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Exclusive: Glass Rose Q&A Feature
Derek dela Fuente
18/02/2004
TVG talks to Minae Matsukawa, Assistant Producer, on the latest original title to come from Capcom...
Glass Rose is an intriguing looking title and as ever TVG went a step further than most and managed to interview Minae Matsukawa, Assistant Producer, about the teamās vision for the game.
The Japanese in their inscrutable inventiveness always like to possibly state the obvious but when they try to put a new slant on things they are the masters, certainly when it comes to a section of videogames.
Glass Rose is billed as a gripping, psychological, adventure game, which transports the player, who assumes the role of Rookie reporter Takasi Kagetani, from the modern day to the 1920s in search of the truth.
The setting to the story has Takasi waking up in a strange house some seventy years in the past. Where is he? How did he get there? Could it have anything to do with the unsolved murder case he was investigating before he was warped to this place? Only playing the game can you know the answers.
Takasi must now embark on a new case and in answering these questions maybe, just maybe, he can return to his own time. Before too long Takasi realises that the time warp has left him with special powers - the ability to read a personās mind, with which he has a brief glimpse into the mind of the person he is talking with. These powers will be invaluable to Takasi if he is to decipher what is fact and what is fiction. Much more intrigue and mystery are on offer.
TVG: Minae, what is the core expertise of the team? Is it the Resident Evil Zero team working on this title and can you tell us why youāve gone for a psychological point and click adventure with a linear route?
The starting point was different from Resident Evil Zero, and while there may be some similarities, the games are totally different. Also, while both titles were developed by Capcomās Studio #3, the actual teams themselves were different. The members of the Glass Rose team are very good at creating story oriented adventure games. The main theme of this game is not action but focused on the events and text elements. Therefore the fears you feel in this game do not come from the movement of the characters, but rather by or from the events and texts.
TVG: How much has the game been altered to meet European gamers needs?
Apart from all the dialogue/text, has anything else been worked on?
Basically the game is the same as the Japanese version. Weāve changed certain elements and expressions that only make sense to a Japanese audience. However, the timing and sheer volume of the text have changed by transferring into English so weāve adjusted most of the events in order to make the PAL version.
TVG: Creating the right mood, tension and even fear in a game in many cases could be hit and miss. What clever techniques has the team employed to create the right ambiance and is getting the changing atmosphere in Glass Rose the real focus for the team?
To achieve the perfect feel for this title, we put the main focus on colour tones and indeed the colour gradations changed once or twice during the course of development. I hope that this subtle use of colour helps convey to the player the feeling of mystery and intrigue that lies at the heart of this adventure.
TVG: The game is set in the 1920s. How faithfully have you recreated this period and is this important pertaining to the storyline?
The main character is from modern-day Japan but finds himself unexpectedly transported through time to the 1920s. You can immediately tell he has been taken to the past as his clothes look totally different from all the other characters he meets. As for the environments and the items within them, it was fairly easy for us to recreate as during the 1920s in Japan, people adopted many aspects of Western culture. All characters and story elements have been faithfully recreated to look exactly how they would have done in the 1920s.
TVG: Could you tell us a little about the basic premise to the game and some of the overall objectives for rookie reporter, Takasi Kagetani, and does the story unfold by finding objects or being successful in your quest? How is success achieved?
Takasi Kagetani is searching for the solution behind an unresolved serial murder case, which took place in the past. While trying to uncover the truth, he is thrown into the time period he is researching. When he gets there, the people he meets treat him as a different person, a person who actually existed at that time. He must Iook for the reason as to why he has travelled to the past and why he is recognised as someone else. The objective of the player is clear from the beginning of the game. You have to search for clues and reveal the truth behind the mansion murders in order to return to the present day.
TVG: Takasi has gained a number of powers including the ability to read peopleās minds. How does this work in the context of the game and can you give us one event in the game where this will happen to his advantage?
In order to get back to the present, Takasi needs to speak with many people, many of whom are suspects from the case. Unfortunately, people under suspicion do not always speak the truth or willingly tell you what they have on their minds. This is the reason the case was left unresolved. The truth is hidden but there is no way to find the solution just by chatting. It is possible with Takasiās power, to read the minds of others. In this way, Takasi is able to find small clues, which he could never have found simply by talking and this is the key to solving the case.
TVG: The game has a very lush presentation including a number of cut scenes. Has the team gone for a cinematic feel and what techniques ā“ i.e. motion capture have been used?
All the characters that appear in this game have been accurately motion captured - which required a hell of a lot of work. Weāve included as much fmv as the ROM spec allowed us to. I really hope you get the feeling I was intending to get across with these pieces. I think theyāre looking spectacular and I feel confident that they will evoke exactly the right mood and atmosphere in gamers that I intended. I hope you will enjoy it.
TVG: If there has been one criticism of the game so far, it is that you are playing against the clock and if you do not achieve success you are thrown back to the start and have to replay the section which some have said is frustrating. How would be your counter this argument?
We put this system in place because we feel that itās important for players to feel the same emotions as the main character. The penalty players get by being thrown back to the start of a section is not going to be a big deal, but the feeling of mounting frustration the player gets proves that they are being drawn into the story.
TVG: What are the locations you explore, how diverse are they and how big is the character list in the game?
Let me just say hereā¦ there are more than 20 different characters that appear in this title. (I cannot tell you the exact number because the number of characters is a very important clue!)
There are about 60 rooms to explore. Itās actually all based in one building (mansion), but weāve built lots of rooms since there were no limitations to its size.
TVG would like to thank all of those involved with carrying out this review, and special thanks to Minae Matsukawa for taking the time to answer our questions; āGlass Roseā is scheduled for release in Europe on March 26th, weāll have a closer look soon.
