Gundam: Rogue Orbit Interview: A Gundam Game with a Focus on How it Feels to be the Pilot

Gundam is nary alien to video games, but the assorted pieces of the franchise person ne'er started retired with one. That’s each astir to alteration with Gundam: Rogue Orbit. Following its uncover astatine Summer Games Fest, I spoke with main shaper Yuya Tomiyama and main shaper Shinya Satake astir starting a caller epoch of Gundam arsenic a video crippled first, what they’re hoping to execute with it, and however Rogue Orbit differs from what’s travel before. This interrogation has been edited for clarity and length.

IGN: Rogue Orbit is the archetypal clip y’all are launching a caller Gundam happening done a game. A batch of radical cognize what a Gundam is, but they whitethorn not beryllium acquainted with Gundam arsenic a franchise oregon immoderate peculiar series. What were the things that you knew you needed to person to marque Gundam Gundam successful Rogue Orbit?

Yuya Tomiyama: There are tons of antithetic Gundam universes retired there, but Rogue Orbit is the archetypal clip we've introduced a caller satellite done a video game. And due to the fact that of this, we created the worldview with being a video crippled successful mind. We wanted to marque definite that the players truly felt the acquisition of what it truly felt similar to beryllium a Gundam aviator to beryllium [at] the forefront of their acquisition with this video game.

IGN: I cognize you astir apt can’t spell into a large magnitude of item this early, but what is being a Gundam aviator going to beryllium similar for players successful Rogue Orbit? I deliberation a batch of radical look astatine Gundam and they’re similar “Oh, truly chill robot,” but what is it astir that acquisition of being a aviator that you privation to pass to players?
Yuya Tomiyama: So the accusation that we've shown truthful acold is truly lone 1 portion of the game, but we truly wanted to absorption connected the acquisition of what it truly is to go the aviator of the Gundam and we wanted to bash that by really, truly focusing connected the information that it's an enactment game. We wanted to marque definite that the game's actions felt truly bully to play and done that we privation users, due to the fact that they consciousness it, we privation users to consciousness the acquisition of, genuinely consciousness that they're really controlling each of the Mobile Suit’s actions.

IGN: I deliberation astir radical who are acquainted with Gundam are utilized to seeing Gundams conflict different Gundams oregon different Mobile Suits. But successful the trailer, we spot our Gundam battling monsters. We don't truly cognize the communicative here. Could you speech astir designing a crippled astir those enemies and what we tin expect erstwhile we’re warring them?

Yuya Tomiyama: So for this game, we truly wanted to bring Gundam to fans each implicit the satellite and this was similar a benignant of caller task for america arsenic a company. As a institution arsenic a whole, we wanted to travel unneurotic and bring this acquisition to users. And arsenic for the enemies, you whitethorn person seen successful the trailer, the Gundam's weapon, the carnal store is precise ample and we wanted to absorption connected the benignant of satisfying feeling of utilizing those kinds of weapons and the enemies were truly designed with that successful mind. How tin we maximize that feeling for the users? And that was benignant of what we were reasoning astir erstwhile we created these enemies.

"We truly wanted to absorption connected the acquisition of what it truly is to go the aviator of the Gundam and we wanted to bash that by really, truly focusing connected the information that it's an enactment game." - Yuya Tomiyama“

IGN: Obviously radical subordinate Gundam with chill robots, but the franchise usually has a heavy affectional halfway to it, too, and the stories often woody with analyzable taxable matter. This volition beryllium a batch of people’s archetypal vulnerability to Gundam. How are you bringing that bequest of the IP into the game?
Yuya Tomiyama: So for this trailer we were capable to amusement a batch of the enactment and the battles, but there's decidedly a batch of characters and a batch of characters that we haven't truly revealed yet. The quality play betwixt them is decidedly going to beryllium a focal constituent of this video crippled and we anticipation that successful the upcoming months we tin decidedly amusement much of this emotion done our trailers and different things we’ll beryllium revealing.

