To commemorate Mega Man 11's one-month anniversary, I had the chance to ask the game's producer, Kazuhiro Tsuchiya, a few of your burning questions. It's short, sweet and I couldn't be more thankful for the opportunity.
Before you read ahead, do note that at least one question contains spoilers. Steer clear if you haven't beaten the game!
Q1: Now that Mega Man 11 is in the hands of players all over the world, are you pleased by the response? It seems that even people who weren't previously familiar with Mega Man are enjoying the game as well!.
A1: The response from Mega Man fans is overwhelmingly encouraging, and the Mega Man 11 development team greatly appreciates the support and feedback. There are many new Mega Man fans as a result of MM11, and we look forward to these players joining long-time series fans to create an even stronger and more supportive community.
Q2: It's been eight years between Mega Man 10 and Mega Man 11. Was there a lot of pressure riding on the development team to meet the expectations of fans?
A2: Of course, one of the development team’s primary goals was to meet fans’ expectations. That said, the pressure didn’t necessarily come from others; each member of the development team made it their own personal goal to create a memorable game, which I think helped everyone work very well together.
Q3: Could you talk a little about why some of the more popular side characters, like Proto Man and Bass, weren't part of Mega Man 11's story?
A3: What we struggled with the most was how to develop a clear and engaging story that builds upon the previous installments while appealing to a wide range of players; new players picking up a Mega Man game for the first time, those who may have forgotten the series’ backstory, and the hardcore fans who remember the events of MM9 and MM10 as though they happened yesterday. After the long gap between MM10 and MM11, we decided to focus on sharing an untold story that touches on the past of Dr. Light and Dr. Wily.
Q4: Are there any plans to expand on Mega Man 11? Can fans expect to see downloadable content in the future? Many fans overseas are already hungry for more!
A4: Unfortunately, we can’t make any promises at this time. We’d love for even more players to give MM11 a try and get excited about the game.
Q5: I think it's safe to say that everyone that has played the game REALLY love the Robot Masters. They're all so unique from one another. Out of all eight, who is your favorite?
A5: Each of the Robot Masters has their fans within the MM11 development team. Personally, I’m quite fond of Tundra Man because he’s designed in a way that makes skillful use of the classic Mega Man design method, and maintains that retro feel while showing off a modern design.
And there you have it. Question 3 and question 4 will no doubt be a hot topic; I know many of you were waiting for that answer. If we really want to pick apart Tsuchiya's comment, I suppose Mega Man 11 will need additional support from players to warrant future DLC. We'll see what happens.
In any case, I'd like to thank Tsuchiya-san for taking his time out to answer these questions and our friends at Capcom USA for setting all this up! It was a pleasure. I'll see if I can fire more questions at him - and maybe Oda-san - in the near future.
Those are really lame excuses. I really want some dlc. I guess they are holding it hostage and don't want money? Okay then.
ReplyDeleteRelax.
DeleteI hate to tell you this, but it's probably not HIS decision. HIS BOSSES are mostly likely telling him not to start with any DLC until sales tick up some more.
DeleteOf course. Also, I'm not trying to bag on the director, he is only allowed to say ertain canned responses if wants to stay employed. That doesn't mean I have to like it.
DeleteIt's great he was willing to partake in this interview. But that comment on DLC leaves me a little worried, not going to lie. If the game was doing strongly, I'd expect a more optimistic response. It just strikes me as PR-speak for "The game's doing okay, but the well isn't deep enough to provide the bucketfuls of cash CAPCOM wants to fetch". Since CAPCOM definitely is not the sort of company that will only put out DLC if there's fan demand, given the amount they've pumped into projects that mostly elicited groans (*cough* MvC Infinite *cough*).
ReplyDeletein the end I'm just glad that 11 even happened
ReplyDeleteA little disappointed with most of the questions, you look like an average journalist and not the premier mega man blogger, the DLC question is fine and welcome but fans are concerned about the sales, if the music dlc is going to be on sale someday and other topics, even the stupid concern about the doors, like arrow says, you have failed this city. Sorry if I sound harsh but it's my opinion.
ReplyDeleteFYI several topics we're off limits/he couldn't answer. Thanks for the comment.
DeleteALSO, Tsuchiya_san's time is limited. We're fortunate he answered these are all.
DeleteSo they let you ask if there is plans for DLC but you couldn't ask if the music DLC is going to be available?, something that is a concern of the community. Put this message on twitter too, this way your mob can lynch me for being critical.
DeleteWhy are you being rude? He told you some topics are off limit which usually means they have something in the works.
DeleteJapanese game companies tend to be secretive about stuff like this so its expected he couldnt confirm some stuff due to nda etc.
How about for being disrespectul and malicious?
DeleteOP is having a temper tantrum. Did someone step on his cat or something?
DeleteBig difference between being critical or constructive and just being an ass.
DeleteDisappointing news. Mega Man 11 is very short and needs more DLC. I won't look foward to a future game if this keeps up.
