Jugosa entrevista a Itagaki sobre Ninja Gaiden

How is Ninja Gaiden coming along? What state are you at in terms of development and what's left to be done?

Tomonobu Itagaki: There are still quite a few things left to be done.


One thing we noticed while watching the different movies and demos is that Hayabusa moves really quick when compared to other action games. It's as if he moves like a fighting game character rather than one that is part of an action game. Is this on purpose? How will this affect the gameplay?

Tomonobu Itagaki: The speediness of Ninja Gaiden will provide comfort and enjoyment to casual users, and depth for hardcore gamers. Of course, the faster characters move, the better; however, that alone is not enough. Smooth, high-quality animation, highly responsive control with a great sense of immediacy, the feeling of being one with the character you're controlling on screen, and camerawork that provides superb playability; unless these factors are all included, it won't matter how fast a game is, it will still be a cheap action game.


I know you have tweaked the control system since the E3 demo. Could you please give us a quick overview?

Tomonobu Itagaki: The button assignments have been changed greatly since the E3 version. Below, I have listed the button assignments in detail (of course, these can be changed at the player's will on the options screen):

* Left Thumbstick: Used to move Hayabusa and input commands for fighting techniques
* Right Thumbstick: Switches to 1st-person View Mode and pans the camera in that mode
* Left Trigger: Block enemy attacks
* Right Trigger: Returns the 3rd-person camera to the position behind Hayabusa
* A Button: Jump
* B Button: Use Projectile Weapons
* X Button: Melee Weapon attack
* Y Button: Melee Weapon strong attack
* B + Y: Ninpo magic attacks
* Black Button: Brings up the map at once

The functions assigned to each button can be used in parallel in the game; this is one of the features that gives Ninja Gaiden an extraordinary amount of interactivity and depth of gameplay.


The NES Ninja Gaiden games were what you call in Japan "Oboe-ge", games that require memorization in order to defeat enemies. Is this new Ninja Gaiden an "oboe-ge"?

Tomonobu Itagaki: If someone only wants to play Ninja Gaiden through to the end, they won't need to memorize anything. All they will need are their reflexes.

However, people that want to win the Master Ninja Tournament will need to learn enemy positions and respawn patterns in order to achieve the maximum score.

So far, the demos and movies released have unveiled several types of enemies, supporting characters and levels. There are the Japanese ones like Ayane, the clans, the ninjas, the sewers levels, and then you’ve the Dynamo, the military base, the helicopters, the Vigoor Empire’s MSAT and finally monsters, demons and other creatures. What was your reason to mix different cultural elements and settings? To make the game appeal to different audiences across all territories?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Well, since I didn't know when I would next be able to make an action game, I just put everything in that I wanted to create! The result of this is all of the wonderful characters and scenery that you have mentioned.


There are several types of shurikens for Hayabusa to use along with other edged weapons. Could you tell us a bit more about how these will work?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Weapons are broadly divided into 2 categories: Melee Weapons and Projectile Weapons. The representative Melee Weapon is the Dragon Sword. In addition, there are several Japanese-style swords, a number of Nunchaku-type weapons, a warhammer, and several massive swords. There is also the Spear Gun, which is a specialty weapon that is classified as a Melee Weapon.

In the category of Projectile Weapons, there are Shuriken (throwing knives), Incendiary Shuriken, and the legendary Windmill Shuriken which been carried on from the classic NES games. In addition, there are multiple types of Bows and Arrows to use with them, such as APFSDS Cores used to take down heavily-armored tanks, or Exploding Arrows used to deliver an explosive punch across a wide area.


Will Ninja Gaiden take advantage of Xbox's Dolby Digital audio capabilities? Please describe some scenarios where you are using 5.1 surround sound in a revolutionary way?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Ninja Gaiden will support Dolby Digital, of course. I wouldn't call what we are doing with it "revolutionary"; it will be similar to the implementation used in DOA3 and DOAX Beach Volleyball.


The camera is an important issue in a third-person perspective game like Ninja Gaiden. What was the most challenging aspect of creating the camera system?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Well, there were quite a few challenges! (laughs)

Our goal was to create "a camera that doesn't make itself aware to the player". If it is natural, has great impact, and is speedy, than that is enough.


Tell us about the first-person view. How does it work and what is it intended for?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Just as you would look around in real life, it is used to observe the surrounding environment.


You have explained that the remake of DOA 2 for Xbox will look better than DOA 3 because it's based on the DOA XBV engine. What can you tell us about the graphics engine that will be used in Ninja Gaiden?

Tomonobu Itagaki: The main focus of the graphic engine that was used for DOAX was to show as beautifully as possible the lines and curves of the female form. I think you get the point, right? There is nothing similar between that and the engine in Ninja Gaiden! (laughs)
solo Itagaki haría un engine de así


What technologies does Team Ninja use? (Modeling, Animation applications, 2D and image editing software, etc?)

