Cyberbots – 1998 Developer Interview
This Cyberbots interview originally appeared in the 10/98 issue of Gamejin magazine. It was part of a "mecha themed" series of interviews conducted by manga artist and self-avowed mech lover Kousuke Fujishima. As such, the conversation with producer Takashi Shouno and graphics lead Katsuhiro Nakano is mainly focused on the character and mecha design, though aspects of the gameplay are discussed too.
Kosuke Fujishima - Manga artist. Currently serializing "Ah! My Goddess" in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon. A true lover of game mecha, he scrambled to pre-order the "Super Limited Edition" of Cyberbots on the Sega Saturn.
Takashi Shouno - Capcom Development Dept. 1. Producer. His ultimate dream is to commute to work in a Sea Harrier (he's serious).
Katsuhiro Nakano - Capcom Development Dept. 1. Graphics Lead. A "nice guy" who's devoted his life to creating the strongest mecha possible.
—Fujishima, what do you like so much about the mecha in Cyberbots?
Fujishima: Their extremity. (laughs)
Shouno: Hahaha! That's true. This is definitely an "extreme" game.
Fujishima: Exactly. But that's what's great about it. When you get hit by some totally annoying move, it makes you want to try it out yourself. That sense of exhilaration is the real charm. I also love the fact that there's all these different moves, but you only need a few buttons to pull them off.
Shouno: We didn't actually think about that balance too much. (laughs) However, regarding the special moves, we did design them with the "attacker" in mind. Nobody likes being on the receiving end, but it feels great to be the one dishing it out! We really leaned into making the offensive side feel as rewarding as possible.
Fujishima: I use Super-8, and that thing is incredibly strong. Even though its legs have no damage hitbox, they have an active attack hitbox!
Shouno: Uh oh… you caught us. (laughs)
Fujishima: Well, part of the reason I use Super-8 is that I really like Princess Devilotte as a character.
Shouno: Actually, when the character design for Devilotte was first revealed, we were at a loss. Originally, our world-building for Cyberbots was very realistic. Then Devilotte showed up… but the designer, Kinu Nishimura, was so fired up about her. She was like, "This is how she has to be!" (laughs) So after consulting with the story writers, we finally settled on the version you see now.
Fujishima: Of all the characters, Devilotte definitely stands out the most.
Shouno: She does. Now, I'm really glad we included her, but we agonized over her during the early planning stages.
Fujishima: On the contrary, don't you think Devilotte's inclusion makes the realistic world-building stand out in greater relief?
Shouno: You might be right. It gained more breadth, I feel.
Fujishima: I think the satisfaction of using Super-8 comes from Devilotte herself. You think, "Since she's a villain, it's okay to do villainous things." Or to put it another way… "I'm gonna be even more of a jerk!" (laughs)
Shouno: She also gave us an opportunity to create some ultra flashy, crazy moves. They makes sense because it's Devilotte. (laughs)
Nakano: I was in charge of Reptos, and the guy in charge of Fordy was sitting right behind me. He'd come over and brag, "Look at this powerful move I made!" I'd think, "I can't lose to that," and then I'd make an even stronger, more "evil" move. (laughs) It just kept escalating like that.
Shouno: It was a nightmare for the planners. Everyone was trying to make their own character the strongest, so the planning side had a hell of a time trying to balance and wrap everything up.
Fujishima: Wahahaha! (bursts out laughing) I had no idea you were all so selfish! So that's why the special moves are so over-the-top.
Nakano: Toward the end, everyone started getting carried away. We'd look at things and say, "This doesn't have enough impact," and just keep making them flashier. (laughs)
Fujishima: I love how the mechs' limbs can get torn off.
Nakano: The programmers actually went rogue and did that on their own. (laughs) Since the mechs are composed of separate parts, they were able to make it happen.
Kyono: Usually, when Capcom makes a fighting game, we establish a strictly defined setting and world first, but Cyberbots proceeded from the characters. It's very rare for a Capcom game to be completed this way. (laughs)
—The mecha spec designs are very well-crafted, too.
Fujishima: They are. I bought the setting materials book and looked through it. The level of detail is amazing.
Shouno: We had the character designers dream that up, but it turns out a lot of people at Capcom want to design that kind of stuff. They'd have these flashes of insight while they were working about how the internal structure of the mechas should look based on their movements. Everyone was very encouraging, it was like "write that down! write that down!"
Nakano: It's all pretty ridiculous though. (laughs)
Fujishima: But Cyberbots as a whole feels "broken" in a fun way. (laughs) Even with the weapons—no matter how much you shoot, more drills just keep growing out.
