‘AI: The Somnium Files’ Producer Says No To “Interfering” With Game Devs’ Vision: “The Scenario Writer And Director Should Be Able To Do As They Please”
In adding his two cents to the ever-ongoing conversation regarding creative freedom, longtime Spike Chunsoft company and AI: The Somnium series producer Yasu Iizuka believes that the key to developing a truly interesting and memorable video game is its respective creators being allowed the utmost freedom to realize their creative vision.
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Iizuka, whose producorial talents have also been lent to such other Spike Chunsoft titles as Zero Time Dilemma and Danganronpa, offered his thoughts on the video game-specific creative process during a recent interview given to the Japanese-centric video game news outlet Automaton West.
Asked about his personal approach to his current role overseeing the thus-far AI: The Somnium Files trilogy (as currently consists of the eponymous first game, the nirvanA Initiative sequel, and the No Sleep for Kaname Date ‘midquel’), the producer bluntly affirmed, “I usually don’t interfere. The scenario writer and director should be able to do as they please.”
“The unique vibe of the AI series comes from Uchikoshi-san’s touch in building the characters and story.
“I’ve never made any interventions to the creative process behind the games, especially the scenario. I pretty much don’t say anything regarding development either. There is only one instance when I do get involved in the development process – and that’s after I’ve actually played through the whole game myself.”
To this end, Iizuka then explained that his hands-off approach to game development allowed him to view and offer feed back on a given title from the perspective of an actual consumer player.
“I get to play the game very early on in development, and I’m also the only one in the team who’s able to view it from the perspective of a player. So as soon as I find something that seems off, we immediately have a meeting.
“If the developers say, ‘You’re right, this part is a bit off, we’re going to fix it,’ that’s great, but if they want to fix it in their own way instead of following my instructions, that’s also fine, and another viable option would just be not to fix it altogether.”
Closing out his thoughts with a laugh, the producer ultimately beamed, “There’s one thing I’ve got to say though – I’ve been having so much fun throughout the whole process.”
Notably, it is the uniquely Japanese visions of its developers that Spike Chunsoft is betting their creative and financial futures on.
Speaking again to Automaton West, this time on the topic of the studio’s forward-looking plans, Iizuka detailed, “While we are actively working on our overseas expansion, the Japanese market is still the most important to us. Japanese games can only be made in Japan.”
“Also, if the Japanese game industry wasn’t this strong, we wouldn’t have been able to enter the Steam market as steadily as we did, and our overseas businesses wouldn’t be going so smoothly,” he added. “I believe the strength of the Japanese market will also be of benefit to Western games. The costs that go into developing those games are huge, so we want to maintain a strong market in Japan in which such titles will also be able to succeed.”
