Custom Mech Wars’ producer talks about the Armored Core 6 challenger’s high degree of freedom and how to enjoy it to the fullest 

D3 Publisher’s Custom Mech Wars is set to release on December 14 for the PS5 and PC (Steam). The upcoming third-person mech shooter has been receiving attention ever since its announcement, as it is a brand-new IP that offers full mech customization. The title was also announced around the time of Armored Core 6’s release, making mech game enthusiasts sit up and take notice. 

We recently had the opportunity to interview Custom Mech Wars’ producer Yosuke Uchida and ask him about what kind of game Custom Mech Wars is and how it’s meant to be played. As a Prototype Version of the game has already been released, we discussed user reactions and how the development team feels about the feedback received so far. 

──Please tell us about your background and the previous titles you have worked on. 

Uchida: I’m Yosuke Uchida of D3 Publisher. So far, I have overseen bishōjo games released by D3P such as Omega Labyrinth Life and SAMURAI MAIDEN. Custom Mech Wars is actually the first non-bishōjo game I have been in charge of. I usually produce games where you can catch a glimpse of the characters’ underwear (laughs). This is also the first game I have produced which has a CERO B (for ages 12 and over) rating. 

── Can you tell us about the course of your career up until now? 

Uchida: In the past, I worked as a writer and editor, writing articles for manga magazines for boys and game magazines. I also wrote game guidebooks. I have always been interested in video games, and this is what led me to join D3 Publisher, where I was originally responsible for advertising, PR and marketing. Now, I’ve somehow ended up producing new titles.  

── Could you introduce your next release, Custom Mech Wars? 

Uchida: Custom Mech Wars is our new title that will be released for the PS5 and PC. Put simply, you could say it is part of the robot/mech game genre, but it places a strong emphasis on customization. The extreme customization is what players have identified as the game’s number 1 selling point. 

In Custom Mech Wars, the player has complete freedom to build their mech, which sets this game apart from others in the same genre. As such, this is an aspect of the game I would like players to thoroughly enjoy. 

── You mean to say that, rather than going through the missions with a preset robot, this game’s true appeal lies in operating a unique mech that you created? 

Uchida: Of course, the game offers a selection of preset robots, and you can also enjoy playing the game using just those. But if you are only using the preset models, you can only experience about 10% of the fun that this game has to offer. 

I think a lot of players can relate to that feeling of “this game’s mechs are cool but not quite to my taste” or “I want to pilot that one mech from that one game” – these are the kinds of needs we hope to cater to with Custom Mech Wars, by allowing players to create their ideal mech to go into battle with.

── How big is the team that worked on this title? 

Uchida: We established the planning team around the Summer of 2021. As for the scale of the team, I would like to refrain from giving exact numbers, but it’s quite an ambitious scale for D3 Publisher’s standards. 

── The announcement of Custom Mech Wars was quite impactful as it came four days after Armored Core 6‘s release on August 25. Given Armored Core’s popularity, announcing a game in the same genre (albeit of a different type) around the same time prompted quite a big reaction from the community, didn’t it? 

Uchida: Fortunately, it has made a big impact, hasn’t it! It wasn’t something we were aiming for, but considering Custom Mech Wars’ planned release date and marketing plan, we felt we had to release information about the game around this period (when Armored Core 6 came out).  

I do admit that, as I was thinking of a suitable date in August for the announcement, my eyes rested on a period when it seemed “robot game fever” would be at its peak. 

──Apart from the playful nickname* the game earned as soon as it was announced, what did you think of the response to the announcement? Did it exceed your expectations? 

Uchida: It exceeded our expectations. If it were a bishōjo-type game, like the ones we have experience in releasing, I could imagine the reaction to some extent. But this time, I couldn’t predict people’s reactions at all as the target audience was completely different. There’s also the fact that it’s a brand-new IP. Although robot games seem to be on the rise right now, they’re generally regarded as niche both within and outside the industry. So for the entire time up until the announcement, I was preparing for the possibility that it might be met with complete silence. 

*The Japanese abbreviated nickname for Custom Mech Wars, “kasume,” sounds like “You piece of trash.” 

──Isn’t that a tad too pessimistic? 

Uchida: But it was entirely possible. After all, D3 Publisher is not a company that is well-known for robot games or expected to make robot games. As a result, we were prepared to receive no response from players, but then, the first trailer launched and we got a lot of responses, which made us truly happy.  

