Daemon X Machina is a game developed by Marvelous! that was revealed during this year's E3. The game will be coming out exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in 2019, and will bring some intense mech fights to Nintendo's handheld hybrid console.
In a recent interview with Nintendo Life,
Daemon X Machina producer Kenichiro Tsukuda has revealed a few details about the game's story, designing interesting levels for the giant mechs to fight in, and how the've strived to immerse the player in the game for a proper mech experience.
When asked about the reason behind these mechs fighting each other, Tsukuda reveals that there is a big catastrophe that put humanity at risk, and the result was humans discovering a mysterious new energy that has turned artificial intelligence against humanity.
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The backdrop of the story is that the moon has fallen from the sky. That's the big catastrophe that has put humanity in danger. But due to that catastrophe, from the moon, this new Femto energy has been discovered. Due to the influence of this Femto energy, the machines and the artificial intelligence that human beings were using have somehow, for reasons unknown, developed their own kind of consciousness, and turned against humanity. So there's a 'man versus machine' thing going on. Humans and the AI, as they are called in the game, are kind of fighting over this Femto energy".
Tsukuda also explains that within this setup, there are some humans who have also been affected by this Femto energy, and are actually the ones who have stood their ground and decided to fight the AI; even when they themselves have been cast out of their own society.
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Within that backdrop, there are people called 'Outers'. The reason they are called Outers is because they are not regular human beings. They have kind of absorbed some of this Femto energy, and become slightly superhuman. Due to their difference, they have been cast out of society. But at the same time, they are the ones that are fighting back against the AI. That's the conflict that the player will find themselves in. So in a way, the enemy in the game and those on your own side are all outcasts. The AI and the Outers are both outcast from human society. The drama of the story comes from that".
When it comes to the level design itself in
Daemon X Machina, Tsukuda reveals that one of the main things the development team has focused on are the weapons; especially since the weapons, and their respective range, dictate where everything will be placed within the level.
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In terms of the actual level design, everyone working on it, from the art design team to the guys actually creating the maps, actually playtests it going through the design process. They put in their own ideas about what is working and what isn't working. One element we actually start with is the range of the weapons. All the other distances in the level design need be based on that; weapon range is the foundation of what is possible with a level. So you have the range of the weapons, and you kind of place objects and obstacles and terrain based on those ranges. Then you place enemies and see how those elements interact with each other. That's the process to make sure the level design gives the player interesting and varied gameplay".
Kenichiro Tsukuda has been producing the
Armored Core series for quite a while now, and if there is one thing that he's learnt from the experience is that mech games should always have players feeling immersed in that world. Tsukuda laso thinks that, looking back, the art style being photorealistic was probably not the way to go; a thing that he's definitely incluenced the art style in
Daemon X Machina.
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One thing I've learned is that with the mech genre, the player really needs to be able to put him or herself in there; they really need to feel immersed in the game and in the mech. They need to feel like they themselves are in that world, and experiencing it directly. I think I've learned that that is an element that you need for people to really fall in love with the game. That's something we've worked hard on with Daemon X Machina.
I also think back to my past games and think 'why did I aim for that photorealistic visual?', without really thinking about it, or without really considering other options. I look back and wonder why I did it that way. That has influenced the art style of Daemon X Machina a lot".
A brand-new, fast-paced mech action game from Kenichiro Tsukuda is coming to Nintendo Switch. Take your Arsenal, a fully customizable powered suit, out for an array of missions to surmount the enemy at all costs.
Daemon X Machina will be available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch in 2019.