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capcom
Even though Bionic Commando: Rearmed has been delayed, the soundtrack hasn't! The music is available for purchase on places like iTunes and Sumthing Digital. Money-hating Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd, who allowed gamers to chose a cheaper price point for BCR, once again explains why he hates money:
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feature
Fact: There are differences between Western and Japanese games. Intrinsic differences that sometimes make it hard to bring Western games to Japan. The words, the phrases, the idioms — they're familiar to you. It's English, and chances are if you are reading this, the language is either your mother tongue or a second tongue or neither and you've happened on this page by accident. But for a segment of Japanese gamers, Western games are just not playable no thanks to the language barrier. But some of those differences arise from the background of developers.
The vast majority of Japanese devs have an arcade background, and if an arcade game is going to be a hit, it needs to work, it needs to be tight and snap. If you put in a coin in a buggy game that locks up or freaks out, you'll complain to the arcade manager, who will then complain to his boss, who will then complain to his boss, who will complain to that game's publisher. Shit's gotta work. While the arcade scene is very much alive in Japan, it's not in the States, and most developers are coming in with a strong PC gaming background. If shit's broken, patch, patch, patch! "Japanese games have very few collision problems — hands, arms going through walls, etc," says Capcom producer and former localization head Ben Judd. "When western gamers see in-game collision issues, they don't care as long as they're having a good time. That's just not acceptable for the Japanese." Things like A.I. and programming is where Western devs really shine, while Japan picks up the slack on things like textures.
Other things that separate Western and Japanese games, points out Judd, include such seemingly small things like "Japanese player typically don't like controlling two thumbsticks are once — they get sick" and "Japanese players like a strong tutorial." Japanese players, says Judd, prefer that characters are skewed slightly younger and have more anime-style qualities, while Western gamers favor 30 year-old bald men. "RPGs are popular," says Judd. "Players don't typically like the first person point of view and want to see their character. It makes it easier for them to support that character." No wonder Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto has found a welcome audience in Japan.
11:00 AM on Wed Apr 30 2008
By Brian Ashcraft
12,577 views,
122 comments
Latest by n/a: @Pombar: There is a big reason Okami didn't sell a lot in Japan. The entire narrative is just a mashup of Japanese folktales with no surprises. It is like if westerners were playing a game about Grimm's more »
ben judd
Western games are really starting to come into their own. No wonder some think that Japan's place in the gaming sun has set. Japan-based-Capcom producer Ben Judd disagrees! While his Bionic Commando title is being developed by a buncha Swedes, he hasn't given up on The Land of the Rising Sun. According to Judd:
I mean, don't make any mistakes: The Japanese guys know that the west is starting to kick ass and take names, and they are studying those games. And from what I know of Japanese motivation and business practices is, if they ever feel that there is something that they're not staying on track with, or on target, then they study it, see what's great about it, then they learn how to do it better.A lot of people talk about the Japanese industry being, you know, on the way out, in terms of design and stuff like that. I don't think that they're out yet. I think that they'll come back.
ben judd
Microsoft's willing to bend the rules! As we posted earlier, the 150 MB file limit that's standard for Xbox LIVE Arcade titles has been ditched for Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Bionic Commando Rearmed. This ensures that Xbox 360 owners and PS3 owners don't get vastly different games. Does this mean Microsoft is setting a new policy? That the 150 MB limit is a thing of the past? For now, probably not. Though, Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd does think it's important for Microsoft to look at each Arcade title individually, and apparently Microsoft is doing just that. Says Judd:
It would be nice if they would adapt a policy of determining what the size limit would be based on the concepts submissions they are getting in. With BCR it features 20 different levels, 20 enemies, multiple attacks, next-gen shadows, scripting, 50 challenge stages, lots of sound effects, hi-res art from CJ's best artist, etc, etc. If you put that much in you just need more space if you are shooting for HD quality graphics as well. On the other hand, I don't think a game like Tetris (even if it is HD) would require as must space as say an MGS game due to it's huge amount of voice.I think standards are good for maintaining consistancy across a brand image. Sony, Nintendo, and MS all have policies concerning naming, icons, and features but still you need to be able to take a case by case approach on occasion if you see a title that you think really needs to bend the rules a bit.
capcom
I understand where they're coming from. If we did a Wii version it would not be with one-to-one swinging... you couldn't do [that] for more than 10 minutes.
bionic commando: rearmed
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...the team and I fell in love with the game and ended up putting a lot more time, effort, and money into the project than initially planned. Personally, since the goal is to make this game for the fans and to get the world to see what makes Bionic Commando so special, I want to sell it for about US$10.
