Steambot Chronicles Interview (Page 2)

Steambot Chronicles Interview Continued...

Newsletter

Be notified of site updates. Sign-up for the Newsletter sent out twice weekly.

Enter E-Mail Address Below:

AE: Were there any milestones during the course of the game's development that were particularly special?

KK: We set our milestone as completing a demo version first. This goes along with almost all of our game projects we have.

Our demo version allows you to play the beginning part of the game, but it must incorporate and show almost all the aspects of the full game.

During the production of the demo version and throughout play-testing, we were assured that this game can bring out a new kind of play.

About 40% of the development time was put into the completion of the demo version.

Advertisement

AE: Are there any features that IREM would have liked to have included in Steambot Chronicles, but couldn’t?

KK: To be perfectly honest with you, yes, there were. This game really excites us as developers. New ideas kept coming and coming even during development. Steambot Chronicles is the end product of such development efforts, but some ideas couldn’t make it into the game.

Advertisement

For example, factors such as changing the weather. The basic system was already incorporated into the game and was active until halfway into the development cycle, but there just wasn’t enough time for adjustments, so we had to take it out.

AE: Did IREM learn anything new about game development, or life in general, while developing Steambot Chronicles?

KK: It felt really good to know that there are infinite possibilities with games, and that even a relatively small development team can make it happen. I believe this really motivated our staff. Our challenges of creating and incorporating new features (such as automatic dungeon-map creations and stock-market systems) have given us invaluable experience.

This is a personal opinion, but I am a person that just loves the work of creating games. Development of this game reiterated this feeling to me very strongly, and I have reconfirmed my joy of creating games and having all of our users play them.

AE: What was the easiest part of developing Steambot Chronicles? What was the most difficult?

KK: Thanks to the game system (IAGS) that allows for quick integration of our ideas, most of the development of went pretty smoothly. The hard part was not in regards to development, but from a promotional standpoint; this game was hard to present. The full picture of Steambot Chronicles can’t just be explained by telling someone each of its features one by one. This fact frustrated me as a producer.

AE: IREM creates games that are quite different from the usual fare, such as Disaster Report and R-Type Final. How does IREM decide what types of games to make?

KK: We don’t limit ourselves to a certain genre when we come up with ideas.

First and foremost, we strive to create something other companies don’t make. Even if the game is to be of a similar genre or theme, we make sure to take a different approach. This is because we feel we are obligated to give users a choice. If the game market is full of the same type of game, it doesn’t matter what the user buys; it’s all the same. So, if a company releases a game that’s different from the rest of the pack, the user will have multiple choices on what to buy, depending on the user’s feelings. Also, we always try to create a game where the player’s own will or thoughts are reflected within the game.

I am very glad to hear that IREM's games are thought to be different from other games, as this is our goal.

AE: Some analysts predict that development costs for next-generation consoles will be much higher than for the current generation, and that publishers will be less inclined to take risks, because they don’t want to suffer financial losses if a game fails at retail. Do you see increased budgets for next-generation consoles affecting how IREM makes games?

KK: It is true that the development costs for next generation consoles will be higher. However, creating games with high originality and creativity is indispensable in showing IREM’s colors and proving the value of our existence. Hence, even when we move on to next generation consoles, we will not change IREM’s style of creating original games. Without doubt, we will continue to be challengers. Please look forward to IREM’s continued commitment to creating great games.

Previous Page >>