FoxyLounge

Mizzurna Falls

DrNoze — 2015-03-10T14:01:26Z

En 1998, soit un an avant Shenmue et une grosse dizaine d'années avant Deadly Premonition, apparaissait au japon un jeu d'aventure en monde ouvert plutôt en avance sur son époque.

Mizzurna Falls, développé par Human Entertainment (Clock Tower), proposait sur la première Playstation, une enquête sur fond de disparitions de jeunes filles, dans une petite ville américaine cernée par les bois, "Mizzurna Falls". Une intrigue et un décor qui ne sont pas sans rappeler Twin Peaks, la célèbre série de David Lynch.

Mizzurna Falls est un jeu d'aventure dans lequel le joueur se promène librement dans une ville et mène l'enquête en rencontrant et interrogeant des personnages. Chose rare sur la première Playstation, le jeu propose un veritable monde ouvert en 3D, dans lequel le joueur peut déambuler à son aise, à pied, ou à bord de sa superbe coccinelle jaune pâle. Un soucis du détail réaliste est apporté à nombre d'éléments. Ainsi il ne faudra pas oublier de faire régulièrement le plein sous peine de tomber en panne sèche en rase campagne. Si cela arrivait malgré tout, le joueur pourra alors appeler un service de dépannage pour qu'il le sorte du pétrin. De même, si le véhicule se retrouve coincé contre un arbre, dans un buisson ou dans tout autres éléments de décors, il pourra également s'en sortir grâce à ce service. Une façon élégante, pour le jeu, de mettre en scène ses éventuels bugs.

De nombreux bâtiments, aux intérieurs particulèrement soignés, sont accessibles au joueur mais celui-ci ne pourra, pour autant, pas y pénétrer quand bon lui semble. L'hôpital, le commissariat ou autre diner possèdent leurs heures d'ouvertures et de fermetures et ne seront accessibles qu'à certains moments du jour ou de la nuit. Le jeu propose un cycle jour/nuit et chaque habitant de la ville possède un emploi du temps spécifique. Chaque personnage se rendra donc sur son lieu de travail le matin et rentrera chez lui le soir, à moins qu'il ne fasse un détour par le bar. Pour parler à un personnage particulier, le joueur devra donc se rendre au bon moment, au bon endroit.

Ce petit univers semble ainsi avoir une vie propre, avec son rythme, ce qui donne une impression de réalité au jeu, et participe à l'immersion du joueur. Mais Mizzurna Falls est assez exigeant sur ce point, car un évènement raté ne sera pas reconduit au lendemain comme dans Deadly Premonition, il conduira le joueur vers la "mauvaise fin". Ainsi, plusieurs "run" ou une documentation bien fournie, seront nécessaires pour terminer le jeu avec la "bonne fin".

Des mécaniques de gameplay basées sur un calendrier et héritées du Manoir de Mortevielle, mais, ici, adaptées à un monde ouvert et à un gameplay en 3D. On retrouvera cet esprit et la plupart de ces mécaniques, en nettement plus aboutit, dans Shenmue. Mais c'est surtout avec Deadly Premonition (dont on a déjà beaucoup parlé ici), en 2010 qu'on retrouvera, non seulement bon nombres d'éléments de gameplay, mais également le set up narratif du jeu, ainsi que les références à Twin Peaks. En parcourant Mizzurna Falls on a l'étrange impression de découvrir une ébauche (voir un demake) de Deadly Premonition, enfin débarrassé de ses phases de jeu de tir. Et ce, malgré le fait que Swery, le créateur de Deadly Premonition ai déclaré avoir découvert l'existence de Mizzurna Falls uniquement après le développement de son jeu.

Ce jeu, en avance sur son temps et qui préfigure certains aspects du jeu d'aventure en monde ouvert, à la japonaise, fait partie de cette longue liste de jeux japonais a n'avoir jamais bénéficié d'une traduction. Son gameplay étant presque entièrement basé sur les textes il ne sorti donc pas de l'archipel et demeura inconnu du public occidental pendant des années. C'est la sortie de Deadly Premonition qui le remit un peu sous la lumière. Peut-être peut-on du coup, commencer à espérer une traduction amateure sur émulateur, mais rien ne semble prévu de ce côté là pour le moment.

Si vous avez la chance de lire la langue de Kojima n'hésitez pas une seconde pour essayer ce titre avant gardiste et injustement tombé dans l'oubli. Sinon, si comme moi vous n'y comprenez rien, grâce à Resident Eevee, vous pouvez toujours vous rabattre sur son Let's Play Mizzurna Falls traduit à la volée en anglais, pour, au moins, gouter un peu au jeu.

– EDIT (mars 2016) : Le script du jeu, ainsi qu'un walkthrough, a depuis été complètement traduit en anglais par Resident Eevee.

– Pour en savoir plus sur Mizzurna Falls, allez voir cette présentation très complète du jeu sur le défunt blog de Eastern Mind.

Il était temps de retourner à Greenvale

DrNoze — 2013-04-26T09:11:37Z

Deadly Premonition reste pour moi l'un des titres les plus marquants de cette génération. Malgré une technique unanimement décriée, le jeu de Swery proposait un univers riche, des personnages complexes, une proposition d'évolution du jeu d'aventure avec des idées de gameplay immersives et innovantes, un sens de l'humour étrange, des références à David Lynch en pagaille, mais aussi au cinéma de série B, au punk rock, à l'animation japonaise, au jeu vidéo et une des plus belles histoires d'amour du jeu vidéo.

Ce jeu a marqué beaucoup de monde à FoxyLounge et on vous en a parlé ici à plusieurs reprises. Pour ceux qui seraient passé à côté, l'équipe de Merlanfrit a écrit quelques très bons textes ici et là sur le jeu.

Deadly Premonition n'était sorti en occident que sur Xbox 360, privant ainsi les autres joueurs de l'expérience étonnante que peut être le fait de prendre un simple café à Greenvale. Annoncée depuis un moment une version Director's Cut proposant diverses améliorations (graphismes, prise en main des combats et de la caméra, meilleure gestion de la carte et ajouts de nouvelles quêtes secondaires) vient tout juste de sortir dans un silence assourdissant.

Comme nous le souffle Swery, "il était temps de retourner à Greenvale".

Carol MacLaine : Miss Stiletto Heels

DrNoze — 2011-07-12T15:07:13Z

Deadly Premonition, on ne le dira jamais assez est une oeuvre à part et certainement un des jeux vidéos les plus marquants de ces dernières années (en tout cas pour moi c'est une évidence). Certains ont put être rebutés par certains aspects techniques dépassés dus à son petit budget, mais on ne peut nier la singularité de son ambiance, la richesse de ses dialogues et la profondeur de certains aspects de son gameplay.

La bande originale, composée par Ryou Kinugasa, Takuya Kobayashi, Hiromi Mizutani et Misako Yamashita, n'est pas en reste et tient également une place à part dans l'oeuvre de Swery, notamment pour son utilisation en ruptures franches et en décalages fréquents par rapport à l'action.

– Télécharger la bande originale de Deadly Premonition : Deadly Premonition OST

Ci-dessus, la chanson Miss Stiletto Heels que Carol MacLaine chante au Galaxy of Terror dans le chapitre 13.

Alors c'est vrai que la synchro labiale est particulièrement dans les choux, mais, pour moi, ça ajoute un côté flippant et cette scène reste un grand moment (les confessions de George) doublé d'un bel hommage à l'oeuvre de David Lynch.

Ci dessous une tentative de transcription des paroles de la chanson, celles-ci étant volontairement difficiles a décrypter, selon les dires de Swery.

Miss Stiletto Heels (lyrics)

I dream of you

Like a god

There is something funny

About this song

Wait behind the door, please

The show/shoe (???)

I have seen your haste/face

From the nightmarish space

I dream of fate

Like prisoner (?)

