IGN Japan spoke to IGA about Bloodstained passing a million copies sold famitsu.com/news/202006/25…🇯🇵
quick info
that 1m figure does not include copies given to backers
the Switch version exceeded IGA's expectations
the game was most popular in North America, Japan, China & UK; NA traditionally accounted for 50% of IGA's sales but he says they were even higher this time
that 1m figure does not include copies given to backers
the Switch version exceeded IGA's expectations
the game was most popular in North America, Japan, China & UK; NA traditionally accounted for 50% of IGA's sales but he says they were even higher this time
on IGA appearing as a secret boss: one of the overseas staffers on the kickstarter campaign suggested it; he thought it was silly but the KS took off so quickly & required them to add so many stretch goals so quickly that his staff basically pressured him into it
ultimately, he's happy ppl seemed to like it
his one request was that they make him really weak, but they ended up making really strong instead, which he figures is fair enough, seeing as it'd suck to buy a DLC boss only for them to immediately drop dead
his one request was that they make him really weak, but they ended up making really strong instead, which he figures is fair enough, seeing as it'd suck to buy a DLC boss only for them to immediately drop dead
on replacing roguelike mode with the randomizer: procedural maps would have necessitated a major rewrite so they couldn't do it & the randomizer was his compromise; this wasn't a big deal in Japan but caused some fuss in America, and for his own sake they're still looking into it
(that is to say, they're still messing/experimenting with their tech, not necessarily promising or endeavouring to add a full roguelike mode at any point)
on the KS process: one thing that differs compared to standard dev is that you have to propose all your ideas upfront & stick to them without knowing if they'll actually be fun, as opposed to the usual practice of being able to deviate or drop ideas that are going nowhere
the goal with Bloodstained was to give ppl exactly what they expected from him, so he genuinely thinks KS was the best fit for that game; BS was a culmination of all his prior experience & expertise, but he'd like to also make something new & ambitious, less rooted in nostalgia
on next-gen consoles: there was a time when he wished everyone would return to SNES gfx, purely bc so much money & work goes into visuals; otoh, as tech allows for more automation re: visuals & asset creation, this might tip the balance back in favor of interesting game design
oh and he really wants to play the new Horizon
in summation, his goal with BS was to make the game his fans were waiting for & a game newcomers could jump into and immediately find fun without feeling punitive or dated, and that's largely the response he got
in summation, his goal with BS was to make the game his fans were waiting for & a game newcomers could jump into and immediately find fun without feeling punitive or dated, and that's largely the response he got
there's more in there about the specifics of the upcoming updates, what he wants to do with his company, etc that I skimmed over, I'm sure someone else will get to it all eventually