Tomonobu Itagaki: That's a secret! (laughs) I'm not that generous of a guy!


Are you planning 480p or widescreen or HDTV support? (720p (1280x720)? 1080i (1920x1080)?)

Tomonobu Itagaki: Ninja Gaiden will, of course, support 16:9 widescreen televisions. The vertical resolution will be 480 lines, progressive scan. As I have said before, there is no point in unreasonably aiming for 720p and 1080i resolutions on this machine. I am not a believer in the "magic of numbers", and I believe wholeheartedly that the most suitable balance between power and resolution on Xbox lies at 480p.


So, what is the highly-anticipated "revolutionary new Xbox Live-compatible feature"? Online co-op? Worldwide stats? Downloadable Hayabusa ghosts? Online multiplayer deathmatch? Please elaborate.

Tomonobu Itagaki: The download content will begin with modeling data, animation data, sound effects, collision data, and AI algorithms combined together to create brand-new assassins that will come down through the Xbox Live pipeline to threaten your Ninja even further. But rest assured, the first wave of the Ninja Master Tournament will test your skills using the game as it ships, so you won't have to worry about those new assassins right away! Features like cooperative play and multiplayer, features that require the participation or support of other people, aren't for the extremely severe, dog-eat-dog world of the Ninja. Those features are something that should probably be expected of Dead or Alive Online instead.


Could you please explain the differences between Code Cronus, Dead or Alive 4, DOA Online?

Tomonobu Itagaki: All of these games are in the Dead or Alive series, but they all are completely different games. If I were to mention one similarity, it would be that DOA Online and Code: Cronus are being developed for Xbox.


What is your involvement in the DOA movies? Are you collaborating with the script?

Tomonobu Itagaki: In Japan, there is a proverb that says "leave the rice cakes to the rice cake maker". I think the movie specialists should make the movie, as long as they create something that won't make me, or the fans of my games, unhappy.


Being you one of finest Xbox developers. What are your thoughts about the recent hardware announcements related to the Xbox successor? You know, the IBM CPU (probably a PowerPC CPU), the ATI VPU (probably a chip based on the R500)

Tomonobu Itagaki: Does it really matter whether it's ATI or nVidia? I am a software engineer, and I don't intend to comment on every little aspect of hardware design, as long as that hardware is worthy of respect. It is up to us to simply use our power to utilize the machine to its fullest.


Have you been asked to provide any kind of input regarding the Xbox successor?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Yes.


Ayane, a DOA character, appears in the game. You have explained in past interviews that the Ninja Gaiden story takes place two years before the first DOA game. DOA XBV took place after DOA 3, on Zack Island. Are you making games where everything fixes within a universe, a la Star Wars?

Tomonobu Itagaki: That's Correct! You win the grand prize!

Seriously, the chronological order is such that Ninja Gaiden takes place 2 years before DOA1. Hayabusa is 20 years old, and Ayane is 14. The game details the events the led up to Hayabusa becoming a Master Ninja. Let me comment on DOAX as well. The world of that game is a result of Zack's crazy fantasy that plays off the idea of what would happen if he won the DOA3 tournament. Please, don't tell me that you are taking that story seriously! (laughs)


Would you allow someone in the future, after your retirement, to continue making games within the universe you created? If so, will you leave some instructions or guidelines to that person?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Let me put it to you this way: if I had a boss who made the NES Ninja Gaiden games and he told me "you must make Ninja Gaiden this way and that way" and forced his opinions on me, I would have quit making this current Ninja Gaiden about 3 years ago.


So far, you have made fighting games, sports games and now an action game. Which other genre will you consider stepping into? You have said that Code Cronus is not a fighting game. Can we expect a Massively Multiplayer Online game within the DOA world? A DOA RPG?

Tomonobu Itagaki: I should be able to announce Code: Cronus sometime in the near future.


You have said in past interviews that you have already planned a sequel to Ninja Gaiden. Do you plan to make a new trilogy?

Tomonobu Itagaki: It's not like that. When I said that, I just wanted people to see that we are looking forward to the future.


What's next for you; finish DOA Online? Can you give us any hint on what's next after DOA Online?

Tomonobu Itagaki: I'd like to visit Australia. I went there 2 years ago, and my vacation back then inspired me to make DOAX Beach Volleyball.


Will you make an online remake of DOA3?

Tomonobu Itagaki: I'd like to, yes. I'm very carefully considering how I would like to provide that to the fans.


Hypothetically speaking, if the PS3 results are more powerful than the Xbox successor; will you switch to "Only on PS3" development? If both are equally powerful, will you make multi-platform titles?

Tomonobu Itagaki: Aren't you familiar with the pious old Japanese proverb that goes "the devil laughs at those who speak of next year"? (laughs)




Entrevista en Team Xbox