You are (???)

Innocence

Everyone's just waiting until dawn/at the door

Life is but a dream…

– Plus d'infos sur Planet Redwood

Game Design in the Coffee - Swery @ GDC

DrNoze — 2011-03-31T10:40:30Z

Swery, le créateur du jeu Deadly Premonition, a donné une conférence lors de la GDC 2011 où il explique ses méthodes de game design. Il a posté le détail de cette conférence sur le site de Access Games, le voici, recopié, ci-dessous.

DESCRIPTION

While it's been said to have the worst graphics and controls,
the unique, appealing characters and unpredictable
complicated storyline have successfully grasped audiences.
In this session, DEADLY PREMONITION's Game Designer, SWERY,
explains his unique method of architecting games.

How did this awesomely strange so bad it's good game come
to life ? What processes were used to create the meticulously
calculated storyline and characters ? What exactly are
the lovable unnecessary elements that SWERY speaks of ?

This talk touches upon the 7 points to check if your game's
storyline might already be dead with this a frank and candid
session.

So please, relax, and join us in a roundtable-like discussion.
And if possible, please bring an aromatic fresh cup of coffee.

Game Design in the Coffee. 1

Lovable Game Design by SWERY

In GDC2011, Director SWERY of ACCESS GAMES lectured on game design philosophy on Mar 3.

Opening

Good evening everyone. My name is Swery from Access Games.
I am the director and writer for Deadly Premonition.

I am honored to be able to speak with you today.
And I'd like to express my gratitude to those who made today possible.
Thank you !

And to those who took part in the video, thank you guys too !

Now, today, I'd like to talk a little about what I've learned through the process of making games, specifically about some tips regarding storyline creation and game design.

Today's 7 Points'

– Point 01 ： Make gamers think about your game when they aren't playing it
– Point 02 ： Make gamers "want" to play through your meticulously scripted story
– Point 03 ： Create a storyline for a free roaming open world game
– Point 04 ： Prevent players from quitting the game at the result screen
– Point 05 ： Make appealing characters
– Point 06 ： Direct voice recording sessions
– Point 07 ： Use what's most important ? Your...

Point 01 : Make gamers think about your game when they aren't playing it

Games you don't remember when you aren't playing them are already dead.

1.Main character's desire to smoke is contagious to the player in front of the TV

Gamers who smoke have said this alot. When York lights up a cigarette, it makes them want to light up a cigarette too. So there's a cause and effect going on.

Having as many of these scenes in the game that causes an effect to the player, is a good thing.

2.Main character's desire to eat, sleep, and shave (stay clean) also affect the player

In the same fashion, Deadly Premonition has sleeping, hunger, shaving and showering.
Though these seem totally unnecessary at first glance, help with the cause and effect, because they act as reminders to the player.
It's not about "seeing the character go to sleep and so I should do the same", it's more about, having what goes on in the TV screen acting as a REMINDER to the player, like "oh, I better some sleep" or"Oh, I better eat something". These REMINDERs in life, are interesting because they go into a special part of your brain, a place that remembers them, so the next time you shave or go to bed, it's linked in some way to Deadly Premonition.

3.Memorable and Relatable："Fortune Telling Coffee" and "Conversations About Old Movies"

Swery likes to put daily human needs, physiological, deep desires into the game because they help causing an effect to the player who is sitting outside of the TV screen. And for Deadly Premonition, we took another step forward and put in some playful elements.

Fortune Telling Coffee and Conversations about old movies.

People have come to us and say that they've taken deep looks into their mugs of coffee for signs of heavenly messages. Or, that they've rented one of the movies that York talks about in the car.

These fun elements helped us make players, remember the game. Regardless of whether it occured days or months after they finished the game, simply having a cup of coffee or seeing an old movie, would trigger memories linked to Deadly Premonition.

Point 02：Make gamers "want" to play through your meticulously scripted story

1.The 3rd Method for Creating a Sense of Freedom in a Story with Deadly Premonition

Here are 2 commonly known methods that would help, multiple endings and side quests.
In Deadly Premonition, we chose a third method.
It was experimental, and we called it the freedom of timing.
Freedom of timing, basically means allowing for a change of heart.

2.Standard quest flow and DP's quest flow

While moving forward in a quest, there are times when you want to change your mind and not follow that quest. Doing so though equals failure.

That's the standard game flow.

But for DP, we thought that should be allowed as a player's decision.
And so we spent some time to make an extra branch so that the player can have that as an option.
This allowed players to feel better about taking a break from the game, and this allowance of a "change of heart" if you will, makes the player feel more comfortable, and cooperative with the story.

3.By supporting and allowing for the player's "Change of Heart" we strengthen the sense of "freedom" and mitigate the sense of "being forced to do something against our will"

In the flow in the last slide, if the player fails to move forward, he fails, and so he is given a hint and is scolded at the same time. It was like that in Spy Fiction another game that Swery made a while back. "What are you doing ! Mission failed !"

But in DP, we wanted York to go along with the player when the player changes his mind.

"That's exactly what I was thinking !"

And when the player hears that kind of friendly response, it causes the player to feel more comfortable, more in control and hence a refreshing sense of freedom.

In Deadly Premonition, we even made one of the important characters say that you have no need to rush.
Modifiying the story to confirm that it is ok to change your mind, allows for the player's desires to be fulfulled.

4.Earn the Player's "Cooperation with the Story" and "Suspension of Disbelief"

So to recap.

And once that's done, The gamer will "cooperate" with the story, if you will, and proceed along the path that you create.

POINT 03：Create a storyline for a free roaming open world game

1.Single Path Storyline and DP's Storyline

Normally you'd do what's on the left. Synopsis, plot creation, character list generation, storyline creation. It's not uncommon that you'd start making the map and figure out all of the details of your character's backgrounds, after all of this has been done.

But for DP we did what's on the right. Synopsis, Map and Character Details, then figured out details of the map and what the characters would be doing on a 24 hour timetable, then create the plot and the storyline.

Because...

The characters and universe are just as important as the storyline.

When we started DP there weren't many games that we could refer to that had open field/freeroaming game play. So we had to figure out a way to do this on our own. The player is going to be placed in this world for a long period of time, and so the "stage" the town of Greenvale is very important.
Then I thought we could figure out who would live there.
That way, we can have a really rich, dense or deep universe.

And in hindsight, since the detailed story was written after the setting and the characters were made, one might say that it was created more like a TV series or a weekly manga magazine than a movie.

Point 04：Prevent players from quitting the game at the result screen

1.Each sequence in the progression path causes a desire to quit

2.Intentionally divulge bits of the next challenge before the result screen and generate the desire to find out what happens next

Point 05：Make appealing characters

1.Resume

　You need spend quite a bit of time to make deep characters. It helps to make
a resume for each.

　Swery used mind mapping to get at least a fuzzy image of the character,
then wrote down some notes to then generate a resume (A CV - I think for Europeans)
for that character.

　It doesn't have to be final, you can change things while writing the story,
but getting just the core elements locked down will be important.

2.Habits and Signature Phrases

　It's also important that your character can be mimicked.

　So having some signature poses, or signature phrases that the character would
use will help. This partially goes back to the first point where I talked
about having something inside the game affect the player outside and away
from the game.
Swery thinks it's important that your fans can copy the poses and use the phrases,
and basically be able to impersonate the characters used in the game.
Swery would even go so far as to say that it would be better if your fans can easily
draw your characters because that way, your fans can have so much more fun
with your game.

3.We take the good. We take the bad. And...

　So they say every rose has its thorn.
Just like every old cowboy has watched the TV show Facts of Life.

　The three characters here, dapper yet otaku, beautiful looks but filled
with personal problems and is a bad cook, and a nice guy that has a hard time
keeping his pants on.

