Interview with the producer of “Sword Art Online Alien Bonds Gathering”: Presenting another possible future for everyone
As the 10th anniversary commemorative work of the “Sword Art Online” series, “Sword Art Online: Alien Kizuna Gathering” can be said to be a comprehensive production carefully prepared for fans. This time, the video game bus and other media jointly interviewed Mr. Takasuke Futami, the producer of the “Sword Art Online” game series, and Mr. Ueno Eisuke, the producer of “Sword Art Online: Gathering”, and answered some questions that everyone cared about.
Producer Futami Takasuke
Producer Ueno Eisuke
The following is the transcript of the interview:
1. As the 10th anniversary commemorative work of “Sword Art Online”, what are the appeals of this game compared with previous ARPG works for Sword Art Online home consoles? What are the different elements of the game system and combat system compared to the previous game and previous action role-playing?
Futami Takasuke: First, let me introduce the production direction and concept of the overall game. The most feedback received in the previous work is that the game itself is fun, but the operation is somewhat complicated and difficult, which is the part to be improved in this work. Therefore, the new work will improve the operation, so that light and moderate players can enjoy a smooth combat experience.
In battle, players can easily use various attack methods, such as interspersed with moves such as sacred spells in general battles, so that the combat experience can be more effectively improved. At the same time, the entire game system has been upgraded to Unreal Engine, so both the game loading speed and frame rate will be improved, and the entire picture will become more beautiful. The operation and play experience will also be improved.
Ueno Eisuke: Let me make some additions. For new players, we will have a review of the content of the previous game, because there are more characters in this game, and for the existing characters, we will introduce their follow-up stories in more depth.
2. Can you share the meaning of the subtitle last recollection?
Eisuke Ueno: last means both an end and a continuation. Sword Art Online has reached its 10th anniversary, regardless of animation or game. What the subtitle wants to show is that this is not the end, but a transition. After that, the whole work will continue. In addition, Last also has the concept of collection, and recollection has the concept of regrouping. Recollection is used to express the part full of memories and memories. Many characters will be gathered together for players to experience.
Takasuke Futami: Let me add that this is the 10th anniversary work. I mentioned in previous interviews that from the first generation of works, Kirito went through adventures all the way to the end of this work, but this is not end. The meaning of the subtitle of the game is also to express this meaning.
3. War is the key theme of this work. What kind of techniques or systems will be used in the game to make players feel the oppression of war?
Eisuke Ueno: War is indeed one of the themes of this work, and the other theme is that Kirito and others must work hard to prevent the war from happening. Through the new adventures of Kiri people, players can re-understand what kind of people the so-called enemies in the past are, and how to communicate with them. This is another focus of this game. The new stage of this work is the dark field, where there will be new races such as subhumans that have never appeared before, and some new scenes and new locations with their own culture, among which many new elements are hidden in the process of exploration. For example, where giants and mountain goblins live, both old and new players will have a new experience and feel some ingenuity in design.
Takasuke Futami: The difference between this work and the animation and the novel is that some characters who are no longer present will appear in this work from the beginning. In the original work, there will be a war. In the game, we also hope that the war will not happen. How can Kirito and his partners prevent war and tragedy from happening? It is the greatest charm of this work.
4. In the previous promotional video, the voice actor Mr. Matsuoka mentioned that this game hopes to respond to the players’ expectations for the series. What do you mean by the expectations here?
Futami Takasuke: Mainly refers to the operability of the game and the story of the world view. At the same time, as the culmination of the 10th anniversary, this work itself is the end point, and it is also a node that connects the past and the future, and faces the future. This is what the game wants to present to everyone.
Sword Art Online is entering its tenth year. Whether you are a player who started along the way or a player who joined in the middle, I hope that everyone can feel this atmosphere of comprehensiveness. I also hope that we can weave the future together with the players, so that this game will be very exciting. Respond well to player expectations.
5. Why did you create a new story that never existed in the original work in the world view of the underworld? What is the ratio of the original script to the original? What kind of exchange of opinions have you had with the original author and the novel publishing house? Anything interesting?
Futami Takasuke: We will consider in the original part: if Kirito was there from the beginning, how would the story develop? In the original work, Kirito was in a state of loss of mind at the beginning, and gradually recovered with the strength of his companions. In the game, the player will play Kirito from the beginning. Under such a premise, how to promote the story and how to work hard with the companions are the original parts we want to create this time.
If it is part of the original work, Kirito and his companions will experience a very sad ending after struggling. In the game, Kirito and his companions will also experience difficult challenges, and hope to present another possible future for everyone. It belongs to the new world line. When writing the script, we will communicate with the original teacher Kawahara on how the plot will develop. Mr. Kawahara has a suggestion, for example, some parts or settings that cannot be done in the original work can be added through the game. At the same time, in conjunction with the game, we will entrust Mr. abec to present a different world line of Sword Art Online that is different from the original work and animation in terms of visual materials.
Afterwards, we will release new information one after another, and there will be content that will “surprise” fans of the original work.
