production company in Japan. Therefore, the characters and plot in the game are extremely charming. We've considered expanding this content to anime or other merchandise, but the focus for now is still on ensuring the game's success. Based on player feedback after the game launches, we will decide whether to further invest in the production of relevant spin-offs.
Q: During the development of Rusty Rabbit, did you encounter any difficulties that you didn't anticipate before?
Yuichiro Saito: This game originated from Gen-sensei Kobuchi's demo idea, and we refined it on top of it. The character design was the most challenging part of the whole process, because Gen-sensei was inspired by other works, but we couldn't copy it directly. We worked closely with the SoFun team, constantly communicating and revising, and finally gradually shaped the character and worldview that fit the teacher's vision, which was a time-consuming and challenging process.
Q: We were very surprised to find that the protagonist of "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path" chose Mr. Takaya Kuroda, the voice actor of Kazuma Kiryu in "Like a Dragon", we also knew that the protagonist of this work is a stubborn bad old man, is it to set up this character Mr. Kuroda, or is it to contrast with the cute rabbit?
Yuichiro Saito: Our character design is based on a cute bunny, and we initially considered choosing a female voice actor to voice it to match the character's appearance. However, considering that Gen-sensei Kubuchi incorporated his own life experiences into the creation of this character, we decided to look for a voice actor who was close to the teacher's age. After much deliberation, we first thought of Kuroda-sensei and quickly got in touch with him. Kuroda-sensei was excited about this novel experience and gladly accepted our invitation to voice the character.
The contrast between the characters and the voice actors was not originally in our plans, but after working with Kuroda-sensei, this contrast naturally formed. We chose Kuroda-sensei because he is a veteran voice actor who can fit well with the world view and plot of "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path", and mobilize the emotions of players through his interpretation. We want players to feel what the game is trying to convey while playing.
Q: Why did you choose rabbits to fill the post-apocalyptic time after the disappearance of humanity, rather than other animals or create a new race?
Yuichiro Saito: This is actually Gen Hibuchi's personal preference. When Mr. Xubuchi first conceived Rusty Rabbit Strange Path, he was inspired by a Japan craft blogger on Twitter, who always makes funny combinations such as small animals smoking. However, there are other animals in the game, and other animals will appear in sequels and other spin-offs.
Q: With less than two months to go, can you tell us about the length of the game and whether there will be multiple endings?
Yuichiro Saito: We don't have many endings in the game, and the game time is about 15 hours, and if you want to experience all the content, you will probably have to add another 10 hours, for a total of 25 hours.
Q: Rusty Rabbit is now made using the Unreal engine, what was the reason for moving from Unity to Unreal?
Yuichiro Saito: The use of the Unreal engine is a major trend in the market right now, and many game manufacturers are using it. In addition, the collaboration was not easy to come by, and the character design was excellent, so the production team wanted to use a more expressive engine to make the characters more vivid and the game more refined.
Q: Mr. Saito used to produce the "Danganronpa" series, and Mr. Kubuchi is also famous for his animation scripts. So how does "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path" use side-scrolling jumping games to express the plot?
Yuichiro Saito: Gen-sensei Kobuchi is a script writer, and the game will use cutscenes and the protagonist's complaints to express the story, in addition, it will also consider Gen-sensei's personal style, give full play to his advantages in text dialogue, and show the plot of our game to the greatest extent.
Q: What are the most special aspects of the game? What do you want to convey to the player? What kind of players does the game want to attract?
Yuichiro Saito: The biggest feature of "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path" is the world view and plot designed by Gen Hibuchi. In addition, I want to attract players who like a unique world view and story, as well as fans of Gen-sensei Hibuchi, and players who like side-scrolling action games.
Q: Mr. Xuyuan's works always have a strong personal style, so is this the same for "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path"? Are there some other people involved in toning down this less popular style for the sake of all aspects?
Yuichiro Saito: "Rusty Rabbit Strange Path" is different from Gen-sensei's previous works in that it is not as radical as "Madoka Magi" or "The Psychometrician", but it still retains Gen-sensei's distinctive personal style. Throughout the production process, Gen Xubuchi enjoyed full creative freedom, whether it was the creation of the story or the prompt design of functional elements such as "upgrade completed", all of which followed his wishes and were not subject to too many external restrictions.