──The larger the response, the higher the players’ expectations. Did you feel any pressure?  

Uchida: Of course, there is pressure. But more than that, we are trying to do our best to meet players’ expectations in a way that does not betray them.  

──What is the precise target audience for this game? 

 Uchida: Of course, the main target is robot/mech game players! As a secondary target, we are hoping to attract people who like sandbox and crafting games where you can express your creativity and build things. In general, I feel like it’s a game that would appeal to people who like games that are different from the norm.  

──Next, I’d like to ask about the Prototype Version that was released for Custom Mech Wars. What kind of responses did you get from players and what did you learn? 

Uchida: The Prototype Version was released at the end of October. Thankfully, far more people installed the prototype than we expected. We received straightforward feedback like “I want you to improve this aspect” and “This part is no good.” I am extremely grateful to all the players who submitted their opinions. We have been focusing on how to correct the things that were pointed out.  

──A quick look at social media gave me the impression that the comments were rather harsh. Do the positives prevail even in the face of such opinions? 

Uchida: Yes! While it is disheartening to read harsh responses, such suggestions are meaningful, and I think that it doesn’t bode well for the game’s content if you get no feedback at all.   

We have allocated more staff and funds to the project, and have been working hard to improve the game. Although we have been feeling a little depressed about certain aspects, I think that players’ evaluation of the title will change when they play the final version. In this sense, we are positive that we can implement concrete improvement and correction plans. 

──I get the impression that the criticism, albeit harsh, is constructive, as people are specifying what they want fixed rather than just complaining. 

Uchida: Requests where players say “I want this part to be like this” are really clear. I feel like the number of players who sent precise feedback such as “This aspect is no good” was a lot higher than those with vague comments like “It’s boring.” It would be very difficult for us if commenters just said things like “everything’s terrible” or “it’s no fun at all”. However, all the detailed comments we received about this game have really helped. Obviously, we can’t incorporate all the opinions we have received, but we have set up a system to gradually rework parts of the game in order of priority, so I think players have a lot to look forward to in the final product.  

──You take the opinions of your players very seriously. By the way, is there a way to play the game that makes it more interesting? When I tried playing the prototype, I played with one of the preset robots and personally found it a bit unvaried and bland. Is that a way of playing the game that you wouldn’t recommend? 

Uchida: The final version of the game will include 3 preset mechs that are completely different to the ones in the prototype. You can use these presets to progress through the game. However, if that’s all you do, the game will be a bit bland, so I think it’s better to enjoy using the new parts you receive as you progress, assembling and replacing parts of your robot to your liking.  

The “Normal” and “Hard” difficulty settings that you can select from the start of the game are not actually that difficult, so you can even prioritize looks in your builds. For example, you can focus on recreating a robot from a particular anime and clear the stages with style. Others might want to focus on efficiency or build a mech with loads of weapons. I would like players to enjoy the game in various different ways. 

──When playing Custom Mech Wars, I can feel the influence of the “Earth Defense Force” series in the game’s overall structure. As Earth Defense Force is also a D3 Publisher title, did you take influenced from the series or use it as a reference?  

Uchida: The Custom Mech Wars development team is completely unrelated to Sandlot, the developer of the Earth Defense Force series, so we did not receive any direct advice or know-how from them. However, I myself am a fan of the Earth Defense Force series, and there were also comments from the development team during the planning stage along the lines of “Wouldn’t it be great if we could make a robot game version of Earth Defense Force.” So we did refer to certain aspects of the series.  

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──You released an announcement about the improvements made based on user requests and feedback from the prototype version. Are there any points you would like to add about these improvements? 

Uchida: The problem with Custom Mech Wars is that due to the comparatively high degree of customization available, it was difficult to find past robot games that we could use as reference. Therefore, distributing the prototype version enabled us to get more concrete insight as to what players were dissatisfied with and what they wanted to see improved. We viewed player opinions on the prototype from a neutral perspective, focusing on feedback related to maneuverability in the action sections and the feel of the game. 
At the start, we originally planned to make Custom Mech Wars into a weighty shooter where the robots couldn’t move as nimbly.  

──Something along the lines of “Chōsōjū Mecha MG*,” I presume?  So, at some point, Custom Mech Wars started leaning towards a more action-oriented game with high mech mobility? 

