Interviews

September 27, 2007

Talking to a “Super Saiyan” Producer – GameZone Speaks with Dragon Ball Z: BT3’s Donny Clay
By Louis Bedigian

“It's more motion controlled and it helps put the player into the game.”

The Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi series has accomplished a lot in the past couple of years. It brought aerial combat to the world of one-on-one fighting games. It showed that anime-licensed products can be good – and not solely by accident. This November the third chapter, Budokai Tenkaichi 3, will make another accomplishment: it will be the first DBZ game to go online. And it’s doing so exclusively on Nintendo Wii.

“We're excited to bring fans an online experience,” said Donny Clay, Producer of DBZ: BT3. “The Wii represented a lot of what we imagined when we first began to talk about DBZ online and was definitely the best choice.”

“Personally,” he adds, “I'm looking forward to being able to play against the fans out there who think they can beat me.”


Without an online infrastructure along the lines of Xbox Live, were there any challenges in getting DBZ: BT3 playable on Wii?

Donny Clay: With any new technology, there are always going to be challenges. Fortunately we have an extremely innovative team behind DBZ and a lot of support, so we were able to arrange the online capabilities without too much drama.

What options will be available for online and offline multiplayer?

DC: For online battles you can select Normal: Using Default fighters, Custom: Can use custom characters here, Friend: Normal or Custom Characters and finally the Ranking Battle: Put your reputation on the line and see where you rank.

Offline Multiplayer mode has tournaments you can enter or of course there are the regular Vs. matches. For the Vs. matches you can choose single or team battles plus DP battles in which you can spend your DP points to make up your team. Some characters cost more than others so you have to balance the team carefully.


Another interesting development for the Wii version is that the "pointer" aspect of the last game has been replaced by true motion controls. Tell us all about this development and how it has changed and enhanced the gameplay.

DC: Well, we decided to reformat a lot of how the game plays (from BT2 to BT3) and one of the changes is a big improvement on controls. We've decided not to use a pointing device, so the player can control their favorite characters. It's more motion controlled and it helps put the player into the game.

What are some of the new ways you'll use the Wii remote to move and attack? Have any moves/attacks been revised from the last game?

DC: Totally. The attacks in the game have been redrawn to give them more definition and let the player feel as if they were more a part of the action by their movements. The shading has also been dramatically enhanced so that it looks more than ever like the show.

Are there any new attacks being added to the existing characters, and who are the new characters joining the game?

DC: Yes, everyone [has] plenty of new attacks in Tenkaichi 3 and all of them look awesome. We have also given everyone some great new combos for you to master so even the most experienced Tenkaichi player will have some new stuff to sink their teeth into. As for new characters I can tell you a couple but I don't want to ruin the surprise! We've got Babidi as a fighter in this one and he has some pretty cool moves. We've also added Nail to the roster for all you Namekian fans out there.


Visually, one of the most impressive things about the game is how enormous the environments feel. The scope of the Wii version is closer to that of what you'd see in a PS3 or Xbox 360 game, as opposed to the typical Wii game which is on roughly the same level as GameCube. What has it taken to achieve this level of graphical depth, and what can you say about it for our readers who have yet to see the game in action?

DC: Well, I mentioned the new shadowing before, and that has allowed the game much more depth. I can tell readers who haven't seen the game yet to get online and check it out at www.atari.com. The environments were definitely something we wanted to change in this game, and we've done a great job at enhancing them. Additionally, you'll see different lighting based on what environment you're in – day, night, etc.

Only a handful of environments were shown to us at E3. What can you tell us about those that were not in the demo?

DC: I can tell you they rock! But you'll have to get the final game to see them all.

Most everyone knows the DBZ story by now. Are there any new ways that DBZ: BT3 may present the story to make it new again, or perhaps some new side stories that have not been experienced before?

DC: Totally. There have been improvements to the "What if" scenarios and we've added a lot of different elements to story mode that allow changes to the story based on what you do in a fight or the outcome of the fight, etc.


Thus far the focus of my questions has been on the Wii version of the game. But now tell me about the PlayStation 2 version -- what do its players have to look forward to? Any exclusive content?

DC: There will be an entirely unlockable section of BT3 for those who already own BT1 or 2 on PS2. The "bridge" between the two discs will create an element of play for those who are looking for more awesome gameplay options.

If this hasn't already been covered – which game modes (old and new) will be featured in DBZ: BT3?

DC: There are a few different game mode options, most of which I'll let the players discover when they get the game, but a good example is the Battle Mode for the Wii online. It's awesome!

Thank you for your time Donny!