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Famitsu Interview with Masuda and Ohmori

Mitchman

Simpler times ahead
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Pokemon Sun/Moon devs on gameplay changes / improvements, setting, Battle Royal, Pokemon GO, more - Nintendo Everything
First interview with Ohmori and Masuda is translated. Nothing new really and its more of a non-statement interview as its mostly PR speak for whatever we have seen but there are lots of small tidbits that are interesting. For those of you who don't have enough time to read it all:
-Ohmori was made director after ORAS, game has been in development since late 2014.
-Line of Sight visual cue is because the gridless overworld allows for free form trainer positioning and is there as an aid to hamper confusion.
-Game Tempo has been heavily worked on.
-Inexpicably SM have no grid because despite being on the 3DS there are no technical restraints this time.(But for XYORAS 3 years ago there were because who the fuck knows with Gamefreak)
-Ambient overowld sounds much like HGSS return, and the world in general feels more alive then before.
-Solgaleo and Lunaala govern over the life energy of Nature.
-Although there aren't a lot of design lines they want to make the new Pokemon look alive.
-RotomDex was a Masuda bred idea and was hectic for Ohmori to implement. Basis for including it was the idea of"it would be cool for us to have a Pokedex talking and guiding us through the game".
-Zygarde's additonal formes were recieved with some form of reception, not exactly good or bad.
-The new engine and the realstic poportions are there to convey the story in a natural way.



Basically they are trying their damnest to make a good story and region, or have some cohesiveness betwren the two at the very least, and we should expect about as many new Pokemon as Kalos debuted if that design line quote means what it means.
Edit: As someone who mostly plays the games for the single player portion, this is deeply satisfying as the focus on the story seems to be in the forefront this time. Combined with what we have seen so far, I am confident in saying that we might be looking at one of the best single player campaigns that Gamefreak has delivered and they are finally doing something to make the games more worthwhile then ever. Not saying their previous efforts are bad, but there was always the word "lacking" ever present in my vocabulary when it comes to describing the experience of exploring the region. I think for once that word won't be there.
 
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^Unfortunate that we may be getting Kalos-level numbers of Pokémon, but I'm loving the HGSS sound effects returning. That was such an immersive feature that has needed to come back since forever (and I didn't even like HeartGold that much).
 
Ambient overowld sounds much like HGSS return, and the world in general feels more alive then before.

*drool*

and we should expect about as many new Pokemon as Kalos debuted if that design line quote means what it means.

This is fine by me. I know it's an unpopular stance, but I like that we are getting smaller waves of new Pokémon.

Not saying their previous efforts are bad, but there was always the word "lacking" ever present in my vocabulary when it comes to describing the experience of exploring the region. I think for once that word won't be there.

I have to disagree here; there are few Pokémon games that feel "lacking" to me in any particular way. There is no flawless game (and I doubt that these will be), but that's fine. Flaws are natural. I just don't think "lacking" is the word I would use. But to each their own. :D
 
Even though there are not too many design lines, they think they could generate interest and charm as a living creature with such movements.
How about giving that same treatment to old Pokemon? Maybe that entire quote is just a reference to "Pokemon with expressive movements", which might not even extend to all the new ones. They just reference Rowlet, after all.
 
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Doesn't the design line mean the... lines on the actual design and not number of new Pokemon? He talks about how Rowlet doesn't have much detail but its animations and movements were the focus. Basically lines = details. But I'm not fussed if it does mean smaller number of new mons, I'm a very vocal fan of the Kalos approach.

Also I split this off from the other thread, there's enough in the interview where its own thread is worth it.

Also rofl at Masuda admitting that Zygarde 50% is a well thought out design but then said they reacted with "surprise" when seeing the forms, and doesn't say the same as he did about 50%. It comes across as pretty obvious even he thinks the forms aren't very good xD
 
Although there aren't a lot of design lines they want to make the new Pokemon look alive.(Basically go back and restock your KalosDex bunkers)
And now I'm even more worried. Not only do we still have the possibility of no gyms, but its basically confirmed now we're gonna have a very small amount of new Pokemon and a large amount of the Alola Dex will be revealed before the games come out.
 
@Lion-Cub This is the full quote, Mitchman is just fear mongering and the context of that line has nothing to do with total new Pokemon number and everything to do with the designs

– They want players to understand a Pokemon by observing their movements in game footage. For example, (the grass starter) Rowlet may have a simple design in its still images, but it can do things like tilting its neck, or its body thinning down when fainting. Even though there are not too many design lines, they think they could generate interest and charm as a living creature with such movements.

Basically less design lines = less detailed designs, NOT less design lines = less new Pokemon
 
The juxtaposition between @Mitchman 's interpretation of the article and the actual article is pretty funny.