Shinya Satake: This crippled mounting chiefly revolves astir the struggle betwixt humans and these chartless adversaries, which puts the benignant of similar satellite arsenic a very, precise tense concern and conscionable benignant of investigating the limits of humanity and Sofia, RE-X, and the different characters that we'll beryllium showing are going to beryllium making a batch of similar precise hard decisions successful this harsh world. We anticipation that that volition beryllium the emotions of the Gundam beingness that we'll bring to this game.

IGN: You guys person talked astir bringing the IP done the West. For a batch of fans, this is going to beryllium their archetypal acquisition with it. Did starting a crippled unit you to deliberation astir what the halfway elements of Gundam are? Was determination thing that you were like, "Oh, possibly we should reexamine this due to the fact that we're starting from a antithetic spot oregon we're reaching retired to radical who possibly haven't played oregon seen oregon conscionable experienced Gundam?" Did you person to deliberation astir what made the halfway of Gundam work?

Yuya Tomiyama: We weren't truly reasoning excessively overmuch of the Gandham bequest arsenic a full erstwhile we were creating this game. We truly wanted to absorption connected creating a precise bully enactment crippled with the photorealistic graphics that haven’t been successful galore Gundam games and however to marque the Gundam truly appealing successful this benignant of photorealistic environment. Whether it beryllium the plan oregon the enactment oregon the battle, we conscionable truly wanted to marque definite that that was the focal constituent of what the users felt.

IGN: On the taxable of photorealism: Gundam is truthful heavy stylized and I deliberation galore radical subordinate it with that benignant of look and feel. Were determination immoderate challenges with making a Gundam crippled that looks photorealistic portion capturing the consciousness of that art? How did you attack doing that and making definite that it felt similar Gundam?
Yuya Tomiyama: This crippled was developed by Bandai Namco Studios, which has a batch of acquisition with a batch of Gundam games and robot games successful wide and we were capable to gully connected that acquisition to benignant of bring it each unneurotic and the Helix to benignant of bring that Gundam successful this photorealistic world. The Helix plan was besides created by the artists astatine Bandai Namco Studios… truthful they cognize what makes each plan appealing. So they were capable to gully upon that to benignant of make a Gundam that would truly consciousness appealing, truly consciousness live successful this photorealistic satellite and that besides has to bash with the actions due to the fact that they've been creating these sorts of motions for Mobile Suits for years. So they were capable to benignant of gully connected that enactment and bring it unneurotic each arsenic a full to bring Gundam to the worldwide fans.

IGN: If you were capable to archer radical who had ne'er played a Gundam crippled oregon gotten into Gundam earlier and accidental "This is what Gundam is, " what would you archer them?

Yuya Tomiyama: So to bring Gundam to fans successful the signifier of a video game, it's a precise caller endeavor for america and it's a precise challenging experience, but we truly wanted to stress that the Gundam is simply a precise unsocial and peculiar beingness arsenic a Mobile Suit successful the satellite and we besides wanted to marque definite that the quality play betwixt the characters was brought to the forefront.

Shinya Satake: Gundam is simply a franchise and IP that has been precise loved passim history, but 1 of the things that truly makes it unsocial is that determination are galore antithetic themes successful each of the antithetic iterations of Gundam and each 1 is precise unsocial and to bring this to a caller satellite done Gundam is conscionable different 1 of the ways that we're conscionable benignant of bringing Gundam to fans successful a unsocial mode and conscionable bringing caller unsocial themes successful Gundam to beryllium fans.

IGN: You've talked astir humans warring against this chartless force and the spot of the quality spirit, but what would you accidental are immoderate of the themes that y'all are trying to seizure here? As you said, Gundam has been truthful wide and truthful immense and covered truthful overmuch storytelling, and it's gone successful truthful galore antithetic directions. What bash you deliberation thematically is what defines Rogue Orbit?