　In life when we are in love with someone we are actually in love with both the good
and the bad sides of that person. We're in love with that unique blend.
So don't be afraid to design your the bad side of your characters.

Point 06：Direct voice recording sessions

1.Agent York's manner of speech is inspired by "Liverpool Sound" and "British Invasion"

　Yes, it makes no sense visually. And Swery cannot speak english, very well.

　But I had to give directions to actors and ask for other takes and give OKs in the studio.
And so instead of focusing on the actual content of what was being said,
he focused on how the lines were being spoken, does it fit the character's situation,
does it sound like the vocal range fits the character, and the rythm
and the updowns in tone, do they work with the scene ?
And so, York spoke with a good rythm, exact and light, kind of like the liverpool sound
and british invasion.

2.Other Characters

　So how does this work with other characters, George is tough and gruff,
destructive and wild, but old, kind of like the hard rock of the 80s.

　Emily was somewhat but not really country style, but she needed to be nostaligic
but still fresh, and offer a sense of motherly relief to the player's ears.

　Of course, Swery didn't use this on every character but he was able feel the emotion
in what people are saying and its the emotion that is important.
What I'm trying to say here is, make sure you have your own set of rules
for voice recordings.

Point 07：Use what‘s most important ? Your...

Use all of your ideas while you can use them !

To create wonderful scenario and attractive characters, the most important one：
After all, it is your "ideas".

Use all of your ideas while you can use them !
Unnoticed Ideas Explode When They Do Get Noticed !

Review Today's 7 Points

– Point 01 ：Make what happens in the game resonate with the player outside of the game !
– Point 02 ："Freedom" in gameplay is the freedom of timing !
– Point 03 ：The story is important, but the universe and characters are just as important !
– Point 04 ：Incorrect：Intro, Development, Turn and Conclusion, then Result Screen - Correct：Development, Turn, Conclusion, Intro then Result Screen
– Point 05 ：1.Resume - 2.Habits and Signature Phrases - 3.We take the good. We take the bad. And...
– Point 06 ：Agent York's manner of speech is inspired by "Liverpool Sound" and "British Invasion"
Point 07 ：Use all of your ideas while you can use them !

Ending

Access games will continue to make games that challenge the boundaries of
video game designs.

If given the chance, Swery would like to use the experience he has to make games
that take larger leaps than seen before, for the world wide audience.
For example a game where every character can become the main character,
and emotionally engaging games that you can dive into every season,
kind of like those tv dramas that last for seasons and seasons.

So, that's it all of the time we have today.

I'd like to thank everyone who showed up, and also those that helped with this session.
Thank you for the GDC staff and everyone in this room !!

Voir en ligne : http://www.accessgames.co.jp/news/n...

SWERY 65 @ GDC 2011

DrNoze — 2011-03-04T11:17:10Z

Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro, le créateur de Deadly Premonition, est passé à la GDC pour y faire une conférence qui a eu lieu le jeudi 3 mars 2011.

Il y a développé 7 points qui lui semblent importants dans la conception de jeux vidéo :

– Point 1 : Faire en sorte que le joueur repense au jeu quand il n'y joue pas.
– Point 2 : Donner envie au joueur de jouer au sein d'une histoire complexe.
– Point 3 : Créer une narration adaptée à un monde ouvert et libre.
– Point 4 : Empêcher les joueurs de quitter la partie sur l'écran des résultats.
– Point 5 : Créer des personnages attirants.
– Point 6 : Les personnages devraient avoir des dialogues mémorables.
– Point 7 : Utilisez toutes vos idées dès que vous pouvez le faire.

Pour en savoir plus, lisez le résumé par ici.

– [EDIT] Swery a posté le détail de sa présentation (avec ses slides) sur le site d'Access Games : Game Design in the Coffee.

"If you can't remember any of the characters' names, then that game is garbage," swery

Si je trouve une vidéo de cette conférence je la posterai ici. En attendant Swery en a profité pour faire des interviews par ci par là.

l'interview de GiantBomb

L'interview de Destructoid

Watch live video from squarekitegaming on Justin.tv

Deadly Premonition

daamien — 2011-02-09T15:17:30Z

A Deadly B Game

L' analogie avec le ciné continue, entre les blockbusters et les jeux indés on peut maintenant glisser les jeux de série B. Des noms ? Onechanbara Bikini Squad, Nier, Force de Défense Terrestre 2017, Alpha Protocol... Pour les définir on peut parler d'un budget de développement réduit qui induit une réalisation poussiéreuse, pas grave puisque c'est assumé et souvent tourné en dérision. Tant mieux même car ce statut qui les destine directement vers un public d'amateur (et un prix attractif) permet d'instiller un second degré et une liberté de ton presque interdite sur les jeux classiques (mais qu'on avait grandement appréciée sur les point & click de la grande époque).

Et justement Deadly Premonition [1] est très loin du produit marketing aseptisé avec ses emprunts décalés aux plus grandes réussites de son médium (gta, mgs, resident evil, maupiti island, shenmue, silent hill...) et ses références érudites aux B movies 80's [2] qui se reflètent dans le jeu par des changements de tons souvent hilarants. Comme dirait l'autre une belle preuve de bon mauvais goût !

Twinpeaksophile

Puisqu'on est dans les références, parlons maintenant de la fixation de Swery sur Twin Peaks (qui était lui même pétrit de références) en déclarant fissa que son jeu est l'hommage le plus vibrant qui soit à l'oeuvre de Lynch. Ainsi l' agent du F.B.I. York est une sorte de mélange de dale Cooper et de chester Desmond, et il est si réussi qu'il n' a pas à rougir de la comparaison !

Mais D.P. n'est nullement un plagiat, il faut plutôt l'aborder comme une relecture passionnante qui régalera tout particulièrement les fans de la série. On pourrait même dire que cet hommage sans détour est une belle preuve d'humilité. Ajoutons là que la manière dont Swery retranscrit l'humour boyscout, la fantaisie ésotérique et l' atmosphère de Twin Peaks est admirable. Cerise sur le donut, le storytelling et les dialogues sont d'une qualité que l'on croyait ne plus trouver dans les jeux vidéos. Il a bien eu des tentatives récentes avec Mass Effect et Heavy Rain mais ces deux jeux sont bien trop nunuches pour soutenir la comparaison. On pourrait d'ailleurs mentionner Alan Wake dont l'ambition première, certainement proche de celle de D.P., a été salement castrée sur l'autel du sempiternel « il faut que ça plaise au plus grand nombre ».

Empathie et immersion

Ce qui fait la force de D.P., c'est qu'il réussit, à l'instar de Shenmue mais avec beaucoup moins de moyens, à proposer une ville crédible. Les déplacements en voitures prennent du temps, les habitants vaquent à leurs occupations en semi temps réel (1mn est à peu près égale à 30s de temps de jeu, c'est très troublant !) et on peut les observer (même les épier chez eux) tout le long de notre enquête.

Qualité de l' écriture aidant, on ne tarde pas à s'attacher à eux et donc à s'impliquer dans l'histoire d'autant que la durée (une bonne vingtaine d'heure) le permet, comme dans une bonne série, quoi...

Greenvale, tu l'aimes ou tu le quittes !

Finissons avec les aspects qui ont chagriné l'amicale vidéoludique.

_Le jeu ne propose pas des textures impeccables comme on a l'habitude d'avoir sur écran hd : citons donc le laïus du début du jeu à la gloire des VHS qui étaient garantes d'une ambiance unique, on fera vite le rapprochement avec par exemple la 3d imparfaite mais fascinante d'un silent hill 2, D.P. est avant tout un jeu nostalgique.
Ainsi des comportements robotiques des protagonistes qui rappellerons aux connoisseurs les moqueries irrésistibles de Cronenberg envers les jeux vidéos dans son Existenz.

