Mamoru Oshii, director of such animated films like Ghost in the Shell was recently revealed as the director of the Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor trailer. In the latest issue of Weekly Famitsu, the director offered his insight to the creation of the trailer and some impressions on the game itself.
The 15 second trailer was filmed in Poland and depicts a group of tank pilots in combat against UN mechs. Director Mamoru explained that he had been told that Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor would be a game depicting the drama in and out of the mechs. When shown previous trailers for Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor, he noted that all of the trailers focused on the drama outside and on the battlefield, so he chose to focus on the human element inside the mechs. Mamoru chose Poland as a filming location due to the fact that there was a working Cold War era T-55 tank that could be used for filming. "I was told that it was an analog world without computers, so I wanted to use an analog tank for filming." Mamoru explained.
Director Mamoru described the story of the trailer as such: "The main character is a woman who escaped from a UN invaded Poland. The story revolves around her joining the American army as a tank pilot. Her squad mates see her yelling in Polish and superstitiously believe her to be cursed. They're sent into a heavy combat zone and are quickly wiped out."
In most games, the protagonist are shown victorious, but Mamoru decided to take the trailer in a different, more realistic route. Mamoru himself played the game and lost almost immediately. He noted that this reflected the reality of the battlefield; how that if you weren't constantly on the move, you were dead. "At first, it was very confusing using the Kinect, but after about 15 minutes of training, I got the hang of it and it started to be fun. It does take a bit of practice to be able to pilot well." Mamoru spoke, reflecting on his experience with the game. He noted that the atmosphere of being inside a cockpit was very engrossing, saying, "It's probably better to turn off all the lights and play in a room with a low ceiling."
Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor is scheduled for release in North America on June 19th, in Japan on June 21st, and Europe on June 22nd.
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