We got the chance to play Toei Animation’s new thriller game, Re:VER PROJECT -TOKYO-, alongside chatting with their producer Hisashi Matsuura.
Our talk covered their exciting new game, as well as their new focus on embracing games as a path to produce new IPs and franchises. Get our full interview below:
Brandon Orselli: So for those who somehow aren’t familiar with Toei Animation, can you give them a background of the company?
Hisashi Matsuura: So Toei Animation is a Japanese anime company. We do have anime series like One Piece or Sailor Moon. Most of them are for children or young adults.
Brandon: That’s actually something I didn’t even think about. Those series are always focused on kids or young adults. Is that what made Toei want to branch out into games?
Matsuura: So the reason we wanted to start creating games is because we wanted to make original IPs from games. Creating anime is costly and takes a lot of time. We were thinking about how to shorten the development time in a cost-effective manner, and we thought making games would be a great new way.
Game development is an environment where everything goes so quickly. We thought games would be a great way for us to create new content in a heartbeat in a cost-effective way. We were also trying to look at games and other trans media content too.
Brandon: Is it possible in the future Toei could even be looking at games more from a development perspective for new IPs across mediums?
Matsuura: So the purpose of our project is to create original IPs from the game. So once we establish the IP from the game, we’re thinking about branching out to theater, comics and novels as well.
Brandon: So the world in Re:VER focuses on recreating Japanese society. Do you think this portrayal of Japan is a reflection of modern Tokyo? or more near-future?
Matsuura: The kind of a part of Tokyo this game takes place in… This is focused more on the current Tokyo urban society, but that does include some fiction as well.
Brandon: One of the main characters, Hinagi, was an idol that has her career ended. Is this sort of a commentary on Japanese pop-culture? To me as a Westerner, Japan seems strict with controversy compared to the West.
Matsuura: Yes, all cultures are different among various countries and that’s one of the game’s themes. When the main character is running from the police, are other people around him really paying attention to him or not?
It varies in different countries, too. That’s something I think is very interesting. Depending on the culture, how it’s being viewed, it’s totally different.
So in Japan, we believe thing that people around us are not paying attention to us. But what do you think in an American situation?
Brandon: I think it’s a very interesting difference. Whether it’s a allegation of crime or drugs or whatever, America seems a lot more tolerant of it. It seems like it may seem like nothing here in the USA, but Japan’s very strict?
Matsuura: I believe that once you fail in Japan, it’s really hard to get a second chance in my country. So I think that’s something very unique in a Japanese environment.
Brandon: Do you feel like a core theme of the game is getting a second chance beyond all odds?
Matsuura: I’m hoping we can make it look like there’s going to be a second chance. To have hope.
Brandon: If you could put a percentage of how much Toei is focusing on developing new game IP?
Matsuura: We have two thousand employees and we’re working on this project with two of those two thousand. So it’s kind of hard to express how many percent (laughs).
Our division is working with Nestopi, an indie game developer. So we are working with them to create this story and the characters.
Brandon: If Re:VER does well, is there a possibility Toei will put more focus on new game development, or a focus on just more Japanese indie games?
Matsuura: Yes, most definitely. Not only in Japan, we are able to publish using the Steam platform worldwide. So unlike triple AAA titles, it is much easier for us with the approachable costs to create original IPs, and in a much faster way.
Brandon: Is Toei open to possibly developing totally new anime IP games or are they just focused on making any new IPs in general?
Matsuura: So we have other divisions that are trying to utilize the existing anime IP, to create games. What we are trying to do in our department is the other way around. We’re more focused on creating IP from the game.
Brandon: Have any games or Japanese drama inspired Re:VER?
Matsuura: Not so much from a fictional Japanese drama, but my inspiration comes from actual events that are going on in Japanese society. Also I sometimes read books and get inspired.
Brandon: Re:VER feels like sort of a J-drama but it also has these survival elements. Was it difficult to balance the drama narrative and the survival elements?
Matsuura: Balancing was not difficult for us. Nestopi worked on the crafting and survival game mechanics and on our side worked on the suspense, the characters, and the worldview of the whole game. So we had a good collaboration. It was very fun to work with them.
Brandon: I’ve noticed in typical J-drama there’s always a bit of humor even if there’s dark tones. I felt that in Re:VER. Is that something that was considered when making the narrative?
Matsuura: It’s not so extreme like in Japanese dramas, not as shocking as it is, but I was thinking about how this is going to be viewed in Japan or the US, or in other parts of the world.
After looking at people playing this game, I thought this could be a private life game. At the same time, people can be playing as a group, discussing how they should be acting. So it can go both ways.
Brandon: I know it may be unfair but if can you pick a favorite recent fiction/story or drama?
Matsuura: Do you mean outside of the game? Not so much J-drama but I have been watching Korean dramas on Netflix or Amazon.
Brandon: Was the setting for modern Tokyo decided upon from the start, or were there any other time periods in Japan that were considered?
Matsuura: What we want to accomplish is that the players feel the experience and they can relate with themselves in what is going on.
In that sense, it was probably the best way to go with describing modern society, not before or after.
Brandon: Do you feel like you wanted to make a distinctly Japanese game with Re:VER, or were they open to making any type of setting for their, their new IP?
Matsuura: So, Japanese society is very close to myself, though that’s just the starting point.
Now that we publish this for worldwide audiences, it is a possibility that we can have a foreign setting for the future.
Brandon: Do you have a dream game genre or style you’d like to try in the future?
Matsuura: For now our focus is that users can communicate through the stories and characters, while playing this game.
Brandon: Thank you so much for your time!
Matsuura: Thank you!
Re:VER PROJECT -TOKYO- is in development for Windows PC (via Steam), though a release date wasn’t announced.