_La carte du jeu ne permet pas de dézoomer ce qui rend fastidieux les déplacements : pour ma part j'ai d'abord découvert les lieux sans chercher à les localiser. Après j'ai passé un quart d'heure à me faire ma propre carte de la ville sur une feuille en mélangeant les infos de la grande carte et les légendes de la version agrandie, c'est vraiment chouette car même si ce n'est pas indispensable ça rend bien plus forte l'immersion dans Greenvale...

_Les combats avec les « zombies » n'ont pas grand intérêt : certes, ils ont apparemment été ajoutés tardivement à la demande du studio comme on ajoute une scène de douche dans un thriller. Devant la grande cohésion du reste du jeu c'est vrai que ça surprend un peu mais pour ceux qui détestent l'action gratuite, la plupart de ces séances de shoot préhistoiriques peuvent être facilement évités. En même temps elles sont assez marrantes car un peu à la ramasse sans être injouables...
De toute façon c'est aussi ce genre de truc qui fait le charme d'une super série B, non ?

[1] ce jeu est disponible en pal grâce à Rising Star sur xbox 360 (mais zoné), la version ps3 n'est pas zoné mais si l'audio est en anglais, tout le reste est en japonais.

[2] voici la liste complète des films cités dans les monologues de York : Jaws, Back to the Future II, Remo Williams : The Adventure Begins, Tremors, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, The Deadly Spawn, Superman 1,2 et 4, Ladyhawke, Cat People (remake de 82), The Goonies, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, 16 Candles, Pretty in Pink, Star Wars, An American Werewolf in London, Xanadu, Blue Thunder, The Lost Boys, Spiderman, Arachnophobia

Deadly Premonition is the Game of the Year (Part 1) - GameCritics.com

DrNoze — 2011-01-06T16:49:53Z

Daniel Weissenberger a écrit une série de 8 articles de fond, très intéressants sur Deadly Premonition (de Sweary 65) et explique pourquoi, selon lui, ce jeu est un chef d'oeuvre, malgré ses défauts... Vous pouvez lire le premier ci-dessous mais n'hésitez pas a tous les lire sur gamecritics.com

My first encounter with Deadly Premonition came when I spotted it on the shelves of a local video store. Suffice to say, the cover art stood out from the crowd :

In a field of sports games, militaristic shooters, space marines, and the occasional swordsman v. dragon, a hooded person screaming as blood runs down their face counts as something of an anomaly. The axeman, naturally, sealed the deal. I rented the game immediately, and started playing it later that night. Just two hours in I'd already decided that I had to purchase my own copy, which I proceeded to do the next day.

I was ready to write an article nominating Deadly Premonition of the title of "Game of the Year" just halfway through its runtime. I'd already started grabbing screenshots and outlining when I noticed that the website Something Awful had posted a satirical article making the same suggestion. This left me thinking that I really ought to see what general critical consensus was before stepping up to make a fool of myself (once again). I quickly finished the game, and once I'd stopped weeping openly, I swung by the old Internet to see what various sites had to say about the game. After a little skimming I came to the conclusion that people were universally hard on the gameplay and graphics, but divided on the story. There was a "so stupid it made my brain bleed" camp, as well as a "so stupid I couldn't stop laughing" camp.

I wondered, for just a moment, anyhow, whether they'd played the same game I had. You see, the thing I responded most positively to in Deadly Premonition was the writing.

It may not have Heavy Rain's graphics, it certainly can't compete with Alan Wake's omnipresent product placement, but it has something I've rarely, if ever, seen in a videogame—a truly great story. Not great in the "so bad it's good" way, not great in the "high camp" way, not great in the "we're too hip to step into the world of a game and actually appreciate it for what it is, so let's just snigger from the sidelines" sort of a way. I'm not blind, mind you—I'm fully aware that the game can be enjoyed in all of those ways, I'd even admit that it invites those interpretations with its broad characterisations and supernatural flights of fancy. There's another, better way to approach the game, however. For anyone willing to take it at face value and suspend their disbelief, the game offers a rich world full of fascinating characters and enthralling mysteries. Players willing to engage with Deadly Premonition on its own level will find a story unlike anything they've seen in a videogame—and they'll find themselves wishing more games went that extra mile to create truly compelling narratives.

The game received a 2.0 from IGN, and a 10 from Destructoid, but both reviews approached it in exactly the same way—from a place of ironic detachment. Neither one was able to engage with the story, and so they couldn't see the game's true value. IGN couldn't get past the craziness of the plot, and Destructoid found the whole thing hilarious, going so far as to give it an ironic grade. By not being willing to just suspend their disbelief and inhabit the game's insane world, they missed out on one of the most special videogame storytelling experiences of all time, as well as the opportunity to really get to know a videogame character like never before.

That's right, because of a brilliant gameplay conceit that I'll expound upon at length later, Deadly Premonition allows the player to get inside the head of its main character in a way that no game (and nothing outside of novels) ever has—by the end of the game a player who has fully explored Deadly Premonition will know York Morgan more than they've ever known any other videogame hero, and once that's the case, they'll find it impossible not to be touched by his experiences. This is one of the most rawly emotional stories ever to appear in a videogame, and it has the ability to, if you let it, pull you in like no other medium could manage.

I'm not saying that Deadly Premonition should be the template for how every game should be designed—yes, the "gameplay" is largely abominable and dated—but it should be looked at as a singularly brilliant example of videogame storytelling, one that deserves to be studied by every game developer out there, so they can see how a story can succeed where 99% of video game stories don't. Deadly Premonition makes you a part of the story, and luckily, it's a fascinating story to be a part of.

Deadly Premonition has no real competition for title of "Horror Game of the Year". I'd even go so far as to say that, despite it being, in many ways, a terrible game, by December there won't be much competition for calling it the flat-out "Game of the Year".

But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm not just here to talk about Deadly Premonition in general, I'm here to present some highlights of the game, go in-depth about some of its details and mysteries, try to explain just why it's such an incredibly special experience—basically to convince anyone who takes the time to read this to play it for themselves.

In fact, let me just pause right here to encourage you to go out and buy the game—the rest of these articles are going to go into exhaustive detail about the game's plot, characters, and mechanics, and I can't stress enough how much better a time you'll have discovering all of it for yourself, playing late into the night with all the lights down low. You can always come back and read the articles later—they're not going anywhere, but your lack of knowledge about Deadly Premonition's secrets is.

Okay, now that the convolutions are done with, let's start the game !

As mysteries must, Deadly Premonition begins with a corpse. An artistically posed corpse at that. More importantly, what the hell kind of tree is that ?

Seriously, though, just a minute into the opening movie and I already know I'm in for something special. You've got sex, violence, biblical allusion, demonstration of character traits without dialogue—this is clearly the opening of a real story, one that's shooting at a target slightly more difficult than the average murder mystery.

You've got an Eve crucified to the tree of knowledge as a flesh-coloured snake slithers between her nearly-naked breasts. I generally prefer my imagery to be a little less incredibly on-the-nose, but the game wants to make it absolutely clear that the woman's death was caused, at least in part, by a curiosity about the forbidden (specifically sex). The fact that Deadly Premonition's opening gives me a chance to talk about the imagery being employed alone serves to set it apart from the crowd, and is just the first of the game's many, many wonderful flourishes.

The movie then goes on to check in with a variety of the characters we'll be meeting over the course of the game, each of whom is dealing with news of the death in their own way, before the whole thing ends with as interestingly-framed a shot as you're likely to see in a game.

The game hasn't even started yet, and we're already being shown that violence has crushing real-life consequences, causing people to run the gamut of reactions from stoic resignation to utter hysteria. Before we know any of these characters' names we understand they're important, and can start to make guesses on how they fit into the overall picture. The mystery's already begun pulling the player in, and we haven't touched the controller yet.

Next time, we'll meet our main character !