Uchida: Of course, the game was conceived as an action shooter with free mobility from the very beginning. But at first, we prioritized controls that convey the robot’s weight over being able to move around swiftly. However, there were a lot of players who wanted to be able to quickly zoom about in the action sections, so we tried to incorporate this into the game without upsetting the existing balance. 

*Japan Exclusive Nintendo DS game 

── Speaking of such requests, you can use melee weapons in Armored Core 6, so you probably got comments like “Why can’t we use them in Custom Mech Wars?!” I get the impression that close-range combat was not that important in previous robot game titles, but since Armored Core 6 came along, it became a given. 

Uchida: That’s true. Another point I’d like to mention regarding improvements to the prototype version is related to part damage. Among the feedback we received, many players complained about having the mechs they worked hard to build get damaged and deteriorate in appearance. 

Completely eliminating part damage from the game would have a significant impact on the game’s rules and difficulty, and there were also voices in favor of keeping part damage, so this was a difficult decision to make.  However, knowing that other games in the genre have also been criticized for the same mechanic, we wanted to provide some kind of solution. 

So, even though we couldn’t get rid of part damage completely, we added an extra option that becomes available after you have cleared the game, wherein the robot’s appearance does not change even if parts are damaged. This allows you to battle without worrying about your favorite mech’s appearance changing. 

──There were 5 different presets in the prototype, ranging from small mecha to bikini armor. Why did you choose these 5? 

Uchida: We absolutely had to use preset robots because players at TGS only had about 10 minutes to try the game. If we had only had one standard robot available, we wouldn’t have been able to show off the degree of freedom in customization, so we added multiple variants.  

In addition to typical-looking robots, we also had a four-legged animal-like robot, and the slightly silly looking bikini armor. We also collaborated with the Earth Defense Force series, including the Barga preset robot to appeal to fans of the series.  

──Is there a particular preset that you would like players to try out first in order to get to know the game? When I played the game, I selected the bikini armor first, which felt a bit quirky.  

Uchida: There is a white robot called GM-WhiteGriffon, and I think that if you want to enjoy the game in an orthodox way, then it would be best to play with that one first. I’m pleased that you chose the bikini armor, but actually, the bikini armor is a bit of a joke as it is the only preset robot without any torso parts, which surely makes some portions of the game difficult to get through (laughs). 

── What has been the most popular preset so far? 

Uchida: At TGS, the GM-WhiteGriffon was probably the most used. The second most popular was probably Barga.  

Barga is the only L-sized robot among the presets, so I think some players who tried playing with this mech found it to be disproportionally strong. However, in the release version, you will only be able to obtain L-size parts after advancing quite a bit further in the game, so I don’t think this is a problem in terms of balance. 

──You also held a contest for players, the results of which have been announced. Were there any builds that you found interesting or any ideas that impressed you?  

Uchida: Although it didn’t exactly meet the criteria for a winning entry, I thought it was interesting that one contestant’s submission in the “cool robot” category was the word “cool” (jp: kakkoii) spelt out in robot parts. 

As for ideas that I hadn’t previously thought of, there was one contestant who made a big robot with a small robot inside, so that it looked like the smaller robot was piloting from the cockpit. It sounds strange to say this, but I thought, “Oh! You can do this kind of thing too!?” but it really had never occurred to me. Through holding the contest, I was pleased to discover different ways of interacting with the game. 

──Lastly, do you have a message for people who are interested in this game?  

Uchida: First of all, we are taking user feedback very seriously and will be making improvements wherever we can right up until the December 14 release date. In addition, we will continue working on the game post-release with any fixes necessary. Custom Mech Wars is D3 Publisher’s brand-new IP, and it’s been a while since we’ve released a title that doesn’t belong to the bishōjo game genre or Earth Defense Force series, so we really want to make it a success. We hope to establish the IP and develop it further with a second and third entry. User feedback is essential for the game’s success, so we’re very grateful to players for their support! 

Custom Mech Wars is scheduled to be released on December 14 for PS5 and PC (Steam)   

©2023 D3PUBLISHER 
[Japanese version Writer and Editor: Yusuke Oizumi] 
[Interviewer, Photographer and Editor: Ayuo Kawase] 
[English Translation: Verity Townsend] 
[Translation Editor: Amber V]

Original Japanese article (original article’s publication date: 2023-12-09 11:19)