Speaking with Kouno at TGS, we learned that, while the game's a space strategy game, it also contains a lot of dialogue. A lot. Loads and loads of 2D character chit-chat, and multiple, branching storylines to go along with it.

Which is exactly what makes up the bulk of an ero game. Talking, and talking, and having the plot advance because of what you just said. Indeed, the game's are so similar in this regard that Kouno said without the help of the company's custom dialogue system - built to handle the progression of the ero games - Infinite Space's complex story development and branching plot-lines just wouldn't have been possible.

Add to that the fact Kuono also said that the game's going to be as heavy on character growth and the "exploration of themes", and that like the tech, the team's experience in building characters for the ero games has been priceless in fleshing out the game's characters.

Sometimes, just sometimes, the world can be an amazing place.

I won't take this lightly. I do not feel that there's a big difference in my thinking between standard adult titles and consumer titles. We don't have the idea that we're really shifting gears as such... Generally, people looked down on adult titles just because they're adult titles. But this is just one genre that I want to experiment in as a game designer — just one avenue for my creativity. There may be other avenues for my creativity. I don't want to limit what I can explore as a designer, based on expectations... As part of writing scenarios, it's very important to understand human behavior. You have to address the basics of human feeling and motivation. The sexual urge and sexual motives are absolutely a core part of human behavior and a really primal urge. I think we can't forget that. I don't want us to forget that part of ourselves... I think people get love and sex mixed up a lot of the time, of course. Just straightforward sex in games, I don't think that represents love.

Sex and love are part of the human experience. It's a shame to see them pushed to the side and marginalized in gaming, while violence seems more "acceptable."

Q&A Getting Nude [Gamasutra via Insert Credit]

Like what you've seen so far from Platinum Games? Good, because bet your ass there's going to be more. Sequels, even. Let's let SEGA American boss Simon Jeffery explain it:

So these franchises will be built over a long term. What we've seen today is the starting point, but all of those games — Bayonetta, MADWORLD, Infinite Line — won't be one-offs. They're all uniquely different enough from everything in their space to build complete franchises out of. The whole foundation of Platinum Games is built around that long-term strategy. They don't just want to make a quick buck and throw out a few games. They've been in the business long enough to know what works, and they really want to pretty much establish themselves as gaming gods.

That's good to know! Right after purchases these upcoming titles, we can looking forward to purchasing the inevitable sequels. Though, not sure how we feel hearing that from SEGA and all — especially because SEGA does own these IPs. You saw what they did to Sonic, right? Right?!

Sega Brass Talk Platinum Games [GameSpot] [Pic]

Madworld, a blood bath of a highly-stylized action title for the Wii that's so over the top it's almost comical, is just one of four games that newly minted dev studio Platinum Games will be publishing through Sega.

PlatinumGames was formed by by the key members of Capcom's Clover Studio, which made such titles as Viewtiful Joe, Okami and God Hand.

The lead developers and studio head took to the stage last night at Sega's San Francisco gathering to talk briefly about three of the games they will be publishing through Sega as part of a new partnership.

"We are extremely happy to announce the partnership for the first time here tonight," said Tatsuya Minami. "We would like our games to bring happiness and joy to people across the world."

Minami said that recently Japanese game developers have fallen behind western game development, something he hopes that Platinum Games will change.

"We would like people of the world to once more enjoy high quality Japanese games," he said, adding that the developer decided to team with Sega because of the publisher's support of their ideas.

Developer Hideki Kamiya, creator of Devil May Cry, was the first to unveil his game to the gathered press, saying that he hopes it will deliver on the promise made seven years ago when Devil May Cry first hit.

"Seven years ago I created Devil May Cry," he said. "Some said it kick-started the action genre into 3D, but did it really? That is why I have come back to 3D action. It is time for me to make good on that promise from seven years ago."

The answer to that promise is, he says, is an action title set for the Xbox 360 and PS3 in 2009 called Bayonetta, which after showing a short and very confusing clip, he described as a highly-stylized shooting title.

In it, gamers will take on the role of a witch reborn in modern times who uses her powers to fight angels. The witch uses guns, both in her hands and strapped to her feet, in this battle as well as other, yet to be revealed, abilities.

Next, the studio showed off Infinite Line, a science-fiction role-playing game for the DS that is said to be inspired by Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End and under development with Nude Maker.

Nude Maker's Hifumi Kouno said the game will be based in a large world and include highly customized space ships. The studio has a team working on 150 different spaceship models and the ships themselves will be designed modularly so you can place different components where ever you want. Players will also be able to place up to 150 different crew members where ever they want to within the ship.

While we didn't get to see the game in action, a series of very complicated screens were drifting on the screen behind Kouno while he spoke about the title, due out next year.

Finally, the studio showed off Madworld, a button-mashing, remote-swinging black and white bloodbath directed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami.

In the game, due to hit in the first quarter of 2009, you play as leather jacket wearing badass competing in a ultraviolent reality show that has you killing street thugs in as many creative ways as possible.

During the demo, the lead character threw mohawked bad guys against spiked walls, into steel-bladed trash dumpsters that cut them in two, tore out a man's still beating heart, impaled another bad guy with a caution sign and then pulverized his still moving body into a wall of spikes and chainsawed someone in half... length-wise.

The black and white art direction looks like something yanked from Sin City and the over the top violence is almost cartoonish enough to not be gory, which is what the studio was shooting for.

"Madworld was a challenge for us," said director Shigenori Nishikawa. "We didn't want to create a dark and perverse game, but something over the top— comical."

The Wii title fills an important hole in the Nintendo console line up, the studio said, providing hardcore gamers something to play.

Check back in a few for a more detailed walk-through of the live play-through demonstration of Madworld.

[Pic]