If you don't want his identity and details of the plot spoiled, I'd like to encourage you once again to zip on over to Amazon where you can order a copy of Deadly Premonition for under twenty dollars. In fact, if at any point in this series of articles I manage to make you feel like this is a game worth taking a look at, I absolutely want to encourage you to immediately stop reading and go get the game—you won't be disappointed.

And if you are, hell, it was just twenty dollars. Send me a bill. I won't pay it, but feel free to send it along.

Part 2

Allez directement lire la Part 2, ainsi que tous les autres épisodes, par ici : http://www.gamecritics.com/daniel-weissenberger/meet-york-morgan-deadly-premonition-part-2

Voir en ligne : http://www.gamecritics.com/daniel-w...

A SWERY Interview - Gamasutra

DrNoze — 2011-01-06T14:17:04Z

Encore une interview très intéressante de Swery 65 (Deadly Premonition). On y trouve un Swery assez conscient de ses limites techniques mais avec un peu de mauvaise foi concernant Twin Peaks. (in english)

Hidetaka "SWERY" Suehiro is the director of Deadly Premonition, a big-surprise cult hit that came out in the U.S. earlier this year for the Xbox 360 via publisher Ignition. The game is a free-form murder mystery with more than a passing resemblance to the David Lynch TV series Twin Peaks ; much like that show, it's become an underground phenomenon, as has its creator.

The developer of the game, Osaka's Access Games, isn't very well known ; their PS2 stealth game Spy Fiction was heavily promoted but released to only middling reviews. Deadly Premonition, on the other hand, is a love-it or hate-it experience ; IGN gave it a 2, while Destructoid gave it a 10, praising its idiosyncrasies and championing it as a rare example of "it's so bad it's good" in games.

SWERY, who started up an English Twitter account to interface with the enthusiastic fans the game has created, answered Gamasutra's questions via email — hopefully providing a peek into the fraught and inspired creative process that lead to Deadly Premonition.

Was the game originally an Xbox 360 title ? How long has it been in development ?

SWERY : When we started this project, the original plan was to release the game on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 2.

At that time, we still didn't know what the PS3 would look like, but once things got clearer, we naturally decided to move to a PS3 and 360 multiplatform game. We managed to release the game on both platforms in Japan but only on 360 in the U.S.

As to the development time... I would say that it was way too long ! I couldn't help thinking about new features or trying new stuff, that's why it took so long, I think. Sorry for the really long wait.

What was your inspiration for the design of the game ? It seems to be a hybrid of a number of genres.

SWERY : Regarding the game design, it was actually something that I had in mind for a long time and wanted to make it happen.

Something I'd wanted to try was a crime investigation story set in real time in an open-world setting. I kind of had everything in place in my mind but I have to admit that at that time, our technical skills, staff, connections, and even my own skills weren't enough to deal with this project.

Now, in the 21st century it is almost possible to create games just as they exist in our own vision, so I was sure that we were capable of creating that game I'd conceived of only in my mind.

Looking back, I hadn't imagined all the troubles we would have along the way, and how much time it would take to overcome them.

How close is the final game to your original vision ?

SWERY : When we started to work on this game, I was aiming for a cynical, urban game based around forensic science, but after many discussions with the producer, we changed it to something more mysterious and occult.

However, the main messages or ideas I wanted to communicate didn't change between the original concept and the final game.

Everyone I've talked to feels that the "real" game takes place during the exploration/mystery sequences, and that the shooting areas are bits you have to simply get through to get back to the fun part of the game (though the profiling aspect is enjoyable). How do you feel about that statement ?

SWERY : Actually, I feel exactly the same.

It's a little bit embarrassing, but the shooting areas were the last things that we started to work on and I have to reckon that I should have paid more attention to this part.

Actually, this part wasn't even in the original concept and after checking with my staff and many people, I eventually realized that it was necessary.

What inspired the direct homage to Twin Peaks ? Can you speak at all about the content changes you had to make to the game after the first trailer was released ?

SWERY : As I said previously, I wanted to create a game with an urban setting based around forensic sciences. But it eventually ended up being something more occult with forensic sciences having trouble to make the transition in a small countryside town.

To be honest, I don't consider this game as an homage to any particular contents even though I don't have the confidence to say that I wasn't inspired by anything, especially with all the contents we have accessed to nowadays.

About the trailer, it was actually something created by the publisher [Marvelous Interactive] so you should check with them, I think, for more details.

How did you come across the voice actor for York ? He fits his role really well — is he a professional ?

SWERY : The voice actor for York is Jeff Kramer.

Of course, he is a professional and was introduced to us by the translation company that did the English version for us, Katalyst Lab. Actually, Jeff Kramer was the voice for Seaman.

He was definitely a pro among the pros, a really tough guy but really kind. On the top of that, he was really fun.

After we received his voice sample and I listened to it, I was really surprised because I had the feeling that I was actually listening to York's voice from my PC. It was him and couldn't be anyone else.

How much of York's conversation with Zach was your own inner thoughts ? Not many people have seen Deadly Spawn, for example, so it sounded very personal to me (I saw the movie in a theatre in 2001 with the director, who did a Q&A afterward).

SWERY : The inner thought conversations in the game were written by the co-scenarist Kenji Gota and me. Kenji Gota is actually a movie director in the Japanese independent scene and he is a good friend of mine. When we meet, we always talk about movies, sometimes for hours while drinking. This atmosphere, I wanted to recreate it in the game too that's why I had to think about a way to integrate it.

So through different gimmicks, we ended up integrating our conversations such like the one below in the game, especially in the inner thought talks in the car I think.

"What ?! You met Douglas McKeown !

How lucky you are !!

I wanted to hear more about it but I have an interview today, so let's discuss it around a coffee next time. OK, Zach ?"

Deadly Premonition has some of the most interesting and twisted monologues I've heard in a video game before, and I think they work because York's voice actor plays it so straight. Most game developers would not dare to address necrophilia or drinking urine from a skull. What was your motivation there ?

SWERY : That's a difficult question.

When I created York, he actually started to express himself... So I just wrote down what he was saying. Next time, I will ask him in details his motivation.

There was a lot of writing in this game, with care taken to give NPCs new dialog every time York has found a new piece of evidence, even if the dialog doesn't ultimately advance the storyline. Did you have a team of writers, or did one person do it all ?

SWERY : I (under my other pen name) and Kenji Gota wrote the main scenario. I also wrote 80 percent of the side-missions. The remaining 20 percent was written by our planner.

The conversations with the NPCs were all written by me. We prepared discussions for all chapters, 24 hours a day, and all types of weather. I didn't want the player to feel any repetition while talking with the NPCs.

Since the player is taking some time to converse with the NPCs, if he is told the same thing each time, it would be a kind of let down. When I started to write the scenario, every day for 18 hours, without resting even during New Year, I had to write down something.

How have you felt about the reaction to the game in the U.S.?

SWERY : I felt really flattered !! Everyone, I love you !! That's all.

Most of the positive reviews of Deadly Premonition have been from the alternative press, or those members of the press who appreciate something different. How do you think the game will review in Japan, where alternative games press hardly exists ?

SWERY : Not particularly great. Actually, the feedback I got from users were "it's good fun !" but looks like the Japanese media didn't really bother. Unfortunately, there is no alternative games press at the moment here.

I have to discuss the map UI — it reorients every time you change direction, and is really confusing — you also can't zoom out very much. Why was it this way ? I have been speculating that maybe you wanted to make players learn the layout of the town.

SWERY : York has to do many visits in remote, inconvenient places in Greenvale.

Besides, his laptop and cell phone were broken, his beloved car crashed, the sheriff is an arrogant moron, there is no convenience store, gas is expensive, chocolate chip cookies are also expensive...

But, actually, in the game, there are many other inconvenient things that we didn't implement. For example, he couldn't find his favorite cigarette brand, there are only a few channels on TV, and as you can see in recent movies, there is no catering service, no internet, and so on...