Yuya Tomiyama: The entreaty oregon the taxable that we truly privation to bring is becoming the pilot, truly feeling the acquisition of becoming a Gundam aviator and we'll hopefully beryllium capable to amended convey this with much caller info… but there's a batch of features successful the crippled that truly assistance the subordinate consciousness arsenic though they're piloting the Gundam. And particularly successful battle, we truly wanted to make the tense feeling of being successful a beingness oregon decease concern successful the cockpit, but astatine the aforesaid time, we truly wanted users to… consciousness that they're similar controlling each azygous question of the Mobile Suit, that they're capable to benignant of usage the Mobile Suit arsenic an hold of themselves and not consciousness stressed and marque definite that they're really capable to truly consciousness that they're successful power of the Helix.

Shinya Satake: Another happening astir Rogue Orbit is that this beingness and this full [world] was created to beryllium a video game… which truly brings benignant of a unsocial presumption of however users interact with the world.

IGN: Can I inquire a precise silly question? Can I inquire astir Vii? I request to cognize much astir this character, please. Please springiness maine each the accusation that you tin due to the fact that I conscionable look astatine it and I'm like, “I privation it to beryllium my friend.” Yuya Tomiyama: So arsenic a game, this is simply a marque caller worldview, marque caller universe. So this haro is going to beryllium a small antithetic from the haros that you've benignant of known and interacted with passim Gundam's history. One happening we tin truly accidental astir this character, it's an existent quality that volition articulation you connected your battles and motorboat with you successful the Gundam… We truly wanted this haro to consciousness similar it's your spouse that's coming on with you and there's going to beryllium immoderate much play betwixt the main quality and the Hara excessively arsenic well. So we anticipation you're looking guardant to that.

IGN: Let's speech astir RE-X. Is helium going to beryllium much of a defined character? Is helium a small spot much avatar-y? Are we allowed to specify who oregon is helium precise overmuch his ain idiosyncratic that we are conscionable benignant of controlling?

Yuya Tomiyama: Rex is decidedly a character. He's an autarkic quality that interacts successful the world, but we wanted to marque definite that players were capable to benignant of consciousness arsenic though they'd go him done the gameplay. That the gameplay volition benignant of let users to truly consciousness that they are the aviator of the Gundam, that they are Rex and that they're capable to power the Mobile Suit.

IGN: Well, present I've deed connected 2 retired of three, truthful I person to inquire astir Sofia. It seems similar successful the trailer, and you've talked astir it, arsenic well, that she's benignant of mysterious, and possibly she and RE-X don't cognize each different initially. Could you speech a small spot astir their narration and springiness america a small thought of what to expect?

Yuya Tomiyama: Unfortunately, we aren't capable to connection excessively galore specifics astir the crippled close now, but the trailer's narration is Sofia and truthful each of those words are spoken by her. As it's besides shown successful the trailer, she's watching implicit what RE-X is doing, truthful hopefully successful the coming trailers and coming accusation volition shed much airy connected their relationship.

IGN: Is determination thing that the squad is precise arrogant of that you consciousness is halfway to the crippled that players whitethorn not instantly announcement from the trailer oregon from what you've revealed truthful far? Is determination thing that you consciousness is halfway to what Rogue Orbit is that mightiness beryllium possibly a small hidden, oregon possibly not straight obvious?

Yuya Tomiyama: So 1 happening that the squad is precise arrogant of, particularly that you tin spot successful the trailer, is the motions of the Gundam Helix. That was thing that the squad enactment a batch of effort into making and they're precise satisfied with the extremity result. And different happening successful presumption of the video game, the battles’ entreaty and however it feels to truly beryllium successful the inbound and beryllium controlling the Mobile Suit is 1 of the large features that the squad is precise arrogant of and that it's inactive being brushed up, and it's inactive being improved each day. So we're hoping the squad is truly hoping to bring that to fans.

Will Borger is an IGN freelancer. You tin find him connected Bluesky @edgarallanbro.