Gundam is not any stranger to video video games, however the varied items of the franchise have by no means began out with one. That’s all about to change with Gundam: Rogue Orbit. Following its reveal at Summer season Video games Fest, I spoke with principal producer Yuya Tomiyama and chief producer Shinya Satake about beginning a new period of Gundam as a online game first, what they’re hoping to accomplish with it, and the way Rogue Orbit differs from what’s come earlier than. This interview has been edited for readability and size.
IGN: Rogue Orbit is the first time y’all are launching a new Gundam factor by way of a sport. A lot of individuals know what a Gundam is, however they could not be acquainted with Gundam as a franchise or any specific sequence. What have been the issues that you just knew you wanted to have to make Gundam Gundam in Rogue Orbit?
Yuya Tomiyama: There are many totally different Gundam universes on the market, however Rogue Orbit is the first time we have launched a new world by way of a online game. And due to this, we created the worldview with being a online game in thoughts. We needed to ensure that the gamers actually felt the expertise of what it actually felt like to be a Gundam pilot to be [at] the forefront of their expertise with this online game.
IGN: I do know you in all probability can’t go into a large amount of element this early, however what’s being a Gundam pilot going to be like for gamers in Rogue Orbit? I believe a lot of individuals have a look at Gundam and so they’re like “Oh, actually cool robotic,” however what’s it about that have of being a pilot that you really want to talk to gamers?
Yuya Tomiyama: So the info that we have proven up to now is admittedly just one a part of the sport, however we actually needed to focus on the expertise of what it actually is to turn into the pilot of the Gundam and we needed to do this by actually, actually focusing on the proven fact that it’s an motion sport. We needed to ensure that the sport’s actions felt actually good to play and thru that we wish customers, as a result of they really feel it, we wish customers to really feel the expertise of, really really feel that they are really controlling every of the Cell Go well with’s actions.
IGN: I believe most people who find themselves acquainted with Gundam are used to seeing Gundams battle different Gundams or different Cell Fits. However in the trailer, we see our Gundam battling monsters. We do not actually know the story right here. Might you speak about designing a sport round these enemies and what we are able to count on once we’re preventing them?
Yuya Tomiyama: So for this sport, we actually needed to deliver Gundam to followers throughout the world and this was like a kind of new enterprise for us as a firm. As a firm as a entire, we needed to come collectively and produce this expertise to customers. And as for the enemies, you could have seen in the trailer, the Gundam’s weapon, the bodily retailer could be very giant and we needed to focus on the kind of satisfying feeling of utilizing these sorts of weapons and the enemies have been actually designed with that in thoughts. How can we maximize that feeling for the customers? And that was kind of what we have been fascinated about once we created these enemies.
IGN: Clearly individuals affiliate Gundam with cool robots, however the franchise normally has a deep emotional core to it, too, and the tales usually deal with advanced material. It will be a lot of individuals’s first publicity to Gundam. How are you bringing that legacy of the IP into the sport?
Yuya Tomiyama: So for this trailer we have been in a position to present a lot of the motion and the battles, however there’s undoubtedly a lot of characters and a lot of characters that we have not actually revealed but. The human drama between them is unquestionably going to be a point of interest of this online game and we hope that in the upcoming months we are able to undoubtedly present extra of this emotion by way of our trailers and different issues we’ll be revealing.
Shinya Satake: This sport setting primarily revolves round the battle between people and these unknown adversaries, which places the kind of like world as a very, very tense scenario and simply kind of testing the limits of humanity and Sofia, RE-X, and the different characters that we’ll be displaying are going to be making a lot of like very troublesome choices on this harsh world. We hope that that may be the feelings of the Gundam universe that we’ll deliver to this sport.
IGN: You guys have talked about bringing the IP by way of the West. For a lot of followers, that is going to be their first expertise with it. Did beginning a sport drive you to take into consideration what the core components of Gundam are? Was there something that you just have been like, “Oh, possibly we must always reexamine this as a result of we’re ranging from a totally different place or we’re reaching out to individuals who possibly have not performed or seen or simply skilled Gundam?” Did you have got to take into consideration what made the core of Gundam work?
Yuya Tomiyama: We weren’t actually considering an excessive amount of of the Gandham legacy as a entire once we have been creating this sport. We actually needed to focus on creating a superb motion sport with the photorealistic graphics that haven’t been in lots of Gundam video games and the way to make the Gundam actually interesting in this sort of photorealistic setting. Whether or not it be the design or the motion or the battle, we simply actually needed to ensure that that was the point of interest of what the customers felt.
IGN: On the topic of photorealism: Gundam is so closely stylized and I believe many individuals affiliate it with that type of feel and look. Had been there any challenges with making a Gundam sport that appears photorealistic whereas capturing the really feel of that artwork? How did you method doing that and ensuring that it felt like Gundam?
Yuya Tomiyama: This sport was developed by Bandai Namco Studios, which has a lot of expertise with a lot of Gundam video games and robotic video games normally and we have been in a position to draw on that have to kind of deliver it all collectively and the Helix to kind of deliver that Gundam on this photorealistic world. The Helix design was additionally created by the artists at Bandai Namco Studios… in order that they know what makes every design interesting. So that they have been in a position to draw upon that to kind of create a Gundam that will actually really feel interesting, actually really feel alive on this photorealistic world and that additionally has to do with the actions as a result of they have been creating these kinds of motions for Cell Fits for years. So that they have been in a position to kind of draw on that motion and produce it collectively all as a entire to deliver Gundam to the worldwide followers.
