The successful launch of one of the hottest game right now, NieR:Automata, has brought the world together to once again confirm that a girl’s ass is more important than her boobs. But (no pun intended) that aside, what else made the NieR franchise so special that even amazarashi’s frontman Hiromu Akita proactively sought to collaborate with this game release?
In toco toco tv’s latest video interview, director Yoko Taro—the man in charge of the direction of NieR:Automata—walks through his network of thoughts on how and why this game came to life. His approach to this interview is in a somewhat serious manner compared to his usual comical and sarcastic attitude. That part of him is however displayed in the B-rolls where you’ll be offered a set of spontaneous guerrilla skits. You may know this man from other great works like Drakengard, and obviously the NieR series.
Concept art of protagonist “2B” in various style.
“Taura-san, which one do you like the most?”.
Forced to choose, Taura-san reluctantly points towards the illustration on the right.
Looking at AAA titles, of course I find them beautiful and interesting, but after 20 minutes of gameplay I wonder whether it is going to be the same for the following 20 hours. I am a bit tired of this. If possible, I would like to make games that are unexpected, games that keep changing form. This is the mindset I had when I created the first NieR game, and it is present in NieR:Automata as well.
As someone who played NieR:Automata, I think this approach is essentially what made the game so damn enjoyable! I personally got around 30 hours of gameplay and the game still felt fresh and interesting even towards the end! There are of course a lot more to it than this, but for more, please watch the video interview with Yoko Taro below. At the end of the video you also have a little life lesson waiting for you.
More info:
toco toco tv YouTube Channel
NieR:Automata Official Website (English)
NieR:Automata Official Website (Japanese)