Interview: Hotel Dusk (DS)

Unless you played Another Code: Two Memories for Nintendo DS, chances are the name Cing won't ring any bells. This small development house is based in Fukuoaka, Japan, and employs only a few dozen people working on projects for a variety of game platforms.

As with Another Code, Cing have stayed true to their mantra of creating unique experiences, when developing Hotel Dusk: Room 215. Now we take a look behind the scenes, as we sit down for a chat with Mr. Takuya Miyagawa, CEO of Cing and Producer of Hotel Dusk, to discover how an interactive mystery novel is made

Nintendo of Europe: Mr. Miyagawa, with the success of Another Code: Two Memories under your belt, how do you approach your next project?

Takuya Miyagawa: When we started thinking about our next project after developing Another Code, we still really wanted to create a game that pursues the affinity between the adventure game and the Nintendo DS hardware, much like we did on Another Code. Yet we dared to refrain from making a direct sequel to Another Code, and chose the challenge of creating an adventure game that includes unprecedented forms of expression, which can reach out to a new audience.

Thus Hotel Dusk became a mystery adventure game, focusing on a storyline with adult appeal. We very much tried to enable the game to dwell in the heart of the player - the theme of the game is that everybody has a wish'.

When you play a game, you will have a variety of expectations. You may want to feel exhilaration when you defeat enemies, or you may want to have a sense of accomplishment when you solve a mystery. Overall we believe that the adventure game is a genre that allows us to express ourselves freely, in which it is easier to convey the kind of experiences that can really pull at players' heart strings. We feel that Hotel Dusk allowed us to truly highlight these aspects.

NoE: Which works inspired you when creating Hotel Dusk? Are there any mystery novels or films that influenced you in particular?

TM: The film Paris, Texas' by Wim Wenders inspired us most when creating Hotel Dusk. Other big influences were Bagdad Café / Out of Rosenheim', a German film from the 1980s. And where the animation is concerned, there's the obvious influence of a-ha's music video for Take On Me'.

NoE: Right, it's a very distinct style of animation that adds a lot of emotion to the characters. Who was responsible for that, and how did you go about creating these animations?

TM: Mr. Taisuke Kanesaki, the Director of the game, was in charge of the art direction, as well as character rendering. First, we create a character's design, and then draw personal expressions. Based on that, we film similar-looking models and gather footage. After that, we turned that footage into data, and we basically traced the movements and added their shadows for the final effect that you see in Hotel Dusk.

NoE: Could you give us some examples of the particular challenges you faced in setting up this interactive story?

TM: We really wanted to properly express the stories of each character in Hotel Dusk, and so we decided to make the story like the film Grand Hotel', in which multiple characters' different human dramas are all happening simultaneously during a limited time frame and in one confined setting.

To make the story more interesting, we wanted to incorporate the possibilities of interactive dialogue, and the possible forms of expression this entails. From this idea we developed Hyde's system of questioning and interrupting dialogue to pursue a train of thought.

The interactive dialogue really came to life because of the fact that the screens are positioned vertically, and because we spent so much time on animating the different characters, so we were able to realise an abundance of different expressions. We have defined these characters with the utmost precision, down to the deepest details of their lives.

NoE: Some critics might say that there is no such thing as an interactive story, that the player is eventually led to his story destiny. How much influence does the player of Hotel Dusk have on the resolution of the plot? Are there different endings?

TM: In Hotel Dusk, players will play the main protagonist, Kyle Hyde. The player will select the actions and utterances, but he will not be able to completely control Kyle freely. He will imagine what Kyle really thinks, ponder what would Kyle Hyde do in this situation?, and thus go forward in the game.

Therefore, if you select an action that Kyle would never do, sometimes it could be Game Over for you. Overall, the main storyline does not change, but we did prepare several kinds of endings that can be changed depending on how you play the game.

NoE: In a novel, people can always continue reading, but in an interactive mystery novel, they might get stuck. How did you balance the interactive challenge with the desire to progress in the story?

TM: During development, we take special care of crafting a storyline that can work as a video game. This time, we were aiming to create an adventure game with a storyline that people are more likely to find in novels, but which still has the elements that only games have, such as puzzles involving the player along the way, and that sense of accomplishment you will feel when you get through certain situations and challenges.

It is very difficult to adjust the gaming balance between the storyline part and the actual game part, as the player is guided in the direction the plot takes. Our biggest consideration at all times is, how do people feel when they are playing? And we take it from there.

NoE: How do you see the future of the interactive mystery novel as a genre of video games, and do you already have ideas for a follow-up title? And will we see Kyle Hyde again?

TM: We think in the future, there will be games where people can deduct can draw conclusions - with various other people at the same time, by making use of a network feature. We think at that time, games will become truly interactive.

As for Mr. Hyde - we think that he is also looking forward to meeting you again.

NoE: What would you wish for, if you spent the night in Room 215 of Hotel Dusk?

TM: We hope that many people in Europe will like the game.

NoE: Thank you very much for your time!

Solve the mystery of Hotel Dusk: Room 215 from April 13, only on Nintendo DS. Find out more on the Touch! Generations website!