Kikizo: Do you see any big differences in style and taste among Japanese and Western games? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of each? Are their styles starting to converge more now that it's a more global market?

Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I'm still trying to find the differences between them right now! The differences are really evident with the social culture and the region, basically. These kinds of things have a huge influence on the art and the people, and in the United States, FPS and shooters are popular, but in Japan there are no guns... we have some violence problems, but no gun problems. In the US there are many problems with guns and violence, so in a game like GTA, it exists because it represents the culture of the region. So the game is basically a mirror to that society.

There's also a big influence with Christ figure in Western games, I think. I think this kind of thing exists under the table. With Japanese games, it's based on Buddhism and Shinto religion, because it's the native religion. Japanese people believe gods exists in everything, but we have different religions on this planet right now, so that also influences everything.

With Japanese games, they're too cute! Japanese games are well done, but have no freedom in the game design, so it gets a little boring, and it's kind of old-fashioned. With US games, you have a lot of freedom in the world, like in GTA. You can do anything, so this kind of change is from the game to interactive experience. Ten years ago, the US games were too difficult for Japanese gamers, and they said "I don't understand how to play", but I think this kind of basic structure of the brain is based on the culture of the gamer... or maybe their DNA.

Publicado seg,17 de outubro, 2005, às 12:35 AM  6 comentários