The Dimps team knows Dragon Ball games well. We have led the development of numerous titles such as the “Dragon Ball Xenoverse” series, “Dragon Ball Z Budokan Tenkaichi” series, and “Super Dragon All Heroes” series. Understanding the power of the Dragon Ball universe in many ways, from the fighting game genre to his TCG genre, they stepped up to the new challenge of creating an asymmetrical multiplayer survival game!
Dragon Ball: The Breakers is the latest game developed by the Dimps team and will be released for PS4 on October 14th. Ahead of launch, we wanted to give Dragon Ball fans and survival game fans a chance to hear more about the story behind it. Development scenes with an exclusive interview with Ryosuke Hara, the exclusive producer of Dimps Team and Bandai Namco Entertainment!
Thank you for participating in this interview during this time of Dragon Ball: The Breakers. Please introduce yourself and tell us your role in the game.
Ryosuke Hara: Hello, this is Ryosuke Hara, producer of BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment Inc.
Yoshiya Otsuka: Nice to meet you. This is Yoshiya Otsuka, in charge of development at Dimps Co., Ltd.
We look forward to having you join us for an interview. You’ve worked on producing several Dragon Ball titles, what are you most excited about making Dragon Ball: The Breakers?
right: From a broader perspective, the challenge of developing a Dragon Ball game that has never existed before is exciting in itself. This is an unprecedented project, so there are challenges, but at the same time, you will be able to experience a fun that has never been experienced by Dragon Ball game creators. On a small scale, as a Dragon Ball fan myself, I really enjoy spending time thinking about what kind of raider and survivor skins to add for his character and what skills to include to make it more interesting. increase. Every time I do so, I realize that the appeal of the Dragon Balls is immeasurable, and that I have not mastered them yet.
The fact that Dimps has over 20 years of experience developing Dragon Ball games is an impressive achievement. What are you most excited about making Dragon Ball: The Breakers?
Yo: I’m thrilled that this is a game that breaks the rules of previous Dragon Ball games. Dragon Ball games have traditionally been one-on-one games, meaning that players fight in teams of the same number of players. But this game is asymmetrical his 1v7 action game that challenges the genre in a way never before attempted. Additionally, instead of controlling protagonists such as Goku and Vegeta, players control ordinary people from the world of Dragon Ball, such as Bulma and Oolong, who have never been playable in previous Dragon Ball games. We hope that customers will enjoy the world of Dragon Ball, which they have never experienced before in Dragon Ball games.
I am very much looking forward to asking both of you questions to learn more about the development process. First, what did you have to consider as a top priority when developing an asymmetrical multiplayer survival game where seven survivors escape from one super-powered Raider?
right: The concept is the “overwhelming difference in strength” unique to Dragon Ball. There are many asymmetrical fighting games in the world, but I don’t think there is a game in the world where the strengths of characters from the same universe differ as much as Dragon Ball.
Yo: One of the elements that we have been particular about is the balance that creates the “overwhelming difference in power unique to Dragon Ball” and the asymmetrical battle of 1vs7. At first glance, it seems contradictory to want to balance while creating an overwhelming difference in strength, but the game cannot be established without this balance. Currently, we are still adjusting the balance in the test just before the release. In order to continue to operate the game even after launch, we will continue to make balance adjustments and add new characters.
During matches, survivors may encounter one of three Raiders: Cell, Frieza, and Majin Buu. When a match begins, Raiders start in their initial form and evolve over time. This is a very fun and dynamic element unique to the survival game genre. Because the player who is the raider can also evolve the strategy during the match. It also gives the surviving survivors a sense of urgency! How did your team implement each form’s concept into each Raider?
right: Briefly summarized, we distinguish between play styles in the following ways:
- Cell: “All-rounder type” with fast growth and stable exploration skills
- Frieza: “Technical type” where the use of exploration skills is the key
- Majin Buu: A “high-risk, high-return type” that evolves slowly but hunts down survivors in the second half of the game.
What is your personal favorite Raider design and why?
right: I prefer frieza. Zarbon and Dodoria can be placed anywhere on the map with their own skills, such as placing them well so that hidden survivors will come out, or placing them in front of downed survivors so that they cannot be revived by other survivors. I can do it. This raider is fun to use as it offers a wide range of strategies.
Yo: My name is Cell. The moment you select a cell and start the game from a larva is a moment that can only be experienced in this game. In a way, Cell is a character that symbolizes the game, so I want him to become Cell and do his best from the larvae to the final form.
caption: It’s not gameplay footage.
The Breakers is a unique twist on the survival game genre, where the survivor’s main goal is to escape rather than fight. What was the reason for this element of the game?
right: BNE has produced many Dragon Ball games. Most of these games focus on combat and retelling the original story. I was wondering if that was the only appeal of Dragon Ball. I had a vague sense that it wasn’t. With the existence of unique characters such as Bulma as hints, I thought that by looking at it from the point of view of an ordinary person instead of the point of view of a strong character, the threat of a battle between super warriors could be felt more strongly. Oolong who has no superpower and does not participate in battle. In addition, the game genre “asymmetric battle” was already known in the industry, but from the perspective of combining this game genre and asymmetric battle, new IP value and synergistic effects may be created. Development has begun.
The Breakers has a game mechanic called Dragon Change that allows survivors to borrow the power of Z-fighters, but it’s typically used as a means of escape rather than combat. This is a little different than other Dragon Ball games where the main focus is on fighting. How did the design of the essentially helpless Survivor character come about?
Yo: In order to realize the concept of “overwhelming difference in strength unique to Dragon Ball” that Mr. Hara gave us, an “escape game” matched the concept rather than the battle-type games that had been developed so far. On top of that, by making ordinary people from the world of Dragon Ball, such as Bulma and Oolong, part of the game, we were able to build on the original story while bringing an experience never before seen in a game.
What other ways does this game take elements of the Dragon Ball franchise and make them recognizable as part of the universe? What are some iconic Dragon Ball elements and story moments you can look out for when playing?)
right: This work has a different perspective from the previous Dragon Ball works, and the elements that symbolize the original story are scattered everywhere. The most obvious examples are Bulma, Oolong, and Farmer, who have no psychic powers. Features and skills that have not been utilized in previous battle games are designed to be fully utilized in this work. On the Raider side, the experience of walking around the map as an enemy character, evolving, destroying areas, killing civilians, etc. is all a new and original story experience. In addition, there are various elements such as collecting seven dragon balls and summoning Shenron, using various skills to summon Shenron, and changing dragons. I think.
Finally, I would like to conclude with some fun advice for players! What are your tips for becoming a Raider and a Survivor?
right: We believe that the shortest way to defeat a survivor is for Raiders to use their own eyes and ears to search for survivors, in addition to using their skills and special moves. In particular, ears tend to be neglected, so I would appreciate it if you could put on headphones and search for survivors efficiently. It is important for survivors to pre-simulate what they would do when attacked by raiders. At first, you may try to escape by just running, but of course the raiders will soon catch up, so I would like you to understand the characteristics of the skill and customize your own way of escaping.
Yo: Survivors are looking forward to escaping by cooperating with other players, but there are also many elements that allow players to communicate with each other, such as stamps, emotes, and cues. We hope you enjoy the game as much as we do. Raider also has a custom voice that allows him to speak lines of Cell and Frieza from the original story at any time. One of the ways to enjoy the game is that Cell and Frieza’s lines are uttered in battle scenes similar to the original! We plan to continue adding these items to the game in the future, so we hope you’ll enjoy them for years to come.
As we prepare to release the game on PS4 on October 14th, 2022, thank you for sharing more about Dragon Ball The Breakers.