IGN: If you happen to have been in a position to inform individuals who had by no means performed a Gundam sport or gotten into Gundam earlier than and say “That is what Gundam is, ” what would you inform them?
Yuya Tomiyama: So to deliver Gundam to followers in the type of a online game, it’s a very new endeavor for us and it’s a very difficult expertise, however we actually needed to emphasize that the Gundam is a very distinctive and particular existence as a Cell Go well with in the world and we additionally needed to ensure that the human drama between the characters was introduced to the forefront.
Shinya Satake: Gundam is a franchise and IP that has been very beloved all through historical past, however certainly one of the issues that basically makes it distinctive is that there are a lot of totally different themes in every of the totally different iterations of Gundam and each could be very distinctive and to deliver this to a new world by way of Gundam is simply one other certainly one of the ways in which we’re simply kind of bringing Gundam to followers in a distinctive approach and simply bringing new distinctive themes in Gundam to be followers.
IGN: You’ve got talked about people preventing in opposition to this unknown enemy and the energy of the human spirit, however what would you say are a few of the themes that y’all try to seize right here? As you stated, Gundam has been so broad and so huge and coated a lot storytelling, and it’s gone in so many various instructions. What do you suppose thematically is what defines Rogue Orbit?
Yuya Tomiyama: The enchantment or the theme that we actually need to deliver is turning into the pilot, actually feeling the expertise of turning into a Gundam pilot and we’ll hopefully be in a position to higher convey this with extra new information… however there’s a lot of options in the sport that basically assist the participant really feel as if they’re piloting the Gundam. And particularly in battle, we actually needed to create the tense feeling of being in a life or loss of life scenario in the cockpit, however at the identical time, we actually needed customers to… really feel that they are like controlling each single movement of the Cell Go well with, that they are in a position to kind of use the Cell Go well with as an extension of themselves and never really feel confused and ensure that they’re really in a position to actually really feel that they are accountable for the Helix.
Shinya Satake: One other factor about Rogue Orbit is that this universe and this entire [world] was created to be a online game… which actually brings kind of a distinctive view of how customers work together with the world.
IGN: Can I ask a very foolish query? Can I ask about Vii? I want to know extra about this character, please. Please give me all the info that you could as a result of I simply have a look at it and I am like, “I would like it to be my pal.”
Yuya Tomiyama: In order a sport, that is a model new worldview, model new universe. So this haro goes to be a little totally different from the haros that you have kind of identified and interacted with all through Gundam’s historical past. One factor we are able to actually say about this character, it’s an precise character that may be part of you on your battles and launch with you in the Gundam… We actually needed this haro to really feel like it’s your associate that is coming alongside with you and there is going to be some extra drama between the principal character and the Hara too as effectively. So we hope you are trying ahead to that.
IGN: Let’s speak about RE-X. Is he going to be extra of a outlined character? Is he a little bit extra avatar-y? Are we allowed to outline who or is he very a lot his personal person who we’re simply type of controlling?
Yuya Tomiyama: Rex is unquestionably a character. He is an unbiased character that interacts in the world, however we needed to ensure that gamers have been in a position to kind of really feel as if they’d turn into him by way of the gameplay. That the gameplay will kind of permit customers to actually really feel that they’re the pilot of the Gundam, that they’re Rex and that they are in a position to management the Cell Go well with.
IGN: Nicely, now I’ve hit on two out of three, so I’ve to ask about Sofia. It looks as if in the trailer, and you’ve got talked about it, as effectively, that she’s type of mysterious, and possibly she and RE-X do not know one another initially. Might you speak a little bit about their relationship and provides us a little thought of what to count on?
Yuya Tomiyama: Sadly, we aren’t in a position to provide too many specifics about the plot proper now, however the trailer’s narration is Sofia and so all of these phrases are spoken by her. As it’s additionally proven in the trailer, she’s watching over what RE-X is doing, so hopefully in the coming trailers and coming info will shed extra gentle on their relationship.
IGN: Is there something that the crew could be very happy with that you just really feel is core to the sport that gamers could not instantly discover from the trailer or from what you’ve got revealed up to now? Is there something that you just really feel is core to what Rogue Orbit is that may be possibly a little hidden, or possibly indirectly apparent?
Yuya Tomiyama: So one factor that the crew could be very happy with, particularly that you could see in the trailer, is the motions of the Gundam Helix. That was one thing that the crew put a lot of effort into making and so they’re very glad with the finish outcome. And one other factor when it comes to the online game, the battles’ enchantment and the way it feels to actually be in the inbound and be controlling the Cell Go well with is certainly one of the large options that the crew could be very happy with and that it’s nonetheless being brushed up, and it’s nonetheless being improved every single day. So we’re hoping the crew is admittedly hoping to deliver that to followers.
Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. Yow will discover him on Bluesky @edgarallanbro.