I think that a car GPS is also one commodity that you can't find in the countryside, so I need you to be comprehensive. Furthermore, it's not as if I didn't warn you at the beginning of the game when York says "Zach, there goes the civilized world".

The combat sequences can be frustrating at times — I've advised everyone I know to play the game on easy. Did you do much playtesting of the controls ?

SWERY : As I said previously, the combat part was the last thing we implemented in the game, even though we did a lot of playtesting.

I reckon that the control is a little bit different from what you have in the current TPS or FPS, but for the game, it works as it is I think.

And as you see, York is more an indoor guy, that's why he can't move faster.

I hope this is not too offensive, but the game struck me as having very forward-thinking world design and character/writing, but being a bit regressive in terms of mechanics and UI design. What would you say to that ?

SWERY : The game system was considered many years ago, that's why it may feel a little bit archaic, for this, I can't help it I think.

As for the UI design (including its inconvenient aspect), I wanted the users to feel the atmosphere of the countryside, or maybe a metaphor where good old fashioned countryside is where you find good old fashioned game design.

But, if all the users only felt stressed when playing the game, it's something that I will have to rethink next time.

There are a lot of little extra details in Deadly Premonition, like the ability to shave, or change your suit, or fish. These obviously take a lot of time — how did you manage to find the resources to implement all these small systems ? Why do you feel they are important ?

SWERY : For this game, there are three "real" elements that I felt were really important. Real time, real scale, and real life.

I can say with confidence that these three points are something that I can't overlook when making a game and have to be fulfilled to some extent.

Actually, I was considering having the hair grow, and the character putting on or losing weight. Meeting these requirements would have your character a perfect avatar and not just Agent York, and that's what I was aiming for with these features.

How did we manage to implement all these small systems ? I would say it's our love to this game that allowed us to do it.

I want to also note that these details make the leaderboards hilarious.

SWERY : That's very good to hear. I am grateful that people have played so much Deadly Premonition.

There are so many interesting and silly events you can make happen in this game — like being on an "important time-sensitive mission" and then going inside a building, taking a nap for several hours, shaving, and eating a raw onion. How and why did you decide to implement this freedom for the player ?

SWERY : Do you remember the character Harry in his wheelchair ? He said that what's important is not speed but timing.

That's exactly what I tried to recreate. I wanted the player to play according to his own timing and see the results of his actions. So the timing and when to play is really up to the player.

This game doesn't have multiple endings but I still wanted the player to feel that the story is progressing because of the choices he or she made.

Can you talk about your inspiration for Zach ?

SWERY : Agent York arrives in Greenvale to solve a murder case. But, the player lives this scene from his living room in front of the TV.

To fill this gap, I needed something to create the illusion, without turning the character into an avatar, that the user was the main character. Actually, it was a really painful process, but eventually it was a simple response to the question "how to transfer a feeling ?" When I saw the response, it was when Zach was born.

Lastly, what, to you, makes a good mystery ? How do you like to see that mystery unfold ?

SWERY : A good mystery is one in which would be fully satisfied with the explanation at the end.

To put it simply, a book or movie can trick you or make it so you can't see what's coming next but it can't be with a deceitful purpose.

For me, deceiving the player or audience on purpose is just like cheating. As entertainment, this honesty is something fundamental that you can't just dismiss.

Then, as to how a good mystery should unfold, I personally think that you need identify with the protagonists.

It's something that is the same whether you are playing a game, watching a movie or reading a book. It's is an important experience in life. And when it's over, I really like when it leaves something in your heart.

Thank you and guys, I love you !!

Voir en ligne : http://www.gamasutra.com/view/featu...

Interview with SWERY 65 (Hidetaka Suehiro), Director of Deadly Premonition - GameCritics.com

DrNoze — 2010-12-04T12:19:05Z

Une autre excellente interview de Swery 65, créateur de l'intrigant Deadly Premonition, et où l'on apprend notamment que les phases de donjons auraient été rajouté à la fin et imposé par l'éditeur pour séduire le public occidental !!! On y apprend également que le Sweary aurait fait des études de cinéma et que ceci expliquerait cela. - In english, please !

While the name SWERY 65 (or Hidetaka Suehiro) may not be instantly familiar to the electronic audience yet, anyone keeping even cursory tabs on the year's events in gaming has undoubtedly heard of his creation—it's easily 2010's most talked-about title, the infamous and revered Deadly Premonition.

Striking several chords with both the review and sphere and gamers at large, it's quite safe to say that anyone who's spent time with main character Francis York Morgan and the town of Greenvale has walked away with strong impressions. In fact, I would be hard-pressed to name a game in recent memory that has been (for good and for bad) so utterly divisive.

Whether you're a fan or not, the fact is that Deadly Premonition has made quite a splash, and eliciting such a response doesn't happen with just any title. Clearly, the director is onto something here, and the goal is to find out what. So, without further ado, here are twelve questions with SWERY 65.

Thank you very much for being willing to answer our questions ! To start off, some reviews have said that Deadly Premonition is "so bad it's good." How do you feel about this description ?

I think it is wonderful. In a way it means that you can make a game that people will love, even if it has graphics and controls that are hard to accept.

In other interviews, you've mentioned that you went to college to learn about film, and movies obviously play a large role in York's life. How did studying film influence your approach to game design ? What differences in the two mediums are important to consider when trying to tell a story ?

I think it had a tremendous impact on how I design games. For example, in movies you often have scenes where people are eating or driving or working. There are lots of scenes that depict daily life, and it is within them that the lines needed to unfold the story are spoken by the characters present.

However, most games don't have these scenes. The characters speak to the player in locations purposely built for the game, like corridors and open spaces. As a game designer, this feels so out of place to me. This may not apply to Western games, but most Japanese games have yet to escape this method.

You've said that when creating characters, you take inspiration from people you know, and even incorporate aspects of yourself when creating personalities of the cast. Was this a conscious method or did it come naturally ? How do you think it impacts the player's connection with the characters ?

I imagine characters as people I see around me. When I see someone intriguing on the street, I make a note of it. I never even read most of these notes, but by making these notes I've come to pay attention to people around me, and because they've caught my attention I observe and remember them. As a result, when I come to the production phase, I already have this "character bank" that I can withdraw from, even without my notes. I fumble about with these to create new characters.

As to your second question, I must say that games as a medium comes into being only when the player (audience) intervenes in what's happening, so you must always consider the main character and the player to be a set.

You've used the phrase "lovely useless elements" to describe parts of Deadly Premonition's design that have no obvious practical function, but which add to the sense of environment and the narrative. Do you feel this is a vital element missing from modern games ?

Yes, they are essential to a game. The reason is that games themselves are lovely useless things in our lives. You can live without playing games, but I love games and I think they enrich our lives. So, that's why games need to include silly, useless things.

In the original 2007 TGS trailer for Rainy Woods, the FBI agent looks very different from York and quite noticeably, he does not have a scar. Why was York's appearance changed so much, and was his scar part of a story change after Rainy Woods was canceled ?

The Rainy Woods project was halted and eventually canceled. The Deadly Premonition project didn't start until after that. Please understand that the earlier FBI agent was a completely different character.

There are many details early in the game that contain clues to the final revelation, but are only referenced again much later and the game's mysteries are presented in a very non-linear way. How did you go about coming up with such a plot ? Once you came up with the setting and the characters, did you have individual scenes in mind that were expanded upon, or was the ending planned from the beginning ?

I will have a session at GDC 2011 in which I will reveal the secrets of how I wrote the plot, so I would like to speak about it then. If I am selected as an official speaker, I will try to let everyone know. By the way, I worked on the ending right up until my deadline, writing, thinking, and rewriting.

What was your inspiration behind the York/Zach relationship, and how much detail was put into mapping out York's life from beginning to end ?

