A new interview with design director Tameem Antoniades covers how Ninja Theory approached the DMC reboot as well as how they feel that the franchise, before they got to it "was a little stuck in its ways".
The interview comes courtesy of CVG [via OXM], where they drill Antoniades with a series of questions that the designer answers to his fullest. In regards to the reboot and why it was done, he lays it to rest that it was all Capcom's idea, saying...
The decision as to whether DMC needed a reboot or not: it's irrelevant what my opinion is because that decision was Capcom's. They felt it needed something, which is why they not only decided to take a bold step and reinvent it, but to give it to a non-Japanese dev. They had their reasons and that was our mandate. They wanted a reinvention - a reinterpretation - and that's what we went ahead and did.I think when you compare it to where a lot of games have arrived at - Western games in particular, where levels feel more open and the world feels more grounded - it felt like DMC was a little stuck in its ways. It needed to be let loose. That's what we were told as part of our mandate to reinvent it.
So you can stop throwing rocks at Ninja Theory for the decision to have the game rebooted or for being a non-Japanese developer. This was an executive decision from Capcom made in the interest of trying to get the series to make more money from casuals and not just core fans. Remember, there's not enough money to be made on a game from core gamers alone...you're the minority in the eyes of corporate higher-ups who need to make as much money as possible.
Antoniades gives an antithesis to the whole corporate-greed reason above, and instead explains their approach to the design of Devil May Cry, saying...
From my point of view there's only one way to try and make a successful game, and that's to make the game you want to play. A game that everyone involved is proud of. So from that point of view I don't care if it sells a thousand units or two million units. I believe the time you spend making something has to be worthwhile.
Try telling that to the shareholders Tameem, I don't think they'll see eye-to-eye with you on that, nor will their marketing directors who setup those focus group tests.
Anyways, Tameem goes on to address one of the most pressing issues in the community right now: Why the heck does Dante look like a crack-whore and why does he share such a striking similarity to Tameem Antoniades.
What can I say? He's a decade and a half younger than me, way better looking... The only thing he's got is black hair. And he's male. I didn't design the character. I didn't go to our designers and say, "I think it's a really good idea if we make the new Dante look like me, because I want to be in the game." They'd laugh at me. They'd throw me out the window.
Not really true...they share the same hairstyle and gait. But I guess that doesn't count for some people.
In the end gamers will just have to get used to the emo-Dante and forget about that other one who actually looks like a kickbutt male. With Capcom's shift towards trying to make as much money as possible at the expense of neglecting their core audience, it will be interesting to see how Devil May Cry performs on the market. You can check out the entire interview over at CVG.
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