Shouno: It's full of nonsense. (laughs) But hey, it's a game, so… (laughs)
Nakano: For some reason, there are a lot of drill lovers on our dev team. The weapons are nothing but drills. (laughs)
—Now that you mention it, there are a lot of drill mechs.
Shouno: It's like, "If you're stuck, just stick a drill on it." That's how much the staff loves them.
Fujishima: Drills are just pure fun. It was the same when we talked about Virtual On last time, (laughs) but a drill really is a boyhood essential! Oh, and speaking of special moves, Cyberbots also had that ultimate "manly" move, the Rocket Punch!
Shouno: Ah, the B. Riot. That one is pretty ridiculous too. (laughs)
Fujishima: That asymmetrical design is so cool. It reminds me of a fiddler crab; the way it's unbalanced really emphasizes a sense of raw power.
Kyono: That's right. Sometimes insects or animals serve as motifs, and other times it's industrial machinery. We really draw a lot from that gritty, mechanical aesthetic.
Fujishima: Exactly. Aside from the military, those excavator-type industrial machines are the strongest things out there. (laughs) They've got the treads, those incredibly rugged, powerful-looking claws… I honestly think they're the ultimate machines. I want one for my own backyard.
Nakano: Ah, I knew you'd say that! I know exactly what you mean. You just need one. It's a bit of a letdown that they only have the one arm, though.
Fujishima: Yes! If it had two, it would be perfect. You could just go at things with both arms! (laughs)
Shouno: And one side would have a giant claw.
Fujishima: Man, I'd buy that in a heartbeat. (bursts out laughing)
Nakano: I'd take out a loan to buy one too. (bursts out laughing) I keep wondering if the company would buy one as "reference material" on the corporate tab.
—Um, that's probably impossible... (laughs)
Fujishima: To change the subject a bit: are those drills, tank treads, and rocket punches influenced by anime?
Shouno: I think that's definitely the case. Both we and the rest of the staff grew up watching TV anime, so we're inevitably influenced by it. I'm sure it's the same for the players.
Fujishima: Right. Everyone wants to pilot a giant robot like a Gundam.
—Compared to fighting games with human characters, what were the difficulties of making a robot fighting game?
Shouno: The biggest challenge was the sense of weight. Since robots are made of metal, if you don't make them feel heavy, they won't feel real. However, if you make the movements too sluggish, the controls feel bad and it stresses the player out. Finding that balance was difficult.
Fujishima: Isn't the sound important too? The sound of a drill piercing or a punch landing… since they aren't human, the sounds are much more dramatic--a symphony of "clanks" and "whirrrs."
Shouno: You're exactly right. In the development stages, before the sound was added, the mechs didn't really feel like robots. It felt like something was missing, and it didn't quite feel like a robot fighting game. But once we added the sound effects, it improved dramatically. We were very particular about the sound effects and did many retakes.
Nakano: If you try playing with the TV muted, the impression changes completely. It feels kind of pathetic.
Fujishima: It's that feeling of "metal clashing against metal" that makes it work. You'd never hear sounds like that in a human fight. (laughs)
Shouno: I know. If a human made those sounds, that would mean they weren't a human. Since we aimed for "robot combat" from the start, we were very particular about the movements and attacks. We approached it by asking what a robot would specifically do, which is why so many of the attacks are things only a machine could pull off.
Fujishima: Like burrowing underground with a drill. (laughs)
Nakano: Or having an axe come out of your head. (laughs)
Shouno: Or your entire body becoming a drill. (laughs)
—That really is the hallmark of robot fighting. By the way, there's a rumor that a new robot combat action game is coming out...
Fujishima: That's quite a lead-in.
Shouno: We have a promotional video here, so first let's take a look. (laughs)
(watching the video)
Fujishima: Whoa! This is amazing! So cool!! Oh, the logo is cool too! And the logo changes for each robot! That's awesome.
Shouno: Thank you. It's for the arcades, and we're looking at a late September debut. Since it's in 3D, I think it'll offer a different kind of fun compared to Cyberbots.
—The official title is "Choukou Senki Kikaioh" (Tech Romancer), right? I see quite a few people from the anime industry on the staff.
Shouno: We've got Shoji Kawamori and Kazutaka Miyatake from Studio Nue on board, along with a huge cast of voice actors. I think it's going to be irresistible for the "robot generation."
Fujishima: And the pilots actually shout out their special moves! Between that and the 3D polygons, I've got a feeling this is going to be a very "hot" game.
Shouno: It's a wild world that includes everything from Super Robots to Real Robots, plus transformations and combinations! Please look forward to it.
Fujishima: Wait, there's combining too?!
—This is definitely one to watch!!
Fujishima: Man, this is starting to feel like a commercial. (laughs)
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