ryan payton
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I wish I could send a message out to the whole world, 'cause I hear about this all the time. It was a story from Reuters, so it was literally sent to every news source around the globe. Yeah, that's how I was quote. If you notice, in the news story, I have lots of quotes in there with quotation marks, but that part of the story isn't in quotation marks.
capcom
Back in November, we reported that Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd said, "In three months, you will be happy." Well, it's been about three months, and we're still unhappy. We're always unhappy! In the short future, Judd assures, there will be an announcement he's dubbed as a "megaton bomb." Over at the game's official site, there is a poll about that "megaton bomb" that apparently hints at what's coming. It reads as:
What do you think the Bionic Commando Megaton will be?• The original Bionic Commando will be released on Virtual Console
• Nathan Spencer will appear as a playable character in Super Smash Brothers Brawl
• A Bionic Commando movie announcement
• A 2D version of the original on next-gen consoles
• A Wii version of Bionic Commando
• Multi-player for Bionic Commando
• A Bionic Commando Collection Pack will be released on handhelds
This screenshot, this one right here, is a mistake. It shows what looks like a bulky dude with an enormous arm covered in Oscar Mayer wieners. If this is supposed to be Bionic Commando, why is he walking?! When people can't play a title, they go by the only thing they can. In this case, screenshots. We (being me) haven't played it either, but watched a couple Capcom dudes play through it yesterday. They seemed to like it! (Hey, the Nissan salesman at my local dealership really seems to enjoy driving Nissans, too.) For about thirty minutes, we had a Hands-Off, Eyes-On with the game.
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It's a gamble. A big, big gamble. Capcom is trusting one of its most requested sequels to a first time producer. Not only that, a first time non-Japanese producer working out of Capcom's Osaka headquarters. If that wasn't risky enough, this first timer is overseeing a development team based outside Japan. In the stodgy and safe Japanese business environment this kind of gamble is more of an unheard of anomaly. A risky as hell one at that.
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12:00 PM on Tue Nov 27 2007
By Brian Ashcraft
4,644 views,
52 comments
Latest by n/a: @Torgen: Oh yes im aware of the touchups they failed to do on the american NES version like say touching out the hitlers stache, and well they did fine with editing the nazis but other than that I still wonder what more »
It's hard remaking things. Not because the source material is so great, but because people's memories of that original source material is so strong. Take Bionic Commando, for example. When the main character's design was unveiled, people freaked out! He had dreads and hots dogs in his mechanical arm. Capcom Producer Ben Judd knows exactly what it's like to behind a remake of an original game everyone knows and loves. He also like giant robots fighting, so he cam sympathize somewhat. Says Judd:
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Not everyone was thrilled with some of the choices shown in the re-imagined Bionic Commando. The most vocal complaint? People hatin' on the cornrows. Next up, the arm is way too big. The hot dogs inside the arm were a distant third — a distant third, but close to our cold, bitter hearts. According to BC producer Ben Judd, the cornrows move and sway when Nathan does the swingy-swingy — an effect that wouldn't appear with a military-style haircut. Early on, it was even suggested that the character have a bandana, but Judd shot that down as Snake from Metal Gear Solid already has one. Another possible design was a mohawk, but that was also nixed as Judd felt too many games have too many bald protagonists. He wanted something different and original. So, does that mean the producer isn't open to changes? The game is a while away. Those design elements could be changed. Judd tells Kotaku:
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bionic commando
People want to know it's their skill that gets them place to place. We needed to add a layer of skill on that very visceral swing mechanic.
Dead Rising creator Keiji Inafune really wants to do Dead Rising 2. He told me that, saying "I really want to do Dead Rising 2." We spotted the current Capcom Research & Development and Online Business head wandering outside TGS. Our conversation:
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Mega Man and Dead Rising dude Keiji Inafune has taken a break from making games and is overseeing production. In short: he's making sure that Capcom doesn't make crap games and that up-and-coming producer Ben Judd (above) doesn't fuck up. That's swell. Good for Inafune. Good for Capcom. Good for Ben Judd. But like what about Dead Rising 2? Inafune says:
This is something we hear a lot from the press — Dead Rising 2, and we're not making it right now, but it is something I would love to make. I would love to be able to take some time off from my business-side responsibilities just to be able to produce it myself — that's how much I love the game and would love to do it. But there are a lot of things that come into play. There's staffing, there's scheduling — who's working on what — then there's budget and money, where's the money coming from? So there are a lot of small things to work out before that would even be possible... If it was announced, I might be the one back in Japan making it. That's the title that they're considering back in Capcom Japan that I would want to produce the most, out of anything they're thinking about. That's how much I really love it. But I'm very busy.
Kotaku
