The 40th anniversary of Mega Man is just around the corner, celebrating four decades of one of gaming’s most enduring icons. After going hands-on with both Mega Man and Proto Man in the upcoming mainline game Mega Man: Dual Override, IGN had the chance to sit down and chat with the design team.
With the help of an interpreter, I was able to ask Director Shinya Ikuta, Producer Hiroyuki Minamitani, Art Director Yuji Ishihara, and Art Director Shinsuke Komaki, a wide range of questions, from design inspirations for Twinkle Girl, what makes Proto Man and Mega Man different, whether or not we will ever get a Mega Man dating sim, and more. Read on to find the answer to that and other burning questions.
Note that as this was a group interview through a single interpreter, with multiple people contributing, answers will be attributed to the full group, as Capcom.
IGN: This is a big anniversary for Mega Man, and you’ve said the design of this game is meant to celebrate this. Can you tell me a bit about how that anniversary impacts the development goals of this game?
Capcom: Yes, next year is the big 40th anniversary of the Mega Man series. We had decided early on we would be releasing a new game to celebrate this. It’s a celebration of the entire series. There was a lot of discussion across the team about what are elements and things that people would enjoy seeing in a new Mega Man game. It’s safe to say it influenced and inspired the development of Mega Man: Dual Override.
IGN: You said recently that even though this is a mainline game, the number was dropped from the title so as not to intimate newcomers. From a game development standpoint, how do you balance creating a game that is welcoming to newcomers, with creating a game that has the difficulty that experienced players are accustomed to and expect?
Capcom: It’s important for us to be welcoming to players who have never played a Mega Man game. That’s why we’ve incorporated new elements like the custom chip system, and the fact that each stage is broken into three areas. You may have noticed the areas get more difficult over time. That is very much intentional. We wanted to make the earlier areas a little more friendly so that it gradually gets more difficult, but also so that players can collect chips by completing the areas.
In the final version of the game, completing areas gets you chips, which you can use to customize your characters, and that will hopefully help elevate your gameplay, and enable you to overcome challenges that you might normally have a difficult time with. You can also go to a completely different robot masters stage, complete the first [easier] area, collect chips, then go back to an area that you are having trouble with.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/mega-man-dual-override-developers-dish-on-designing-for-new-and-old-players-alike
