“Ask the Developer” with Yoshio Sakamoto. Part 3 (interview translation)

The original interview was published on August 28, 2024, and at the time of publication of the translation, the release of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club had already taken place exclusively for Nintendo Switch. All images, videos, footnotes and their position in the text are saved.

Ask the Developer Issue 12: Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club – Part 3

In the twelfth episode of Ask a Developer, an interview series in which Nintendo developers talk in their own words about Nintendo’s thinking behind content creation and topics of particular interest to them, we talk to the developers of Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club for Nintendo Switch, out Thursday, August 29.

Part 3: New approach, new atmosphere

What other elements, besides history, are integral when developing an adventure game??

Sakamoto: The first necessary step is to create what we call "logic". In other words, the gameplay mechanisms that make the story work as a game.

How is this “logic” created??

Miyati: We worked in the table editor. In several tables, we organized elements such as: what background is displayed in each scene, what music is playing at the moment, and what scene the transition occurs to when certain conditions are met.

Sakamoto: We also used these tables to track the progression of gameplay. Next, we loaded them into the program and ran them. Building logic so that nothing breaks is… a labor-intensive task. (Laughs)

These documents are very detailed.

Miyati: Even the slightest mistake in a file can take the story completely wrong, and at times I was left wondering where I could have gone wrong.

Sakamoto: When developing Famicom Detective Club PART II: The Girl Who Stands Behind for the Super Famicom, I used different tools and built all the logic myself. Now Miyati-san was with me to “comb” the logic and make edits.

Miyati: Sakamoto-san was so happy to show me his work. He smugly declared: “I’m the only one who can create the logic of this series – look at this.”!». But when I tried it myself, it wasn’t very fun. (Laughs)

All: (Laugh)

Miyati: Of course, the logic was well structured and the story made sense. But it seemed to me that she lacked a sense of completion. I still hesitated to tell Sakamoto-san this, but he said: “Be honest with me.”. So I told him straight out, “That wasn’t much fun.”.

Sakamoto: I was dumbfounded. (Laughs) Since https://nongamstopsites.uk/betting/ I used to work on logic alone, I had a habit of not making problems too simple. So I made them too complicated. Later I realized that you are not having fun if you can’t solve them.
I wanted to give the players a sense of achievement whenever they solved the puzzles, but I didn’t want them to be so difficult that they couldn’t figure out a solution. Maintaining the right balance throughout the game was a real challenge.
Additionally, previous Famicom Detective Club games were text-based and had no voice acting. So, if I thought that because certain words were missing, players might not understand something, I could easily add them and change the logic at the last moment. But for this game the voice acting was recorded early on, so we couldn’t make late edits. A lot had to be thought out in advance.

In 35 years, this is the first completely new game in the series, so in terms of its creation you had some new challenges.

Sakamoto: Yes. Compared to what I had done before, the approach to development was completely new and different.

In terms of gameplay, did you have to redo anything or introduce any innovations??

Miyati: When you get stuck in a command-based adventure like Famicom Detective Club, you often find yourself trying to find a way out by trying all the commands one by one. When this happens, players who have been immersed in the game world until now lose interest and the thread of the story. To prevent this from happening in this game, we have highlighted certain words in different colors that can tell players how to advance through the story.

So, to understand what to do next, you can look at the tips.

Miyati: Exactly. We also paid close attention to how the dialogue was laid out so that players could understand what was going on even if the words weren’t highlighted. Additionally, some may find the tooltips in a traditional team-based adventure game to kill the fun, so we’ve added an option to turn them off.

As I understand it, mobile phones are another new element of the game. The fact that these are old flip phones and not smartphones creates a feeling of a certain era.

Miyati: We wanted to spin a story around three members of the Utsugi Detective Agency: Shunsuke Utsugi, the protagonist and Ayumi Tachibana. It was hard to imagine what their world would look like decades after the previous game, so we decided to set it in the same time period and keep the spirit of the original games.
We also discussed how we want to introduce new elements, and reflected on the years when mobile phones became more or less common in Japan. We settled on a time when life was both not too simple, but not very easy either. Do you remember Sakamoto-san?

Sakamoto: Oh yeah, I remember. (Laughs) This was in the late 80s, when the original Famicom Detective Club games came out. Then life in Japan gradually became easier, although some irritation still remained. And it seemed to me that mobile phones would fit into history better than smartphones.

Miyati: During some episodes you will be able to make calls. In general, you won’t be able to call when you’re talking to someone in person – it would be rude! But by calling one of the characters, you can reveal an unknown side of him.

So logic takes into account every small detail. And it looks like the game will have a lot of new things for the Famicom Detective Club series. Sakamoto-san, you mentioned that you want the game to be enjoyed by a wider audience.

