DMC Devs Talk Gameplay Differences Between East And West
DMCThe East vs. West debate continues to rage, although it's generally accepted that the West is winning the battle, in terms of both sales and quality.
However, rather than addressing the cultural differences and contrasting interests, the DMC designers talked about the difference in how Japanese and Western developers approach gameplay.
In a recent Gamasutra interview (as cited at Siliconera), Devil May Cry producer Motohide Eshiro said one of the biggest differences involves realism of animation.
"The main difference, if we were to really simplify things, is it seems that Western games tend to focus a lot on realism in animation, so that, if you’re walking along and you stop, you should go through a natural and proper stop animation, which tends to look very good.
But, when we’re talking about something like Devil May Cry, the concept has always been letting the user do what they want when they want—cancel things in mid-motion and suddenly turn on a dime, this sort of thing. We had to spend a lot of time getting this concept across, and bringing their way of thinking over to the mind space that we were in, and finding that balance between realism and ease of use."
If you break things down and analyze various East and West games, you will indeed spot small yet distinct differences like this. And for the record, we'd have to expect full freedom of movement and combination canceling and all that in the upcoming DMC, which is of course a reboot. As for other differences between West and East, we're certain you guys can talk about it. ;) Just don't get too nasty.
Related Game(s): DMC
Tags: dmc, devil may cry reboot, ninja theory, capcom, japanese games, western games
9/8/2012 9:22:22 AM Ben Dutka
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Comments (29 posts)
Beamboom
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 10:23:21 AM
0 up, 1 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:36:01 AM
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 9/8/2012 11:38:52 AM
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Beamboom
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 2:22:14 PM
I can remember it all the way back to at least Amiga era platform games, Doom most definitely had it, Quake as well, it's a key move in Unreal Tournament... To mention those I can think of from the top of my head.
But maybe we don't see double jumping as often anymore? Double-jumps are fun! :)
Last edited by Beamboom on 9/8/2012 2:23:52 PM
0 up, 2 down
WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 4:11:13 PM
3 up, 0 down
Shams
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 6:06:50 PM
1 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 7:53:27 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 7:56:46 PM
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Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 8:10:03 PM
Personally, I enjoyed the god component of the first game, but Actraiser 2 was a badge of action game honor. I beat it, too!
See "dumbing" down of franchises, less slow stuff more ACTION, has been going on for a long time now you FF babies =p
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Beamboom
Sunday, September 09, 2012 @ 12:32:25 AM
Memory is not always to trust. I can just so clearly remember jumping from one flake to another in some lava area while those flying head things chase me! Crazy.
0 up, 1 down
SaiyanSempai
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 10:06:49 AM
Reply
Interestingly enough, many FPS don't go for that realism approach. Instead opting for unrealistic responsiveness. Remember when Killzone 2 added the feeling of weight to the movement? People almost lost their minds!
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:45:52 AM
In all these years somehow you don't lose any bullets if you dump a clip when it's half empty and load the next. Just makes no sense.
1 up, 0 down
Beamboom
Sunday, September 09, 2012 @ 5:21:19 AM
I dunno, man. I just dunno... :)
0 up, 2 down
Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 10:53:06 AM
Reply
Virtua Fighter is one of the least natural moving games of the 3D bunch. But VF is also the tightest most frame balanced 3D fighter I know of.
Splicing together moves to form chain combos I don't know if I'd consider intrinsically East or West, but most melee action games do seem to come from the east. God of War being an acception of course. Yet Kratos can be made to look choppy in animation in mid-air if a player chooses to "switch" weapons mid-combo, especially mid air.
Basically, "cool down" frames are removed to have the character quickly swap into the next weapon for timing purposes.
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Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:38:06 AM
Games like DMC and Bayonetta, especially Bayonetta treat everything as a melting pot of moves. Just keep dropping them in and mash away to your hearts content. The catch: mix it up to get more style and point multipliers. Not suggesting there's no depth, there is, the style is just less appealing to my interests. It appeals to a different sense.
Speaking of choppy animation, DOA is one of the most fluid moving fighters ever. Problem is for this, the game allows you to break your stun animation with a counter hold. The player sort of jerk-pops out of an animation to do a "gotcha hold" It sort of breaks the illusion of fluidity. Yet, its there entirely for game play. Here we see game play trumps motion realism in this instance. I admire it because it helps emphasize low frame pokes and jabs
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:47:12 AM
1 up, 0 down
tes37
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:52:34 AM
0 up, 0 down
Temjin001
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 12:03:26 PM
VF2 was a techincal marvel. Rich textures, scaling backgrounds, high poly characters, 60fps. If the Saturn launch with games like VF2, Sega Rally, and World Series Baseball, perhaps the system wouldve faired better stateside. It was a beast of a machine but sadly it took too long for devs to harness its power.
