Kenichiro Tsukuda On ‘Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion' And ‘Astro Boy'
With Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion out in a few months, I was lucky enough to catch up with the game's producer, Kenichiro Tsukuda, about what we can look forward to.
Tsukuda also has a long history with mecha games, having worked on the older Armored Core games and Frame Gride at FromSoftware, also as a producer.
I also interviewed Tsukuda for a UK games magazine around the time of Armored Core 3 back in 2002, so it's nice to be able to talk to him again.
Considering it's been over two decades since we last talked, I wondered what he'd been up to.
'I moved to a development company called Feelplus, which later merged with Marvelous. During that time, I was involved in the development of various games, including the Fate/Extella series, Bakumatsu Rock, Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, the Daemon X Machina series, and other various titles.'
'Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion' is set 300 years after the first game.
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The mecha in Titanic Scion are also closer in scale to power armor this time around, and Tsukuda was kind enough to explain why.
'As technology advanced, mecha became smaller. Although this is science fiction and a mecha title set in a fictional world, incorporating elements of reality adds depth to that world. Our goal is also to enhance the player's feeling of directly making a difference in the world as the main character.
'With the anime-style mecha that appeared in the previous game, game design can be relatively straightforward because the mecha are only used for battle. However, by scaling down the size of the mecha and making the game open world, we were forced to rethink exploration, missions, and various other elements. And while I'm proud of the unique way our game allows players to move freely between the air and the ground, this increased freedom also required us to design the world with a greater focus on three-dimensionality and spatial awareness than we otherwise would have needed. We encountered various challenges along the way, such as players accidentally accessing areas they shouldn't be able to reach, but the team persevered and successfully resolved these issues.
'As for the bigger mecha seen in the trailers, yes, they will be playable with special controls. In this game, you can summon and use Heavy Armor, which are the previous game's Arsenals, by building up your energy gauge during battle.
'Regarding the controls, we've made it possible to fly more freely in the air by having your Arsenal respond to joystick inputs. Additionally, we've revised the controls to accommodate new mechanics. The basic control scheme hasn't changed significantly, and you can fully customize the key configuration, so players should be able to find a setup that suits them. This change was inspired by a letter we received from a single player. We also enhanced accessibility options in Daemon X Machina to make the game more inclusive.'
You now pilot power armor in 'Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion', although bigger mecha are also ... More available.
The story for the first Daemon X Machina was certainly one of its weaker points, but it seems things will be different this time around.
'Titanic Scion is set about 300 years after the events of the first game, so similar to how the mecha have gotten smaller over time, we wanted to express how the change in time period would affect clothing and the appearance of people's faces and bodies. I worked together previously with character designer Kimihiko Fujisaka on Bakumatsu Rock. He is well-known for his fantasy work, but his style always incorporates sci-fi elements. I consulted with him about depicting a world that has changed over time, and he agreed to take on the project. While we made many changes from the previous title, I believe Fujisaka's characters have helped bring everything together.
'This time, we set out to make a more accessible story by maintaining the same depth but narrowing the scope. We hold great respect for various works of science fiction, manga, movies, and anime, and I believe our story will resonate with fans of these genres, giving them a lot to think about. Take the robot character Toby, for example, who references the robot Astro Boy. Astro Boy was created by Dr. Tenma after his son died. However, Dr. Tenma's son's name was actually Tobio, and the name Toby was chosen as a tribute to him.
Finishing up, I wanted to know what Tsukuda hoped players would enjoy most about the game.
'I would like players to enjoy everything. We designed the gameplay so that players can experience everything. I also want players to jump into online play. Other players can revive you if you fall in battle while playing co-op, so there's nothing to fear.'
Daemon X Machina: Titanic Scion will be released on September 5 for Switch 2, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, via Steam.
Follow me on X, Facebook and YouTube. I also manage Mecha Damashii and am currently featured in the Giant Robots exhibition currently touring Japan.
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