Sakamoto: Right. Now I really want the game to be enjoyed not only by Famicom Detective Club fans, but also by new players. With this in mind, I changed the mood of the game compared to the previous ones, and made it more vibrant.

Sakamoto: Whether it’s good or not, past games had a heavy, dark atmosphere. That’s part of the charm of the Famicom Detective Club, but I wanted to make the feel of this game more vibrant. In the Famicom Detective Club, humor always diluted the feeling of fear. Of course, we still felt that there was something heavy and oppressive around those games, of course, that was always our goal. Nothing has changed in this game.
However, we wanted to change the mood of this game – make it less oppressive and more holistic. Ultimately, we succeeded, thanks to Miyachi-san’s contribution. I believe that the sunny side of the Famicom Detective Club has definitely gotten better.

Miyati: Speaking of jokes. We had to explain the meaning of one very low-grade Japanese pun to foreign translators, which was… a little awkward. (Laughs) After explaining it, they got the point and suggested changing it so that it would be understandable to non-Japanese players. So no matter what language you play in, some funny jokes will reach you. (Laughs)

Sakamoto: Since you started talking about localization, I think, regardless of the language of the game, some things are understood the same everywhere. For example, subtle changes in a character’s emotions or small details. I hope players enjoy these aspects of the game as well.

By the way, I heard that when developing you kept the term “interactive drama” in mind. This somehow relates to what we discussed earlier – about changing the mood of the game?

Sakamoto: In terms of genre, it’s an adventure game, but considering what you’re doing throughout the game, that description just doesn’t fit. And I didn’t like calling it just a game, so I thought it would be nice to give it its own genre – “interactive drama”.
Just like a real drama, the plot is the same for everyone… But we wanted players to feel as if they were interacting with the characters personally. Since players’ feelings influence decisions, and those decisions influence the response they receive, we discussed how the term "interactive drama" is appropriate.

It’s as if by taking on the role of the main character, you become a participant in the drama. Come to think of it, it’s very similar to your favorite RPGs, Miyachi-san.

Miyati: Maybe there is some truth in this. Recently, Sakamoto-san and I were talking about how dialogues are similar to living beings. Depending on the precise choice of words, they can grow in unexpected ways. There are stories scattered throughout the game that you can only learn about at certain moments. This is true in real life too, isn’t it??
If you rush through the game, you won’t hear some lines and won’t see some events. So I want to encourage players to try different paths and ask themselves: “If I ask this question right now, what answer will I get?”?" or "What will happen if I explore this now?»

Sakamoto: I can’t go into detail due to spoilers, but this game has things you don’t often see in other games, especially the Famicom Detective Club series. I hope everyone enjoys it from start to finish.
And yet, every scene, including even the simplest flashback, is created with such incredible attention to detail that it seems to me that the people at MAGES. did double the work they expected. They have shown great tenacity and I am truly grateful for their support.

And the last question. What message would you give to players interested in playing the new Famicom Detective Club??

Sakamoto: I want to say thank you for waiting to all fans of the series and those who got acquainted with the Famicom Detective Club thanks to the remakes. Most importantly, we want the fresh story and gameplay of this new Famicom Detective Club to please everyone. We also hope you enjoy this good old fashioned Famicom Detective Club-style human drama intertwined with horror through our carefully crafted solutions.
We made a demo that included a fair amount of gameplay. If you’re new to the series, I recommend giving it a try. The demo has just enough plot to make you want to know the whole story!

Miyati: Many Famicom Detective Club players pay attention to every detail and notice what we hide in the game. As far as Easter eggs go, this game is no exception, so we hope players will be happy to play through it several times.
We wrote the story together, and it seemed like we should know about all the content of the game, but even in the testing process, we were met with something like: “Wow, so these two events are connected! Sakamoto-san, you knew about this?"(Laughs) With every replay, we found something new.
We hope everyone can enjoy this game at their own pace, whether you’re new to the Famicom Detective Club or a longtime fan of the series.

Sakamoto: It’s true. I hope this game will be a reminder of that. Actually, what you said, Miyachi-san, is a recurring theme in the Famicom Detective Club series. And hearing it come out of your mouth so naturally… I know I can rely on you.
Miyachi-san and I worked on creating this new version, exchanging ideas and continuing to develop them. So, fans of the series, rest assured – I have finally found the heiress! (Laughs)

Miyati: I will do my best not to become a "missing heiress" . (Laughs)

The story of this all-new Famicom Detective Club unfolds thanks to the carefully thought-out decisions of the enthusiastic and dedicated developers. I can’t wait to start my investigation! Thank you so much.