And yes Tes, I know several who have spent a good deal of time with NG, among other genre franchises, and candidly claim it as the best of the bunch combat-wise. It doesn't have the spectacle and whackiness of some games. but game play wise, it's got it where it counts most. And Team Ninja knows fighting games so it's no surprise they can make a great action hack 'n slash(well, at least they did). NG3 suffers from all sorts of things but the heart of the combat still beats strong.
2 up, 0 down
tes37
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:04:36 AM
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Games don't have to be realistic to be fun. I think most Japanese developers misunderstand western gamers.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:55:25 AM
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WorldEndsWithMe
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 12:02:59 PM
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shadowpal2
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 11:29:42 AM
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Western games are reaching a point where they're simply no better than a simulation with some sort of random script behind them which differentiates it with the rest. Just think about how similar nearly ever western game is: hide behind cover, roll, 3rd person shooting, some kind of stealth kill...etc etc... - all brought about by MGS.
But at least with MGS you can do so much more...
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BikerSaint
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 2:19:31 PM
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When I was younger(in my 40's LOL), I felt a bit more Eastern, as I could stop on a Dime & then still donate back 9 cents change.
But these days while almost approaching 60, I'm sadly feeling more Western, as it seems every time I stop on a Dime these days, there's some government sponsored entitlement punk who's trying to demand $100 back.
So all I can say these days is.....
"Keep on trying, punks"
Last edited by BikerSaint on 9/8/2012 2:23:01 PM
1 up, 2 down
Beamboom
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 2:37:33 PM
0 up, 1 down
tes37
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 3:13:18 PM
I'm in 100% agreement with you about us having a sorry-a$$ed government.
1 up, 1 down
BikerSaint
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 6:20:14 PM
Not really,
But I guess you'd have to live here in the US to see & feel everything that's quickly being eroded & or taken away from us, ie our freedoms, rights & the deliberate destroying of our Constitution by this "I expect it" generation of Democrats.
BTW, I'm a life long democrat & I hate what the party is doing to turn us into a socialized marxist government that we have to bow down to.
Plus with our "Poser in office", that continues to circumvent the rules & laws set by congress by making hundreds of "Excecutive orders", we really need to fear our government.
Anyways, I felt it has to be said, so I said it.
1 up, 3 down
Beamboom
Sunday, September 09, 2012 @ 12:35:10 AM
Not so sure I see that much Marxism going on over at your side, I must say. :D
2 up, 2 down
BikerSaint
Sunday, September 09, 2012 @ 8:25:36 PM
Sorry to hear that, like I said you really don't know anything about him & you'd have to live here to see through all his lying & fraud & haterd towards America.
Plus that fact that our liberal media is in his pocket, doesn't help to show how this anti-christ really is.
The list of what he's been doing to undermine America is too huge to even get involved with here.
But I'll tell you what, If you can convince him to take over as Prime Minister there, I'll gladly go without eating for a week just so I can donate my unemployment check towards his plane ticket to get his f*cking a$$ the HE-double-L out of Dodge.
And then I'll start praying for your country too.
(Oh BTW, I agree about the fake cowboy, as I disliked both of the Bush's too, especially the idiot son).
Last edited by BikerSaint on 9/9/2012 8:28:24 PM
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Lawless SXE
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 5:35:50 PM
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That's not to say the Eastern approach is bad. I still love being able to do all sorts of bonkers stuff in DMC and Vanquish was something altogether different with the fluidity of everything. They're just different styles and I don't think I'd like it if one replaced the other entirely. Kind of why I want Ninja Theory to go back to a more Enslaved-style of combat with their next game. Unless, of course, it is a sequel to DmC.
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WorldEndsWithMe
Reply
Saturday, September 08, 2012 @ 9:57:16 AM
In Japanese games the end justifies the means so there is almost no environmental influence, the character navigates their space based on their own rules of how animation works. It gives us a wooden feeling inside the game but also allows for the most amazing action of all time and of course, the double-jump.
Last edited by WorldEndsWithMe on 9/8/2012 9:57:42 AM