Tekken director and producer Katsuhiro Harada recently revealed some of his experiences developing Tekken 4. While the game is more widely accepted nowadays, Harada vividly remembers how suffocating Tekken 4’s negative feedback was, both from critics and within Namco.
His decision to shift Tekken’s traditional juggling mechanics to a more realistic fighting system that includes baiting attacks and uneven level geometry left Harada feeling constantly stressed whilst working on Tekken 4. He says that nobody on the development team was on his side, as they feared that they were meddling with a well-established formula.
Harada reveals that the stress caused him to lose all the hair on the right side of his body. This includes the hair on his head, arms, eyebrows, and eyelashes. The stress and shock got so bad that he temporarily left Namco a year before development on Tekken 5 began.
Despite the initial negativity, Harada was surprised that Tekken 4 sold well and would go on to become a favorite title for many players. Nowadays, he says he looks back on the game as a reminder and lesson to himself.
Reports of high stress levels in game development aren’tuncommon. Many are familiar with Masahiro Sakurai’s health issues when developing Super Smash Bros. games, and Hideo Kojima developed an ulcer when working on his third game, Snatcher. Indie developers, such as those who made Dungeon Antiqua, also experience stress when it comes to promoting their games and making sure they work as intended. A lot of work goes into making a video game, and sometimes it comes at a cost to the creators’ health.
