Tomonobu Itagaki is rightful the father of DOA even though he had a big team he was the director and the face of the franchise. Emperor Cow a pro player got a chance to sit down with him discuss Dead Or Alive 5. If you know Itagaki then this won’t be that surprising for those who do not know him Itagaki seems to have a hard judgment on everyone game but his own. To see what I mean read the conversation below and tell me if those who have played DOA 5 or ultimate feel the same way he does or you think he is off.
“Itagaki: There are four main pillars that I concentrated on when designing DOA. On two ends of the spectrum you have Casual and Pro, and on the other ends you have Sex and Violence. The main goal was to find the perfect balance between all these four pillars. The game should not be too difficult in order for casuals and new comers to enjoy it and it should not be too easy in order not to lose the pro players. It also should not be too violent in order not to scare off any of the sensitive players and it should not be too sexy in order not to turn it into an “Ero-game” (an erotic game). This is why I put a firewall on all 4 pillars, so that no one pillar overshadows the others and a perfect balance could be achieved.
Cow: You know, you just said something that has hit the spot to hard its actually painful. I love the DOA Fighting game series. I have always been a fan and to me it was always the game that played better and also looked sexier than all its competition. But that’s just it! It was always a fighting game first, and the sexiness came naturally thanks to how visually pleasing the game was “as a fighting game”. The problem that I, as well as many players out there, have been having with DOA5 is that it lost its identity as a fighter. It started off so well at first with the “I’m a Fighter” slogan and the trailers showing really entertaining fighting. Then it is like they took a huge 180 degree turn and started to exploit the sexy side of the game to the point that it became erotic. The game lost its identity as a fighter and became an online erotic clothes shop. Even when they released some of the classical nostalgia outfits as DLC they went and exposed more under boob or side boob just in order to make them sell more. What they don’t realize is that this is hurting us as a “fighting game community” and we are being looked down upon by all the players of other fighters out there as perverts who just play an erotic game. No matter how hard we as pro players try to showcase the games depth by releasing video content or attending tournaments, they go and flood the market with more bikinis and more cleavage. They have them practically topless in the DOA5 Last Round pre-order for crying out loud. We are being taken as fools.
Itagaki: Everybody is a little perverted; even I’m a little perverted. But, it was for that very reason I created DOAX; in order to target the people who wanted something a little bit more casual and sexy but at the same time keeping that tone separate from the “fighting game” that is DOA. DOA is now a total mess.
Itagaki: Going back to DOA5, another major problem with it is that the balance now is a disaster.
Cow: You really think so? To be honest, I really think the team did a great job with the balance of the game. I feel that is one of the best areas that evolved.
Itagaki: YOU say that because you are a pro hardcore player! But I look at it from a game designer standpoint. It is almost impossible to attract new players with the way the game plays now. Look back at the older DOAs. When a new comer tries out the game for the first time, his first instinct is to just press the buttons randomly. But, those button presses usually lead to some very visually pleasing moves and even at some points lead to that beginner’s first victory. When a new player experiences this, in his mind he would think, “Hey, I think I can play this game” and would start to play it more and maybe even attract more players to play it. When you compare this to the state DOA5 is in, a new comer has virtually no chance at all. The technical gap is so huge to the point that the game will feel too awkward and this new comer will never be able to play effectively or ever get a win. A game like that would never sell. This is why they thought they can overcome this by making the game more erotic and milk you loyal players all out of your money with erotic DLC. It’s disgusting.”
As always thank you for reading.
