April 8, 2009

Yoshifumi Hashimoto delves into the uniqueness of Avalon Code
By Michael Lafferty

“ … we implemented a very unique system where you are able to re-write what’s happening in the world or change the rules by touching the DS screen panel”

“Time is dwindling down and the world is on a path headed towards a fiery destruction. As ‘the chosen one,’ players must hold on to everything worth saving in this dying place, and take it into the new world, to begin anew. Guided by the Spirits, players embark on a journey to fill the pages of the mysterious tome, the Book of Prophecy, with items worthy of being saved.”

Thus begins the story set-up for Avalon Code, a Nintendo DS title developed by Marvelous Interactive Inc. and co-published by Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED. The game has been hailed as an innovative take on the classic action/RPG genre. (Check out GameZone's Avalon Code review.)

Well, GameZone wished to get a bit more information and scenario writer/producer Yoshifumi Hashimoto was gracious enough to answer our questions.

Question: The NDS RPG genre has been following a familiar formula for some time. Does the Avalon Code do anything that breaks away from the stereotypical handheld experience?

Yoshifumi: I’m not sure if it breaks away from the stereotypical experience but we implemented a very unique system where you are able to re-write what’s happening in the world or change the rules by touching the DS screen panel.

This feature to re-write the game information fits perfectly with the DS functionalities and I think the players will be able to experience something different from other games.

Q: What are the particular challenges of bringing an RPG to the NDS? Is it hard to balance a deep engrossing story with solid graphics while taking advantage of the DS’ control scheme?

Yoshifumi: NDS games are ROM based so you really need to lock down early the scope of what you want to tell in the game or else you’ll run into memory space issues later.

At the same time, when there’s a certain limitation like this, it makes you really focus on how to maximize within those specific limitations so it can be a positive thing sometimes

And since this title is for a handheld device, I made sure the system is something that the players can pick up and dive into right from the start.

Q: How is the combat handled? Is it real time or turn based using the book?

Yoshifumi: Since I love action games I decided to make this game have a real time combat system.

Since you can use the Book of Prophecy to make the enemies weaker, I thought it would be fun to actually see your enemy getting weaker in the midst of a real-time battle.

Q: Tell us how players can modify the ‘rules of engagement’ using the Book of Prophecy?

Yoshifumi: Okay.

The Book of Prophecy is “The rules of the World.”

So you can certainly make things go your way or make it difficult, too.

For example, I mentioned that you can make the enemies weaker, but if you add “Ore” and other elements to an enemy then it’s possible that the enemy will become so tough that you won’t be able to beat them.

On the other hand, if there’s a character that’s ill, you can remove that illness and add that information to an enemy to create a sickly enemy.

The possibilities are endless so I hope everyone tries to mix and match however they may please.

Q: While Avalon Code purports to have a deep storyline, how important do you think it truly is to have rich details and a deep storyline in gaming?

Yoshifumi: Either game or book, I believe text is a necessity to fully understand what the world is about.

I usually get immersed into a world from reading the story or conversations between characters, so much so that it sometimes brings tears to my eyes. I think the story element is something as important as the game system.

However, I do think this depends on the game.

For example, in Super Mario Brothers, when you save princess Peach, rather than seeing a long message I think it’s best just to see the 8-bit Peach come out. They don’t say much but Peach looks like she’s saying “thank you for saving me,” and Mario looks gallant compared to the beginning of the adventure (of course nothing actually has changed).

So I think it all comes down to finding the right amount of story for that particular game being the most important thing.

Q: Tell us how gender of the characters affects the gameplay? How much character customization is possible?

Yoshifumi: The main plot of the story will be the same for either gender.

However, in this game you can have a romance with someone of the opposite gender, so if you play as a male protagonist you can fall in love with one of the female NPCs and vice versa.

I wanted every player to feel like they are the main character in this story, so I decided to have both genders as an option.

As for customization, you can certainly customize your swords and weapons, but you can also customize armor for your head, chest and other parts of your body. All equipped armor will display on your character, even the cut scenes.

One of the fun aspects of the game is to take the information contained within the Book of Prophecy to try to create your own unique items.

Q: The art style looks to be very strong and appealing. Who was the lead artist on the game and how did you arrive at the overall look for the game?

Yoshifumi: We asked Mr. HACCAN, a Japanese illustrator, to do the art in this game.

We always talked about doing a project together, and when I was planning Avalon Code I thought he would be perfect for this job.

As for the process of determining the art style, first I wrote down each character’s mindset, what kind of life they lived and what kind of life they are going to have, and Mr. HACCAN drew the rough character illustrations based on that.

With those rough drafts we discussed and revised them, and when everything was set we finalized and put color to them.

This took quite a long time and I’m sure it was a tough job for Mr. HACCAN, but I think the final designs turned out great and you can really feel the history within each character.

Q: What are your favorite elements of Avalon Code and what do you think will draw players in?

Yoshifumi: My favorite element of the game is definitely the Book of Prophecy’s “change everything” system. We really put a lot of time and effort on this “everything” part so I hope you can enjoy the fun of experimenting with changing elements around and seeing what the outcome looks like.

Other than the Book of Prophecy, I want people to experience and enjoy the Harvest Moon-type “romance” elements from Marvelous Entertainment with the Alundra-type action elements from Matrix Software.

 

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