6. The story of this work is taken from the novel version of the Alicization underworld war chapter, so at what point in the novel is the original part?
Ueno Eisuke: This work mainly covers the part from the defeat of Adominus Doret to the end of the battle in the Dark Territory. The difference from the original work is that Kirito Eugeo and others existed from the beginning, asuna, Silica, Lisbeth, etc. also existed at the beginning. This is a big difference from the original work, and it is also required in the game. focused part.
7. In the original work, many of the stories in this work take place in the real world. Will the original plot of the game remove the elements of the real world and focus on the underworld world?
Ueno Eisuke: This is true for the original part, but the game mainly focuses on the underworld part. Therefore, the plot part will refer to the real world part, but the adventure part will still be carried out in the underworld.
Takasuke Futami: In this work, how the real world and the underworld will intertwine and influence each other is a very important turning point in this work. Here is a conclusion that belongs to the game, so stay tuned.
8. Is there any continuity between the story of this game and Paradise? Can players who have never played it play this game directly?
Futami Takasuke: There are connections in the story of this work, but this work itself is also a complete story, so there is no problem in playing this work directly. First of all, the main axis of the big story in the game is the same as that of the original work, and the main axis that the game focuses on after the Great War Chapter, as long as the player joins from the Great War Chapter, they can connect to this game. If you have played the previous game, you will understand why some characters are still alive? I will have a better understanding of the background story. If you haven’t played it, there is a plot review, so there will be no problem.
9. In this work, the player plays Kirito, can he freely set Kirito’s appearance?
Eisuke Ueno: Yes, Kirito’s appearance can be freely defined.
10. Can you reveal more information about the original character Dorothy?
Eisuke Ueno: Some things happened to the character of Dorothy, and she was burdened with a great crime. No matter where she went, she was rejected and had no place to stay. Even so, as a messenger of peace, she went from the dark realm to the human world and met Kiri people, and started a new adventure. Therefore, this character shoulders the two elements of peace and great crime. Is her existence a salvation or a disaster for the whole world? Stay tuned.
In addition, through the communication with Kirito, Dorothy will also show her different appearance. I hope that everyone will look forward to more information about Dorothy.
11. Will there be a large number of content updates after the launch of this game like Bianyoujing?
Ueno Eisuke: DLC is being considered, but it will not be on the scale of Bianyoujing. Although the dlc was also taken into consideration when making Bianyoujing, due to the huge content, many difficulties were encountered during production, so Bianyoujing will have many follow-up contents. But “Different Kidney Gathering” this time focused the content as much as possible, so this situation was avoided.
12. At this point in time, Yasna and the others appear in powerful costumes. Will there be such a setting in the game?
Ueno Eisuke: Yes, this time Asuna and the others will indeed make their debut. Therefore, they are characters that can be manipulated, and partners who take risks together at the same time. Even though Asuna and the others have such powerful costumes, the Dark Realm will still encounter extremely challenging places and characters. In addition, how they log into the characters through these goddess super accounts, please look forward to it.
13. The producer of Erjian previously stated that he would hand over the sao series. What is the reason for you to return to this work again? How is the role different from the past?
Takasuke Futami: The big reason is to cultivate new talents. During the entire game production process, the responsibilities are basically the same as those of the previous game and animation promotion. I want to let more people know about the excellence and beauty of Sword Art Online. Therefore, in the process of cultivating new producers, let everyone personally To experience and feel the charm of Sword Art Online, this is probably the role I play.
In terms of game production, Ueno Producer is basically responsible for it. I was mainly responsible for planning and publicity at the beginning. Our interaction lies in how to optimize the entire game process. I will provide some experience-based suggestions. As a producer along the way, what kind of emotions I have for the game will also be conveyed to Ueno producers.
14. Eugeo appeared before, what role will he play in this work?
Ueno Eisuke: In the original work, Eugeo is no longer in the war chapter. In this game, he will appear on the stage at the beginning and fight side by side with Kirito. As for the development of his relationship with his childhood sweetheart Alice in the future, we have prepared something that will surprise everyone. This part is worth looking forward to. Eugeo can also meet people who are impossible to meet in the original work, and fight against people who are impossible to confront, these are new experiences that did not exist in the original work.
15. What would you like to say to Chinese players?
Eisuke Ueno: This work is the culmination of the 10th anniversary. We put many elements in it that make players look forward to and be happy.
I myself started to contact Sword Art Online as a player 10 years ago, so I hope to satisfy old fans in terms of story and production. We also hope that new players can easily enter this world. This is our biggest expectation for this game, and it is also a response to the expectations of players. Thank you everyone.
Futami Takasuke: I started from the Void Fragment 10 years ago. I first came into contact with the interaction of Chinese players and other Asian players. The whole process made me feel a lot. This work is not only the culmination of the 10th anniversary, but also The culmination of Kirito’s adventure, I hope that players along the way can experience Kirito’s adventure together, I hope everyone can look forward to this work, thank you all.