-RotomDex was a Masuda bred idea and was hectic for Ohmori to implement. Basis for including it was the idea of"it would be cool for us to jave a Pokedex talking and guiding us throigh the game".
I know its fun to make fun of Masuda but the article in no way indicates that it was a "Masuda bred idea". It simply states that Masuda wanted the feature included, not that he developed it. Someone else could have made it and Masuda backed it.
 
I wasn't making fun of Masuda, I genuiely love the idea that the RotomDex exists and I would never have thought of the idea as something I desperately need.

As for the design lines, yeah that sounds more in line with the interview. This actually goes back to Sugimori's quote on reverting to simplicity, if you think about it. Less lines and intricate designs, more natural, one whole look akin to gen 1.


I'm gonna remove my comments as tbis is now a thread as to not invite any unwanted discussions.
 
Hmm, this is an interesting interview.

The bit about Solgaleo & Lunala governing energy is interesting, as that was a heavy focus through-out Gen VI. Energy from the sun & moon could well be a theme here.

What do they mean by ambient overworld sounds? Is that the soundtrack, or...?

also, lol @ mixed receptions about the Zygarde forms.
 
@Lion-Cub This is the full quote, Mitchman is just fear mongering and the context of that line has nothing to do with total new Pokemon number and everything to do with the designs



Basically less design lines = less detailed designs, NOT less design lines = less new Pokemon

Thought that would be the case. It sounded very suspicious with the way it was worded.

It wouldn't make any sense for us to have a Kalos amount of new Pokemon and yet they just announced 14 new Pokemon in one month. It just doesn't mesh well with how they've been promoting these new Pokemon. I don't think they revealed so many Pokemon in such a short space of time in the lead up to X & Y.

Whether we get over 100 is one thing (I think we will) but I definitely think we'll be getting at the very very least 80+ at this stage.
 
I wouldn't say GenI pokemons looks "simple". In fact by illustration perspective, GenI pokemons were the ones having the most design line aka most detailed designs. Many of the pokemons looks more akin to its Real-Life origins, and if one need to draw only the line art, GenI pokemons were in fact the most time-consuming ones (Speak from experience).

I do see now what it means by "simplicity" for GenVII pokemon's design. Not that it is bad or anything, rather I see it is certainly a favourable design to kiddies and young children. But personally speaking, I rather prefers that kind of "simplicity" in GenI pokemon's design. Not exactly simple in the line art, but unsophisticated in the design itself.
 
Hmm, this is an interesting interview.

The bit about Solgaleo & Lunala governing energy is interesting, as that was a heavy focus through-out Gen VI. Energy from the sun & moon could well be a theme here.

What do they mean by ambient overworld sounds? Is that the soundtrack, or...?

also, lol @ mixed receptions about the Zygarde forms.
You can hear the ocean when next to it, as the example give in the interview. If that extends to ground differences, lava bubbling in the background, or water droplets in a cave remain to be seen, or rather yet heard.
 
I still don't really get why people dislike Masuda, he seems pretty inoffensive.

How about giving that same treatment to old Pokemon? Maybe that entire quote is just a reference to "Pokemon with expressive movements", which might not even extend to all the new ones. They just reference Rowlet, after all.

True, playing through XY I realized the New Pokemon have some of the best animations that really liven them up---most of them almost aren't given justice when seen in the still official art, but the older Pokemon definitely seemed a bit cheaper looking. Like for example right now I'm using a Pancham and a Mankey in a Fighting-type playthrough of Y, when Pancham attacks he jumps cutely in the air but Mankey basically just shakes. It's rather noticeable. The one Pokemon from the older set that seemed to get a lot of love, and you'll like this, are the Unown with all of them having rather unique animations despite being virtually absent from the game which makes me wonder if at one point they were going to play a role in Kalos.

I can't see this changing in Sun and Moon, and I imagine the New Pokemon will be full of life while it seems the older ones are pretty much just re-using the models from XY. On one hand that's not exactly the worst thing ever, that's time that hopefully went to use on other issues that are more important to the overall experience, but I can see why you'd not like that.
 
The one Pokemon from the older set that seemed to get a lot of love, and you'll like this, are the Unown with all of them having rather unique animations despite being virtually absent from the game which makes me wonder if at one point they were going to play a role in Kalos.
Interesting. Are there any others with unique animations?
 
Well by "unique" I meant Game Freak took the time to give every Unown variant its own default animation (and cute ones too!) instead of just having them all floating generically...probably not too hard given their simple designs, but I thought it was interesting since you never encounter them at all in XY. I might be looking too hard into that.
 
I like the most from this the overworld sounds returning~ It always made it feel like a more realistic experience that way~ Here's to hoping there may also be other similare effects added back, such as the mechanics of different Pokemon appearing more often during morning, day, and night, as well
 
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