‘Ōkami’ Director Hideki Kamiya Says New CLOVERS Studio Is Focused On “Individual-Driven Creativity”, Laments How There Is “Less And Less Of That” Across The Video Game Industry
According to veteran game director and studio head Hideki Kamiya, one of the main aims of the newly-founded CLOVERS development house is to foster the sort of “individual-driven creativity” that once so defined the video game industry, but has since been nearly extinguished thanks to a corporate push for ‘profits over anything else’.
From Resident Evil 2, to the original Devil May Cry, Viewtiful Joe, Ōkami, Bayonetta, and The Wonderful 101, the games included in Kamiya’s directorial history may vary in genre, but each and every one of them actually feels like it was made with a passion not just for various Japanese media, but also the very video game medium itself.
As such, it should come as no surprise that upon being recruited by CLOVERS founder, president, and CEO Kento Koyama, to head the studio following the pair’s 2024 departure from their shared former employer PlatinumGames, Kamiya chose to make the promotion and encouragement of such genuine creativity a core part of the team’s identity.
Speaking to this mission statement during a recent interview with reporter Haru Ilda for the Japanese news outlet Game*Spark, Kamiya began by recalling how his own signature style was formulated by not just his love of video games, but also his affinity for various mecha anime and tokusatsu superhero shows.
“Outside of games, I was really into anime,” the infamous Twitter user told his host. “I was especially into Mobile Suit Gundam (only the first series), as well as super robot anime like Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger, and Getter Robo. I also loved real-robot series like Xabungle, Dunbine, and L-Gaim, which followed the Gundam lineage.”
“I was also really into Ultraman and other giant transformation heroes, as well as Kamen Rider and [Himitsu Sentai] Gorenger, but I don’t think that’s something particularly worth emphasizing,” he added, his indifference to his tokusatsu fandom likely based on the fact that such series are massively, massively popular with Japanese kids of every generation. “I think I just straightforwardly reflected those interests in my games. Viewtiful Joe was heavily influenced by my love for superheroes, and The Wonderful 101 took the Gorenger concept and scaled it up to 100 heroes. I no longer have control over it, but [PlatinumGames’ supposedly-still-in-development Project G.G.] was also conceived as a giant-hero project within the superhero format, so my personal tastes are strongly reflected in it.”
Asked by Ilda if he would continue to draw so heavily from his own interests, Kamiya asserted, “I think it’ll happen naturally. I don’t consciously try to make it happen, but I also don’t deliberately avoid it.”
“That said, with Viewtiful Joe, I learned that ‘if I go all-in on my personal tastes, I’ll end up making something that only I enjoy,’ he laughed. “I say that as if I learned my lesson, but I did the same thing again with The Wonderful 101. It’s all about balance. I think your personal interests inevitably seep into your work. Even as a player, I enjoy games where you can feel the creator’s unique passions subtly woven into them.”
In turn met with the observation from Ilda that “perhaps the most compelling aspects of a game are those that natrually seep into it”, Kamiya proceeded to provide a lengthy elaboration as to what such a concept of ‘personal creativity’ meant to him.
“When we’re working on a game and discussing ideas, I really love when someone passionately explains a particular element they care deeply about,” he began. “Those moments, where someone’s personal experiences, preferences, and knowledge come through as they say, ‘This is how it should be!’—those” are great. That energy is what makes for engaging ideas, and I think that applies not just to games, but to movies and other forms of entertainment as well. That’s something I really want to cherish in game development.”
“Lately, you hear a lot about ‘train otaku’ (tori-tetsu), right? I’ve seen people with ridiculously large telephoto lenses taking photos near railway tracks. Even though I have zero interest in trains and can’t tell them apart, I find that really thrilling. I think those people are seeing something that I simply can’t perceive.
“For me, it’s like Gundam plastic models. I’m a die-hard First Gundam purist, but the RX-78 has been redesigned and released as kits countless times. Each era brings a different take on the design, and in recent years, the yellow chest vents are often positioned further forward along with the frame. But I just can’t accept that. I get really passionate and say, ‘This interpretation of the vents is wrong!’ but all I get in response is a lukewarm, ‘Oh, I see.’
“So, when I think about how train enthusiasts (tori-tetsu) must have their own particular preferences that outsiders wouldn’t understand—just like my fixation on Gundam—I find it thrilling.”
His position made clear, Kamiya then admitted that while he loved “people who are passionate about their quirks,” adding that “whenever I talk about strong creative identities, I often bring up Hideo Kojima and Yoko Taro, and the same goes for Fumito Ueda,” he felt “like we’re seeing less and less of that kind of individual-driven creativity” across the entire video game industry.
“There used to be game series that were completely tied to a specific creator, where users could clearly say, ‘This game is made by this person,'” he explained. “But if that creator suddenly leaves, the company is left scrambling with how to handle the franchise. From a business perspective, it’s safer for a company to focus on games as ‘products’ rather than as ‘works of art,’ and I can feel that approach becoming the mainstream in game development. That’s why, personally, I want to value the kind of game creation where the creator’s individuality shines through.”
Drawing this particular part of their discussion to an end, Kamiya ultimately reaffirmed that in regards to CLOVERS, “I want it to be a place where skilled creators can craft things with their own unique sensibilities and techniques—things that can only be made here. I’d like for all our staff to share that mindset.”
Currently, Kamiya and his fellow CLOVERS devs are in the process of developing their previously announced-but-still-officially-untitled Ōkami sequel, the trailer for which can be seen above.
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