Eve got 20 to 30 costumes?!
Stellar Blade Director and Shift Up CEO, Kim Hyung Tae, sat down with Famitsu for an interview on Stellar Blade. The game technical director, Dongi Lee, also joined the interview. Both directors shared a lot of exciting details about the highly anticipated game. They talked about Stellar Blade’s designs, world, game flow, inspirations and the total of costumes.
Choosing a Platform
First, Tae wanted to create Stellar Blade for a single platform. A platform that would give player the maximum experience as possible. And they chose the PS5.
Dongi Lee, Stellar Blade Director, commented that PS5’s SSD would allow for faster load times. And the haptic triggers would allow players to get a deep sense of immersion. Plus, the PS5 would allow them to create a quality game to the highest caliber.
Tae has a fondness for Playstation. While he didn’t have much money as a kid. The Playstation launched when started to get into video games. And the Playstation largely shaped his personal values for games.
Similarly, Playstation had shaped my values for games too. Thanks to Final Fantasy, Kingdom Hearts, and many other games. Playstation has been an influence from my childhood to now. Many gamers can relate this too.
Nier Automata
Tae says that Nier Automata is what mostly influenced Stellar Blade. Nier Automata is what inspired him to create Stellar Blade. Most players who played Automata can clearly why Tae chose that game to mold Stellar Blade into. After all, it is one of the greatest RPGs in recent history. Automata also has a lot of influence in the gaming industry and continues to do so.
Other Inspirations
However, Automata wasn’t the only influence. Tae also cites God of War as another key source of inspiration too. Other titles that have influenced Stellar Blade were Bayonetta, Sekiro, and Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order. God of War is one of Tae’s favorite game. More importantly, the game taught him that he can create a massive world without it being fully open-world.
It would explain why Stellar Blade is semi open world game. Honestly, it is for the best. Many open world games don’t pan out well. And a lot of open world games are filled with such unnecessary meaningless content. Having a semi open world eliminates the need for such content.
Action Element
Initially Tae and his team focus on everything a female warrior can do with a sword. Also, they wanted to have speedy and flashly maneuvers. In order to make the game fun and exciting.
To avoid making combat a skill spamming system. Tae and the team created a balance which players must watch their enemies’ movements carefully. Adding strategic elements to the game.
At the start of the game, you can use combos to defeat enemies. As you progress in the game, other gameplay mechanics will be introduced. The game will require mechanics like perfect dodging and parrying to respond to enemies.
Tae further explains that in the later half of the game, they will introduce organic interactions. And players must fight with the skills and energy they gained so far. They want to create an action game with “robust strategic enjoyment.”
Lastly, there are some pleasant and exhilarating actions with unique ones for each enemy you face. This is promising and exciting stuff. And for someone who like me who loves action combat combined with strategic elements. This is right up my alley.
Game Flow
As far as game flow is concerned, Tae explains that various factors will contribute to Eve’s development. While some sections of the game are linear, the other sections will become semi open world. This will happen once you come across some villages with people inhabiting them.
As you progress through the game, more linear parts will open. Meanwhile, semi open world will open up too. The transition will be seamless as stated by Tae. While Stellar Blade won’t be a stage-based game, it is definitely a single player game. Two aspects about the game that I already like.
Character Design
Regarding the character design, Tae wanted to convey the evolution of the style he cultivated up to Stellar Blade. He was careful not to deviate to far from worldview of Stellar Blade. As for main heroine, Eve, Tae wanted to convey a sense of discomfort for her. Eve is an outsider arriving in a post apocalyptic world. He wanted Eve to feel out of place.
Worldview
Stellar Blade’s timeline is in a distant future where the concept of years have been lost. However, not all traces of the past is gone. The world within Stellar Blade is culturally connected. This means we can expect there to be a lot of lore in the world. Possibly we learn more about the world of Stellar Blade regarding the past, present and future.
Costumes
Now we get to the costumes. As you proceed through the game, Eve will receive materials and design documents for costumes. Eve can also buy costumes in the village too. This allows the main heroine obtain different outfits and change them.
While the costumes have no close connection to the narrative. Costumes were added as an element to bring out Eve's charm. Eve will 20 to 30 costumes to choose from. Granting players the option to dress Eve however they like.
Eve is not only who can change costumes. Adam and Lily, Eve’s companions, will have costumes of their own. Finally, there are rare costumes in Stellar Blade too. This will allow us players to dress however we want. And it will help personalize Eve for every player.
Reaction
This concludes breakdown of the Famitsu Interview. It was quite an insightful interviews. A lot of juicy yet important details were shared during this interview. I am also pleased that Stellar Blade is getting a lot marketing which is granting us a lot of information.
It's also great that Stellar Blade takes a lot of inspiration from Nier Automata. Nier Automata is a hallmark game which continues to inspire more games like it. The game also have a lot of staying power in the industry which continues to grow. It's fantastic that we are getting more games similar to Automata.
However, I will be playing Stellar Blade as its own identity. After all, this game deserves its time in the spotlight. And I have a good feeling it will shine. Plus, I look forward to dressing Eve up to my liking with all these costumes.
I don’t know about you all. But I am even more excited for Stellar Blade. I hope you are too.
Sources: Famitsu
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