The York/Zach relationship came out of a conversation I had with my co-writer, Kenji Goda.

We thought it up while in the midst of a brainstorming session based on some key words : "Talkative Characters", "Monologue", and "Player in front of the TV". York's life is still full of mysteries, but I have mapped out in detail the parts of it necessary to the story.

It's been said that combat was a last minute addition once the bulk of the game was completed. If so, what was the reasoning behind adding combat ?

The combat was added after we received advice from our publisher that Western audiences would have difficulty accepting a main character who didn't fire a gun. I don't know if that's entirely true, but our audience certainly accepted Agent York.

What's going on with the three farms ? Each one is named and singled out on the map, and they've been populated with animals, but nothing ever happens there during the game. Were they originally connected to some cut content ?

There are several elements that were cut, but I can't disclose for certain whether the farms fall into that category. Thinking about it realistically though, American small towns need farms. That is certain.

The game's map is incredibly difficult to use. It's far more troublesome than other games' maps, or even maps in real life. Was that intentional ? What's the reasoning behind navigation being so difficult ?

This question is often asked of me, but the positive response would be that we wanted the player to travel freely about the town and learn where things are based on landmarks. However, I do regret how unusable it was. I will try to improve this if I get another chance.

Can anything actually be discovered through peeping in windows, or is it just for flavor ? Also, what's your favorite thing in the game that average players won't see ?

By peeping in the windows, you get to see a glimpse of the lives of Greenvale's residents.

For example, let's say that you heard about how Nick was telling Diane about Rembrant and Turner at the museum, and you saw him painting a picture at home. I think it [peeping] improves the reliability of the information you get from the townsfolk, and you, as a player, will feel a deeper connection to the game.

My favorite events to peep on are dinner at the Ingraham house, and Nick closing up at the diner.

You've said before that you may want to expand on the Deadly Premonition universe. Are you interested in doing a sequel or prequel, and would you like to explore York further ? You've also mentioned that Deadly Premonition used to be an urban forensics investigation with a female protagonist. Would you re-visit this idea or start fresh ?

If I have a chance to, I'd make a sequel or off-shoot of Deadly Premonition in a heartbeat, because people around the world have really accepted and come to love Francis York Morgan. It would be depressing to have to bring an end to a character that has been so loved. But, if we accept that his story is over, I will still bring other charming characters to you.

It might be a female forensic scientist or it might not, or it could be a retirement-age veteran of the force, or a gossipy florist… whichever it is, I will continue to make "lovely, useless elements".

I love you all ! - SWERY 65

Infinite thanks to SWERY 65 for taking the time out of his schedule to speak with me, and for being willing to answer every question that was sent !

Voir en ligne : http://www.gamecritics.com/brad-gal...

Deadly Premonition developer interview - Telegraph

DrNoze — 2010-11-24T17:40:42Z

Une excellente interview de Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro qui nous parle de Deadly Premonition - In english.

Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro chats to Tom Hoggins about his crazed Lynchian tribute, Deadly Premonition.

By Tom Hoggins 3:18PM BST 27 Oct 2010

This Friday sees the release of the weird and wonderful horror game Deadly Premonition. For all its obvious technical problems, it's a sleeper hit waiting to happen, with an insane story populated by fascinating characters. Every cult success needs its auteur, though, and for Deadly Premonition it is Hidetaka Suehiro, also known as Swery 65. It's not just the funky nickname that has drawn comparisons with Killer7 and No More Heroes creator Suda, however, with Swery producing a fascinating and unique game dedicated to a fantastically deranged vision. I had the chance to chat with Swery about Deadly Premonition, its hero Agent York and just why sandwiches in Greenvale are so darn expensive.

First, could you tell me a bit about how you came up with the idea for Deadly Premonition ?

I came up with the basis of the game a long time ago. I played a lot of the RPG games that were popular worldwide in the 8-bit era. It was at this time that I first though how great it would be if there was a game that was based in a realistic, not fantasy, world in which you, as a detective, travel around solving crimes. Later, after I had grown up, I dug out this old idea and it was sensational ! It seems like I just put everything into casting it into it's current shape.

Obviously there are many influences that run throughout Deadly Premonition, Twin Peaks in particular. Are you a big fan of David Lynch ? How did you go about trying to capture that same sense of atmosphere ?

David Lynch's movies are spectaluar and distinctive, and I respect him as a director. However, I think all creators take inspiration from many of the things we encounter day to day, so although it's impossible to say I was not influenced at all by David Lynch, I can tell you that the creative activity that went into this game was not especially influenced by any single work.

The unique atmosphere of this game I think comes more from what I experienced and felt during my time in the Pacific Northwest and Canada. I can say that our development staff was able to recreate this faithfully in Deadly Premonition.

Deadly Premonition is, let's be honest, very weird. Is there anything from the game that you had to remove as it was too crazy ? Or was it a case of the stranger the better ?

Yes, I pushed to get all of those strange bits included in the spec. Things like the deer head in the main menu and the fishing mini-game are good examples of this. There were obviously a lot of things that didn't make it into the final spec. Agent York's deleted shower scene was a big one, and there were also things like playable eating scenes that we thought about putting in.

We thought it would be fun if you could control a brush to wash Agent York's body, and then use a hair drier on his head, but that turned out to be pretty lame.

How much freedom did your publishers give you ? Were they happy to let your ideas run wild ?

Marvellous Entertainment allowed me a lot of creative freedom. Of course the producer had his own agenda and we worked to incorporate his ideas as we progressed in development, but we had very understanding producers so that was actually quite fun. (The producers) Tomio and Louis, I love you so much !

Why did you change the title of the game from Rainy Woods ?

Well, the Rainy Woods project was officially cancelled at the beta stage and never got to go on sale. Deadly Premonition was started as a totally new project following this. At that time, our publisher in the USA suggested Deadly Premonition and it just stuck.

Did the name change cause you any trouble ?

You have to think of stopping and starting over as a normal part of software development. I feel like we went through a lot but were able to work through to the end.

And overall, how did the game evolve as you went through the development process ? Was it very different from your original vision ?

In the beginning, it was meant to be a cynical, urban game that focused on using forensic science to solve mysteries. In order to broaden its appeal, we added the uniquely mysterious atmosphere and horror elements.

Once I had an idea of the direction I wanted to take it, I made every effort to faithfully recreate what was in my head.

It feels like it's been a while since there has been a really good mystery game, how do you go about creating such a twisted, complex tale ?

In most games, the scenario writing and the gameplay are handled by different people. In this game I handled the greater part of both of these tasks, so if my script called for something to be made in game, I was able to have it added. Also, I was able to make the most of downtime in the game with interesting writing. The order in which the story was put together also differed greatly from other titles, but it's a long story ...

I loved Deadly Premonition, but it has received some very mixed reviews. Were you aware that your game would split opinion so much. Is this something you are happy for ?

I set out to make Deadly Premonition the way I wanted it to be. I knew there would be people who wouldn't really accept it that way, but I never suspected opinions to split so cleanly. On the other hand, I also didn't expect there to be so many extremely positive reviews. That honestly fills me with joy.

How do you feel about people saying Deadly Premonition is 'so bad, it's good' ?

Well ... I take it as positive reception. I love everybody !

In terms of mechanics, Deadly Premonition can feel rather dated in places. Was this a budget issue ? Or was it because the game had been in development for so long ?

It was a combination of the two. When we started this project we didn't even know the specs of the platform we'd be releasing on. We moved forward with only a concept, which lead to budget overruns when we had to rework what we had made.

But, we knew that the game had good fundamentals, so we determined to push through. The game turned out like it did even though the project got cancelled once, and it took a long time to work out the technical issues.

There are some really inventive ideas in Deadly Premonition, did you ever wish for a bigger budget to expand on them ? Or could they have only worked within this exact game ?

