Interview with SNK art director Nobuyuki Kuroki (via google translate)
"Samurai Showdown" SNK Director Nobuyuki Kuroki "I am burdened but I am confident"
SNK's popular 'Samurai' series of popular action game 'Samurai' series will be released in Korea on June 27th through Intra Games.
Samurai Showdown is a new work of 11 years, covering stories between the series 5 and 1. It is expected to be a game that has been developed as Unreal Engine 4, and has excellent graphics and is well used for the traditional strike action.
Samurai Shodown is developing SNK 1 Studio 'Arang Legend' series that has been developing all the studios. Nobuyuki Kuroki, director of development, is a veteran fighting game developer who has worked only for SNK for 25 years. He has been involved in the development of masterful fighting games such as 'Arang Legend', 'Yongho Volleyball', and 'Mark of Wolves'.
Samurai Shodown wanted to sell his PC on a PC download sales platform on condition of a pre-order of hundreds of thousands of copies, but SNK Chief Commander declined Samurai Shodown as a title to be sold more than a million copies.
Kuroki director met with reporters and said, "I know that there is a big expectation from the outside as well as the company," but he was confident that he was "confident in the perfection of the game."
I've summarized what the Kroki Director told me about the game.
Adoption of Unreal Engine 4 enabled the desired graphics
It is an old series and the term was long from the previous work. Have you prepared for users who have not tried the previous series?
Kuroki Director: We have set up the ghost system for those who are going to start with this work. A fighting game is a one-on-one fight with another user, and there is a mental pressure.
I think I can get used to it more easily by practicing with Ghost and getting used to the game and then going online. And Samurai Showdown is not a combo game where you have to put a lot of combo. So I think that even beginners can do it more easily.
It's a new work for a long time, but how did you get direction
Director of the Kuroki: I emphasized the strike that was characteristic of the samurai series. The samurai became a combo game in the latter half of the game, but based on the idea of going back to the origin, one side was stronger than the other.
Of course, I do not think combo games are bad, but I think they are differentiated from other games.
Why did you decide to use Unreal Engine 4, and what's different about using Unreal Engine?
Kuroki Director: 'The King of Fighters 14' was developed using its own engine. Time was short and there were many restrictions on possible expressions.
At Samurai Showdown, we were able to achieve the graphics we wanted using Unreal Engine 4. Above all, Unreal Engine 4 is a world-renowned engine, making it easy for programmers and artists to get development information. I think that also led to graphic improvement.
The graphics have been drawn in ink, but have engine impact or other intentions?
Kuroki Director: Unreal Engine has improved graphics, but Unreal Engine is a long-term realistic graphics. We developed a Japanese style graphic because it was a concept, focusing on making a Japanese feeling rather than a realistic expression. If Japanese style is too strong, I think that it feels a bit weak when I run it on the console platform. I finished this graphic with the rich 3D expression of Unreal Engine.
It is the result that foreigners see and suppress only to the extent that they feel 'something Japanese'.
The go-go president said that the members who left the company when the SNK situation was bad, joined the Samurai Old members, and they are back in development.
Kuroki Director: Basically, the governing chairman does not give much feedback on development. It is the chairman who pushed so that the new samurai can be made. Without the support of Chairman Gal, the project would not have begun.
Currently, there is only one member of the samurai team from the Samurai Showdown Development team. 1 Studio was originally a member of Arang Legends.
But I heard a lot of advice from the one. For example, I feel a bit sad this time in Nakoruru. The first concept was Nakoruru's concept was 'The girl who does not laugh'. It is reproduced as advice.
I do not want to add more body cutting instructions in one.
Kuroki Director: I did so intentionally not to be too radical. I could implement it to cut my body anywhere, but I did not want to be attracted to cruel expression.
I wanted to avoid being flooded with such gods on video sites. I do not think there will be any future updates to cuts.
Criteria for selection of vampire characters are popularity and play style
Why did you choose the background of the game for the first time a year ago?
Kuroki Director: There are a couple of reasons, but once you see the Samurai series in the chronicle, the story has been going on for one year per game. There was only one year of vacant time as appropriate.
And it was good to make a point that Nakoruru is a living point. That's why I decided on the background.
How did you pick the criteria for the veteran character?
Kuroki Director: I tried to put in a popular character once. And in order to widen the range of play, I chose mainly the characters fighting in different styles.
In fact, this is the part that conflicts with the in-house staff the most. Personally, I wanted to put the land (Ninhaltge), but it was misplaced.
I do not have a Korean character in it.
Kuroki Director: There are many thoughts that you want to give out, but there is nothing that can be answered at this point.
In the case of Charlotte, the armor was bigger in the first and the fifth, but this time, it is the feeling of the seat. Why did you change the design?
Kuroki Director: I think there are character that can change design personally and character that can not be changed personally. For example, Hao Maru has a design that is based on Hao Maru itself. It is a representative character that can not change the design.
But Charlotte is a character that can be perceived as Charlotte even if the design changes. This Charlotte is like this because she wants to express her a more feminine character. At first I was worried about how the fans would accept it, but overall I am thinking about it.
Daejeon Fighting Game is a fun genre, but it can appeal to e-Sports with few combo games.
Kuroki Director: I think that it is different if it differs from recent trend, but it is different. Samurai Showdown will put 100 hit combo in the impression.
Of course, e-sports is also important, but regardless of e-sports, I developed it because I thought it was fun to play. The balance is balanced so that all characters are stronger.
Samurai is a game where friends are laughing and seeing that their physical strength diminishes at once. If I know that feeling, I think the tension will be well understood even if I look at the competition screen.
Finally, I would like to ask your Korean fans for your comments.
Kuroki Director: I have been making Neo Geo games from old times. I think it has a deep relationship with Korean fans from the time when I made the legend. I am delighted to release a new work in Korea and have created the most fun game.
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PS4 Trophy Gallery link:
https://www.eventhubs.com/imagegallery/2019/jun/14/samurai-shodown-playstation-4-trophies/1/
SNK Input Lag
Before (8 frames of Input Lag PS4 Demo):
https://www.eventhubs.com/imagegallery/2019/jun/03/sam-sho-lag/1/
After (4.01 frames 1.01 version):
https://www.eventhubs.com/imagegallery/2019/jun/17/samsho-lag-update/1/
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Source: gamefocus.co.kr (via oneangrygamer) & eventhubs