ReplyDeleteI agree, it's sort of ironic, MM11 isn't selling that great partly because it's a bare bones game, and won't get DLC because its bare-bones nature is stifling sales, meaning sales will continue to not be great.
DeleteIt probably would have sold more copies if it were a full game at $60, instead of a half game at $30.
Seems you missed all of the challenges.
DeleteSo what. Its great game just like 1-6. Perfect! Since you don't like it because of short game then I am sorry to hear that. Can't wait for more sequels. That's fine. Its short game just like Megaman 1-6
DeleteProtoman has been in every MegaMan game since 3. For argument sake, I wonder what it would be like if Dr. Light put the double gear system in him. That is my first idea for DLC. The second idea would be Wily put it into Bass, only for Bass to use it against Wily. As more ideas come to mind, I will return to this forum.
ReplyDeleteHmmm.
ReplyDelete```we look forward to these (new) players joining long-time series fans to create an even stronger and more supportive community.```
```Unfortunately, we can’t make any (DLC) promises at this time. We’d love for even more players to give MM11 a try and get excited about the game.```
I don't know about you guys, but these two quotes have me worried. R
Like, really freaking worried. I may be reading too deep into the words, but it really does sound like the game hasn't sold as much as CAPCOM wanted it to. "Looking forward to a more supportive community" is usually not something you say when you're happy with a game's reception.
We may get another shot at this somewhere down the line, maybe in the form of MM12 or perhaps X9, but if those bomb too... we might as well kiss the series goodbye once again.
Petition Pewdiepie to stream it, even if he refuses and just bashes the game, the exposure will likely move a few copies, worth the risk at this point.
DeleteWell... at this point, I'm just banking on someone speedrunning it in AGDQ 2019/SGDQ 2019. That *might* end up creating more traction for sales.
DeleteI hate how it's like the entire MM series is on a tightrope right now, but I guess **** like this always happens when big companies call the shots. Blehh.
@Jack Kilby: Is Fruity Pie actually still relevant? I thought he would have died off as a failed fad by now.
DeleteNo, I just want them to focus on the next sequel -- Rockman 12. No DLC is needed, really.
ReplyDeleteI'm so sick of this crap. Like I said before, I just hate how every damn time the series returns after a hiatus, they always have to unnecessarily exclude something. There's absolutely no reason why Proto Man and Bass couldn't have been included in this game in some way, shape, or form. Especially since they didn't provide an explanation of any kind as to why they weren't present. As half-assed as that Bass cameo was in Mega Man 9, at least it was something. To me, leaving out prominent characters like those two would have been like excluding Tails and Knuckles from Sonic Mania.
ReplyDeleteKrazy Monkey gets it about the characters. Consider if Sonic Mania came out and it was every bit as upgraded and polished as Mania is, but it's basically Sonic 1, without Tails, or Knuckles for that matter.
ReplyDeleteFor Q3, the backstory about Light and Wily is neat, but ultimately nothing was progressed in any significant way with the "story" thus far. I don't know about you, but I do want more meaningful plot to push the series forward. From a marketing standpoint, it's easy to the "robot master of the week" formula, but that risks running it into the ground. Really felt like the ending of MM10 was going somewhere.
The way I see it, the whole point of MM11 was to establish the canon for the double gear system, so that the mechanic can be used in all subsequent Classic series games without having to explain it every time.
DeleteMM12 is where a new, multi-game plotline can start. If 12 ever even happens, that is.
If I'm honest, I think the double gear system kinda cheapens the Mega Man experience a bit. I pretty much never used the Power Gear, and maybe Speed Gear once or twice just to get my bearings in certain spots. It's there for players who wish to use it, but I think it can make segments far too easy. Power Gear can almost embarrassingly whittle down Robot Masters to the point where their weaknesses aren't really needed. Even more so than the standard charge shot.
DeleteI think they could have done more with the game's overall plot while still introducing the mechanic. It doesn't take long to properly explain it anyway, what with their tutorial. But yeah, here's hoping a future installment touches on more things and reintroduces characters properly.
"weaknesses aren't really needed"
DeleteI get the sentiment but boss weaknesses were always optional I think DGS is more balance breaking to boss weapons in the stages than anything. But I like it overall I think it being optional is a FANTASTIC way to implement it.
A. It allows more options to play the way you want, if it is too easy and you want to steamroll your way through the game, that is not necessarily a bad thing because that combine with difficulty settings allows you to replay the game in whatever mood suits you. If you want to test your skill don't use it, if you do not want to test your skills and want to play recreationally the option is there. It also accommodates lower skilled players opening up a larger demographic. I also don't see how it will effect balance any worse than some items in the shop since some of those completely over power Mega Man and it could also be a good case for an additional playable character that increases the difficulty by not allowing access to the DGS or the shop.
B. In terms of lore it adds power up and speed to Mega Man as a core mechanic making him much more than that Jump and Shoot Man more so than he already was (stupid label), which is cool. It also adds that powered up dynamic to bosses.