Kazuma Kujo, Disaster Report creator and Granzella studio founder, recently did an interview with Famitsu (via Gematsu) in which he discusses Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 4: Summer Memories (AKA Disaster Report 4), how Granzella gained the rights, and the company’s history.
Particularly of note is a reply in which he states that he would like to introduce Souls-like messages to the game, and perhaps even allow players to leave useful items for others to find.
You can read the interesting parts of the interview below.
Famitsu: Could you talk a little about how you ended up with the rights [for Disaster Report 4]?
Kazuma Kujo: Sure. One of the original goals we had when we founded Granzella was to put out another disaster game. That sort of subject matter makes for a risky proposition, so we set out to make a company where we could assume that risk and the administrative responsibilities that come with it ourselves. If it was at all possible, we wanted to realize that vision with Disaster Report specifically. When we approached Irem about it, they were really understanding and things progressed well from there. Last year, our talks wrapped up and we made our announcement at the end of the year in the midst of the usual holiday chaos.
F: I was really surprised by it. The announcement just came out of nowhere.
KK: That’s the impression I get from most everybody, yes. Even within the company, only a select group of people knew what was happening up until the announcement, so we had our fair share of staffers that were caught off guard, too. [Laughs]
F: And now everyone wants to know where the Disaster Report series goes from here. How do you think things will proceed from here?
KK: Right now we want to revive interest in the series again, so by the time this interview is published, we should have the first two games, Disaster Report and Raw Danger!, available for download as PS2 Classics [on the Japanese Playstation Store]. And then from there, we’re working on publishing Zettai Zetsumei Toshi 3 again as a downloadable PSP game, too.
F: I’m impressed how fast you guys are making moves after the announcement.
KK: Well, with those previous games, we’re not altering anything; they’re going to be exactly the same as the original retail versions when we release them for download. A lot of people helped us to make these re-releases happen so quickly. Officially, we’re obviously the publisher of those games but when you boot the game it will still have the Irem logo in it and whatnot.
F: Wow, you’re not even changing that part?
KK: That’s correct. For those of you who already own those games or are expecting changes to be implemented, I apologize, but you probably shouldn’t buy these re-releases. [Laughs] On the other hand, if you just want to reminisce or you missed out on playing these when they first came out, these are for you. Actually, I ended up replaying the games again to check that everything was working, and while there were definitely things I found lacking by modern standards, they still felt fresh in their own way, so I kept playing them. It’s funny, even though I was responsible for more than half of the design work on those games, it’d been so long that there were times that I’d forgotten where to go, so that was nice to have them feel new again in parts. It also made me remember just how passionately I wanted to make disaster games back then, too; I came away from the games feeling like I have a lot to live up to, even just on a personal level.
F: Tell us a little about the state of Disaster Report 4, as it was well into development and the expected marketing when it was cancelled. Will the game Granzella publish just be a continuation of what you worked on previously or will it be something completely new?
KK: What we accomplished with Disaster Report 4 originally is still something I want the world to see, so it’s not like we plan on scrapping everything and rebuilding it from square one. Things like the basic themes, the summertime setting, the situations that the protagonist finds themselves in, I figure those will more or less remain intact. But a lot of time has also passed since we first worked on the game and the industry is in a different place now; the ways games express themselves, the technology they use—we have to incorporate those things now to make it all work.
And to be quite frank, I just don’t think we could release the game quite as it was when we had to abandon it. The reality is that if we hadn’t had trouble finishing the original version to begin with, if development had gone more smoothly, we would have been able to put the game out in a more timely fashion. I’ve done a lot of thinking these last four years about what happened. I’m glad we’ve got the rights to the series, but there’s a lot of self-introspection going on now as to whether I’m now capable of really making that game what it should be. All of that is going to inform how we develop Disaster Report 4, so that hopefully we don’t get too cocky this time and can make something we’re genuinely able to put out.
F: So essentially, the core of the game will remain the same, but if things merit re-examining, they’ll be re-examined.
KK: Yep.
F: Until now, Granzella has been really involved in making lounges for PlayStation Home. Will that experience go into making online components for Disaster Report 4, by any chance?
KK: That’s what we hope, yes. There are systems I’d like to put in where, for example, players can leave behind hints for one another as to how to survive a given area, messages of pending danger, and even crucial items for them to use.
F: If you don’t mind me changing the subject a bit, how are you all feeling about Playstation Home shutting down soon?
KK: Personally, I suspect there’s no developer that owes more to Home’s existence than Granzella because when we started the company, we had to start completely from scratch. We had no IPs of our own nor the knowledge of how to take on subcontracting work ourselves. Literally, we had nothing to work with. But three months into the business, we got a lounge up on the service and started connecting with our customers. From there, we ended up doing business in 37 different countries through Home. Obviously, getting money from all those sources helped us and, more importantly, having so many fans from around the world helped us keep going, too. The fact that we were able to continue doing that work, I think, contributed to us being able to get those rights for the Disaster Report series. If we didn’t have Playstation Home this whole time, Granzella may well have had a hard time staying afloat, so we’re deeply grateful to the service and its users for everything they’ve provided.
F: It’s unfortunate it’s coming to an end. If I may ask, have you decided which platforms Disaster Report 4 will come out on yet?
KK: We’re not quite ready to talk about that yet. Later this year in the fall we’ll be ready to talk about that.
F: Just so we’re clear, Fall isn’t when you’re actually going to release the game. It’s when we’re getting more information.
KK: Yes. Don’t put too much stock into that time frame. [Laughs]
F: How will you be involved in the game’s development now?
KK: Well, it will be largely the same as it has been with the other games. I’ll be working on it in many different capacities: designer, director, planner, everything. I also intend to handle the scenario writing and producer work, as well.
F: Is there anybody else on the development team who has worked on the previous games, too?
KK: Yes, naturally. There have been other Irem expats since the founding of this company and more have come from there since. It’s interesting that you bring this question up because within the company itself, it was actually the people who hadn’t previously worked on the other games that were most excited we landed the rights. There are people who came to work for us because they were originally Irem fans, so it makes sense. That’s not to say that the series veterans weren’t pleased with the news. It’s just that they understand better than anyone else the work that goes into making the video games. [Laughs]
[…]
F: Finally, do you have any parting words for Disaster Report fans that will be reading this interview?
KK: I just want to thank everyone, whether you’re a fan who’s been waiting for this time to arrive or someone who worked with us more directly in making this happening. Disaster Report 4 won’t be undergoing anything in the way of drastic renovations, but we’ve all grown a little since we last got to work on the game and hopefully the final product will display the fruits of that to some extent. All of us have been really floored at all the support we’ve received since we made the announcement, and it’s made for a vivid reminder that both as a company and as individual creators, we owe a great debt to our players.
Aside from work on the Disaster Report series and our manga-making software Let’s Manga for PS Vita, we’ve got one more title in the pipeline this year for Vita, plus a brand new action-adventure game, among a bunch of other things we’re working on. We hope you’ll stick around and see where things go from here.
We’ll let you know when there’s more news about Disaster Report 4.