If we had an unlimited budget I would have used on fixing up the low-quality areas and increasing the size of the game. Unfortunately, I'm not very good at doing that kind of thing, so I would have liked to add what I call "lovely useless elements". If that's OK then I would gladly accept as much funding as I could get.

I found the ghouls in the shooting sections very creepy, what was the inspiration behind them ?

We always made a balance between the horror elements and the incidental, sentimental elements. "Shadows" are one example of this. They used to be alive, obviously having a life, but we wanted them to also come after the player to elicit fear.

In Japan we have this tradition of residual haunting, and we used this notion in the game. The spirits can't make physical attacks, so what we see in the game is what they become after having possessed a corpse.

By the way, one lesson we learned from this was that if we made an enemy look like a monster, there was no way to express sentimentalism in it.

There are a lot of incidental things to do during the game, why did you feel York changing his suits, (loving the pink cherry blossom outfit), checking the weather or having a shave was important to your game ?

I mentioned this above, but it is my contention that without incidental elements, you can't create this dark, fearful side behind it. Also, to repeat what I stated at the beginning, I wanted to make a game in which you inhabit a realist world, solving mysteries that could actually have happened. In this way, the meaningless "incidental" parts of the game are actual indispensable elements.

I wish I was paid $12 every time I had a shave !

(Laughs) Me too ! Unfortunately we don't have a beard stipend at Access Games.

Talking of money, just why are unbelievably delicious Turkey sandwiches so expensive in Greenvale ? I didn't get much change from $100 !

Normal common sense doesn't apply in Greenvale. There are no cell phones, everything closes down when it rains, popular shows don't play on the TV, the flays are HUGE ...

Don't you remember when York said, "Life is fun because of the mysteries. Right, Zach ?" This is what he was talking about.

I want to talk about York. He's a fantastic character. My initial reaction was that he was just like Dale Cooper from Twin Peaks, but as the game went on he became far more complex than that. Where did the inspiration for him come from ?

In a word, I think it's because we created a "gap" between perception and reality. The first impression of York is that he looks cool and possess a brilliant mind, but something is off and he is occasionally pointless. This discrepancy gives the character impact. However, as the story progresses you get to see this human side, and you understand his passion. Here we set up another gap to accelerate at a strokethe transfer of the emotional focus from the player into York. I can truthfully say that the character was created by our team according to exacting calculations following many repeated brainstorming sessions.

Why is York so rude to the Greenvale police at first ? How do you think he feels about their initial reactions to him ?

Are you saying York was rude to George ? Indeed, in the scene on the bridge when he first meets George, York is blowing smoke in his face, and generally being a nuisance. However, following that York is really just taking his time in conducting his investigation the way he wants to.

If he heard you say he was rude, he would surely say, "But you know, George, Emily, if my behavoir has offended you, I'd like to apologise. I might seem rude to you, but it's just that I don't really understand other people. I have no other intent. All right, Zach, on with the investigation."

And tell me about Zach. Where did the idea for him come from ?

The first obstacle we ran into after fleshing out Agent York's character was how do we get the player, sitting on the sofa munching popcorn, to connect with the character, investigating a grisly murder. The more you develop the main character, more he becomes someone we aren't.

We wondered whether there wasn't a way to make this character, who is someone totally different from us, into our own alter-ego. Zach was invented after many hours of discussion with my co-writer. I don't think the game would have been as successful without this invention.

Some of York's conversations with Zach are fascinating, how did you go about writing these dialogue exchanges ?

Most of these scenes were written by myself and my co-writer, Kenji Goda. We just wrote down conversations we'd had while drinking almost verbatim. Especially the movie talk. When I read them I still think we were able to write interesting conversation.

I can write and write, so if I had more time I would have wrote even more. In the end, we had to record these conversations into voice, and we had to work within the constraints of our budget and the memory allocation.

York has some twisted tales to tell, were you ever worried that some of his stories would be too horrible to go in the game ?

Agent York's past experiences do not make for polite conversation. Some of them are still classified, so what you hear about in the game is just a small part of the whole. There are a lot of drunken, frightful, ridiculous, grotesque, comical conversations that we couldn't include in the game. It would be nice to have a chance to write those down, but it wouldn't be allowed in the current video games industry. In fact, Deadly Premonition doesn't shy away from some gruesome incidents, but they often come alongside some wacky humour.

How do you go about striking that balance between horror and comedy ? Or is it more effective when it is so jarring ?

One of the themes of this title is contrasting existence. This means that when there is a front side to something, there is a hidden back side that contrasts it. The red trees contrast the green forest, the bucolic setting contrasts the grisly murder mystery, the hospitable villagers contrast the frightful shadows ...

This theme was also built into things that are not visible. For example, the comedy contrasting the horror.

How did we build this in ? I can only say that it was accomplished through secret calculations, but it came to the point of reading things out many times and making adjustments to find a balance.

Just where does York find the time to watch all those movies ?

Back in his college days he and Zach watched often watched movies together. Now though, he is so busy solving crimes to make it out the theatre. This is a source of concern for York.

York's great but there are a lot of interesting characters throughout the game. I particularly liked Harry. Can you tell me a little bit about the inspiration behind him ?

The first thing I came up with for Harry was his look. This image just popped into my head of an old man in a wheelchair wearing a gas mask. I can't recall precisely when this occurred, but I wrote downs notes about it in my idea notebook. I also dashed off a note that he'd wear formal attire including a suit, and that decided his appearance in this game. A rich, wheelchair-bidden old man wearing a gas mask, who refuses to speak to anyone except the youthful-looking young man who accompanies him.

And do you have any favourite characters yourself outside of York & Zach ?

Thomas MacLaine, Polly Oxford and Forrest Kayson. I like George and Emily as well, but I avoided including them.

Are you worried that many people won't 'get' Deadly Premonition because the mechanics appear old and is strange and unique ?

I think this may be partly the case. However, I am fully confident that Deadly Premonition will provide you with a unique experience unlike anything you would find in other games. So if you enjoy this game even a little, tell your family and your friends about it. Try to find other people who can "get" it with you.

It's refreshing to see such a risk being taken, especially at a time when there has been a lot of talk about the Japanese games industry stagnating. What are your feelings on that ? Are you worried at all ?

I myself am proud that we were able to bring this project to a conclusion while working within the industry as it is currently. However, that included, the game was not well received in Japan. Since games do have a dimension of being a product, this is a fate that we could not avoid, but I think at the very least the fact that the title had these issues will significantly impact our production activities in the future. I don't think every game creator needs to take chances in their work, but I would certainly like the opportunity to take on new challenges. That's the honest truth.

Why do you think there is such negative feeling about the Japanese games industry right now ?

The video games industry has developed rapidly and now occupies a major position. As a result, a bizarre interrelationship between game makers and the buying public. Simply said, users have been split up into many niches.

I think the difference between games and other media such as movies, TV dramas, novels and comics is that because the games industry developed without having to appeal to the average consumer, creators don't really know how to make that appeal ... or maybe they don't have the skills to do it. I'm including myself in this group.

So, even if the industry evolves, it does so on a very narrow path and there isn't room for a lot of hit titles. In this way, game makers will try to get sure results by focusing on the already existing user groups, reinforcing the niche attitude. It may be that just such a spiral has cast a negative shadow on the industry in Japan.

Finally, can you tell me anything about what you're working on next ?

I would like to be able to say Deadly Premonition 2, but that is as of yet undecided. I am personally moving forward with planning it, but there are still a lot of major obstacles to overcome. Regarding other ongoing projects, that doesn't concern the topic at hand so I will respectfully decline to answer. My apologies.

Thank you so much for your time, and thank you for Deadly Premonition !

Oh, no, thank you. I can tell even on the written page that you have a true love for Deadly Premonition. Thank you truly. I love you, everyone !

By Tom Hoggins 3:18PM BST 27 Oct 2010

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