{"id":36179,"date":"2024-08-29T15:02:18","date_gmt":"2024-08-29T06:02:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=36179"},"modified":"2024-08-29T16:25:47","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T07:25:47","slug":"like-a-dragon-series-director-if-theres-no-healthy-fighting-during-development-you-can-only-make-a-lukewarm-game-at-best","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/like-a-dragon-series-director-if-theres-no-healthy-fighting-during-development-you-can-only-make-a-lukewarm-game-at-best\/","title":{"rendered":"Like a Dragon series\u2019 director: If there\u2019s no healthy fighting during development, you can only make a \u201clukewarm\u201d game at best\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEGA\u2019s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio is one of those developers you can\u2019t help but be curious about \u2013 what do things actually look like behind the scenes of the Like a Dragon <\/strong>series? AUTOMATON recently had the opportunity to talk to two of RGG Studio\u2019s key figures \u2013 Like a Dragon series director Ryosuke Horii (who directed Infinite Wealth) and game design supervisor Hirotaka Chiba. These guys are at the top of the studio\u2019s planning team, and they gave us insight into the work that they do and how their team differs from the typical planning team. Above all, they answered the question \u201cDo Yakuza’s developers ever fight?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The short answer is yes, but these \u201cfights\u201d revolve around a common goal \u2013 making an entertaining game. To begin with, the term \u2018game planner\u2019 is kind of specific to the Japanese industry, but it is generally thought to include work like the initial conceptualization of a game project, writing proposals and scenarios, and managing the various teams that execute the project. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
RGG Studio’s Ryosuke Horii <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RGG Studio\u2019s director Masayoshi Yokoyama has called their planning team \u201cspecial\u201d on several occasions. When we asked Horii about this, he said, “I don’t know if we are special, but I am proud to say that we are different from others.\u201d According to Horii, RGG Studio\u2019s planning team goes beyond strictly planning-related tasks and gets a lot more hands-on, even including things like directing voice and motion recording sessions. \u201cIf we feel that something would be of a better quality if we did it ourselves, we do it. (…) We do not outsource or delegate decisions to others.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s already known that RGG Studio nurtures developers who think for themselves<\/a> rather than worker-bees, but this seems to be especially true of the planning team. Chiba chimes in commenting, \u201cEach planner has a certain range of content that they oversee, and they are a bit like a director of that piece of content.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means that their job is not only to carry out their own tasks, but to take a proactive role when disagreements pop up. \u201cFor example, if a designer and a programmer are quarreling, it is the planner’s job to intercede. After all, if there are no arguments nor discussions, you can expect no more than a lukewarm final product. Therefore, fights are always welcome. But obviously, fighting is meaningless if it doesn\u2019t result in a fruitful conclusion, so it is up to the planner to lead everyone in the right direction. It\u2019s all about having healthy and productive fights.” Horii elaborates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Like
Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

RGG Studio\u2019s different teams tend to \u201cfight to the same beat\u201d rather than dancing to it, as Horii puts it \u2013 but it\u2019s all healthy and in the interest of making the games as entertaining as they can be. \u201cWe accept opinions based on how good they are, not based on which team suggested them. On the other hand, we also make sure to \u2018mercilessly\u2019 shut down poor ideas, so it boils down to having debates and \u2018battles\u2019 in the interest of making a good game.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But for this way of working to run smoothly, the team needs individuals equipped with leadership skills. That\u2019s why RGG Studio\u2019s planners are all trained to be leaders, even if they are not in a managerial position, according to Horii. They also need to know all the answers when a question arises \u2013 which makes them the backbone of Like a Dragon\u2019s development. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This article covers just part of a full-length interview that explores the inner workings of RGG Studio\u2019s planning team, coming on September 2. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Does SEGA\u2019s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio fight when they make Like a Dragon games? The short answer is yet, but there’s a lot more to it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":36182,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-36179","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nLike a Dragon series\u2019 director: If there\u2019s no healthy fighting during development, you can only make a \u201clukewarm\u201d game at best\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Does SEGA\u2019s Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio fight when they make Like a Dragon games? 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