{"id":41677,"date":"2024-12-18T18:27:50","date_gmt":"2024-12-18T09:27:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=41677"},"modified":"2024-12-18T18:27:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T09:27:53","slug":"okami-sequel-developer-clovers-aims-to-maintain-independence-from-investors-and-prioritize-uninterrupted-creativity-explains-hideki-kamiya","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/okami-sequel-developer-clovers-aims-to-maintain-independence-from-investors-and-prioritize-uninterrupted-creativity-explains-hideki-kamiya\/","title":{"rendered":"Okami sequel developer CLOVERS aims to maintain independence from investors and prioritize uninterrupted creativity, explains Hideki Kamiya\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

At The Game Awards last week, it was revealed that a sequel<\/a> to PS2 cult classic Okami is currently in development. Not only that, but the unexpected sequel is helmed by the original game\u2019s director Hideki Kamiya, at his new studio CLOVERS. Talking to Denfaminicogamer<\/a>, Hideki Kamiya and former PlatinumGames\/freelance game designer Kenta Koyama gave some insight into the founding of CLOVERS, the meaning behind the new studio\u2019s name, plus their uncompromising focus on creativity and financial independence.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Koyama explains that Kamiya came up with the name for their new studio. However, the name is more than just a reference to the now-defunct Capcom subsidiary Clover Studios, where Kamiya made Viewtiful Joe, God Hand and Okami. CLOVERS can be read as C Lovers, with the \u201cC\u201d standing for \u201cCreative.\u201d Creative differences were at the root of why Kamiya left PlatinumGames last year (more on that here<\/a>). \u201cIn working with Kamiya so far, I have always felt that \u201ccreativity\u201d was an extremely important element, so I thought it was a very good idea to have a company name that emphasizes this,\u201d Koyama comments. \u201cI further developed the idea from there, coming up with the concept of \u2018A company that values the 4 Cs,\u2019 imitating the four leaves of a clover.\u201d Appropriately, the studio\u2019s cloverleaf logo is made up of four interlocking Cs.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"CLOVERS
CLOVERS logo (image credit: CLOVERS official website<\/a>)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As explained on CLOVERS website<\/a>, three of the Cs are Challenge, Creativity and Craftmanship. \u201cThe difficult part was deciding what the fourth C should be,\u201d Koyama explains. \u201cThere are so many important words beginning with C that I just couldn\u2019t decide on one.\u201d Koyama ultimately came up with the idea that the fourth C represents what each individual employee brings to the table – in other words, each member of CLOVERS\u2019 staff picks their own C.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Okami<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

So, what are Hideki Kamiya and Kenta Koyama\u2019s personal Cs? Kamiya explains that he picked \u2018Curiosity\u2019 because \u201cthe curiosity that flows forth from within me has provided my driving force for creating games so far.\u201d Koyama chose \u201cCleanliness\u201d focusing on another, deeper meaning of the word (when translated into Japanese), which is \u201chonesty towards our business partners and employees.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not all staff have picked such serious words, however. \u201cSome of our members have chosen things like \u2018Coffee Break\u2019 and \u2018Crazy,\u2019 but it is also a creative way of testing our skills at explaining the concept behind words,\u201d Koyama explains. Referring to the uniqueness of each member’s choice of a fourth C, Kamiya later adds that \u201cI want to work with people who value this kind of individuality and who can put their own pride into making games.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Okami
The Bloom<\/em> Celestial Brush technique makes a welcome return in the Okami Sequel trailer.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being an independent studio is also a quality that CLOVERS founders place great emphasis on. \u201cIn order to focus on making the kind of unique and creative games that we are aiming for, we need to make sure that our investors cannot easily interfere in the company,\u201d Kamiya explains. Games will be financed on a per project basis, where investors fund a specific development project rather than the company itself.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Okami<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

CLOVERS currently has around 20 members split between two offices in Tokyo and Osaka. The eventual goal is to have around 70 employees. However, CLOVERS won\u2019t make every aspect of a game. Rather, CLOVERS\u2019 members will focus on creating and maintaining the central core and vision of the game, with other work being outsourced to like-minded creators at other companies.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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