DMC Dev: Letting Fans Run The Show = "Creative Bankruptcy"

DMC

Devil May Cry purists continue to wage war against developer Ninja Theory for the upcoming reboot, entitled simply DMC.

But as the developer has said multiple times, those annoyed fans need to redirect their venom, as Ninja Theory is only doing what Capcom asked. Furthermore, as studio boss Tameem Antoniades told OXM UK, making a game purely for the fans is a terrible idea.

But first, the idea of blaming the developer for the franchise's change in direction:

"The decision as to whether DMC needed a reboot or not: it's irrelevant what my opinion is because that decision was Capcom's. They felt it needed something, which is why they not only decided to take a bold step and reinvent it, but to give it to a non-Japanese dev. They had their reasons and that was our mandate. They wanted a reinvention - a reinterpretation - and that's what we went ahead and did."

It seems Capcom was concerned with the lower-than-expected sales for Devil May Cry 4 and subsequently approached Ninja Theory "to introduce a Western flavor." Antoniades said some people at Capcom felt the franchise "was a little stuck in its ways" and it needed to be "let loose." Therefore, the team was tasked with the idea of a reboot; a reinvention, if you will. But although the team always says they listen to fan feedback (and that includes death threats), Antoniades says sometimes, "the worst creative crimes are made when you're trying to make a game for someone else."

"From my point of view there's only one way to try and make a successful game, and that's to make the game you want to play. A game that everyone involved is proud of. So from that point of view I don't care if it sells a thousand units or two million units. I believe the time you spend making something has to be worthwhile. You've got 20 productive years of work in your life; if you're gonna spend ten or 15 percent of it on something, make it worthwhile.

Philosophically, the way to make a successful game is to believe in what you're doing, then hope that sales follow. I'm not trying to design around what I think people will want. That's where you get into creative bankruptcy. That, more than anything, will kill a series."

There's always a fine line to walk. How much internal creative inspiration do we use compared to gamer feedback? It must not be an easy thing to do, and we don't envy these guys.

Related Game(s): DMC

Tags: ninja theory, dmc, devil may cry reboot, capcom

3/23/2012 8:47:46 PM Ben Dutka

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