Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

C H A P T E R 2
days. I see them adding more grappling moves into the game, which adds more dimension to it, more
like in the UFC and Pride Fighting contests, but you cannot control the grappling move on the martial
arts games. Right now they are just animations. You cannot do turnaround/reverse moves if you are
about to get slammed.
TM: As a fighter in body and spirit, what would you like to see as the future of fighting games?
What excites you most about future fighting games?
JK: To be honest, I don’t play that many fighting games right now, simply because I’d rather go to
the dojo and experience it myself through free-sparring. It’s much more fulfilling and a great workout.
I observe and watch a lot of games. Unfortunately, they are all the same. I’d like to see a game that
is based on real fighting strategies, understanding more of a strategy in fighting and how you can
manipulate an opponent by seizing the centerline. Different types of footwork, throwing fakes, and
diversions mixed in with punching and kicking combinations would be nice. There is also an issue of
conquering yourself—the inner game—in order to get the upper hand on your opponent. I’m talking
about a person’s thought process, which can either break you down or build you up, and this changes
in varying degrees throughout a fight. That is why you have to develop a strong yet flexible mind to
overcome yourself. Even though you might overcome yourself, it does not always mean you will always
defeat your opponent because he might be much better than you. These are some of the things I’d
like to see in fighting games, some extra dimensions.
TM: You’ve said that working with Japanese game developers is considerably different from working
with U.S.-based game developers. How? What are the advantages and disadvantages in your experience
as it applies to game design execution?
JK: With the Japanese developers, they plan everything out—even down to the sick days and
bereavement days for a death in the family. With many here in the U.S., usually most producers don’t
have such a certain game plan. It’s a “run and gun” mentality. Especially, it does not help when marketing
runs their “drop dead” deadline schedule because they have an end cap open date or a film that the
game is tied into. Unfortunately, marketing does not know what is involved in making a game. And
taking them for a tour of the QA facilities and/or production staff really does not let them have the
total experience. It doesn’t let them understand what is really involved. They really have no idea. Many
times the game itself suffers, because the producer is forced to take out elements in the game that
are showing problems in the testing phase, because they cannot meet the deadline.
TM: In your opinion, what might U.S.-based game designers learn from Japanese game designers
based on your observations of each?
JK: The Japanese designers and production teams that I have worked with are very meticulous in
what they are doing. Everything is scheduled out in precise detail. They had a game plan that they
would live by, so we would not have to worry so much. Most of the time we had weekends and nights
off, whereas with productions here in the U.S., we were always running around putting out fires that
would not have occurred if they planned things in advance.
TM: What negative trends, if any, do you notice in games these days that might be addressed via
better design?
JK: I feel marketing runs the game industry too much. Unfortunately, they pigeonhole the games.
Either it’s a sports game, fighting game, shooting game, or something based off a movie that they are
“projecting” to be a blockbuster. There’s a certain formula that most games follow, and it can make
it pretty boring. They like to clone ideas off existing games: “I like that hot new game that’s sold a
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Level Planning and Building