Talk:Toukiden: The Age of Demons

Western Release
Just sayin' I hope this game comes out to the West. It looks like it could be a very fun game to play. Here's hoping, I know its slim, but still. Ixbran (talk) 10:16, February 18, 2013 (UTC)

Developer Commentary
http://www.gamecity.ne.jp/toukiden/develop.html

Because I guess the storm of angry comments about the broken-ish and disappointing trial reached even the developers' ears, a quick reply was posted on the official site by Ogasawara. Here's what he had to say:

"Hey, everyone. Producer Ogasawara here. My thanks to all the people who have downloaded the "Action Trial". We regularly check feedback and opinions from players on PlayCommu, so I thought a discussion to address concerns should be in working order. The purpose of this trial was to present the basic strategy layout for hunting demons, the battle system, and the general method of using and equipping Souls. We believe it is imperative to receive honest and undivided feedback for the game's core attraction and improve them on based on the criticism said by players.

For this reason, features which would be present in the final product have not been implemented within this trial. This includes character creation, story events and character events, and the village segments (Details for these parts will be revealed at a later date). Toukiden is an action game, and I think plunging the players immediately into demon hunts is a good way of demonstrating this. The trial has only been available for three days, but we have received a flood of replies about it to already begin planning for improvements. Here are some issues that the team currently have on their plate:


 * Health drops like a rock
 * "My health disappears in seconds." is a common one we see.


 * Our goal was to try to implement a system which encourages players to have a strategical approach for fighting. It was set up to be a type of system in which players' running and even using the "demon eye" ability to pinpoint a demon's weaknesses drains health. It was meant to encourage effective management of a character's health in a hit-and-heal type scenario, hoping to keep everyone on their toes. However, we do realize that it does have balancing issues and requires lots of tweaking. We're aiming to make combat easier and comfortable for players in the retail version.


 * Movement and attack speed
 * "Sluggish" is a popular one in the comments. Everyone has their own takes on how the speed should be changed.


 * We originally planned on presenting actions with a sense of weight and realism. We thought it would entice an exhilarating experience when a hit connects like in movies or TV shows. Speed wasn't a central issue for us. Once we read everyone's impressions, we have agreed to oblige to go back and revise each action for a faster execution. Also, please be aware that speed can be additionally altered by whatever Souls and Skills that are equipped. A faster game is in high demand with players, so I hope everyone enjoys the quicker, thrilling revisions in the final product.


 * Hit effects
 * This includes the visuals and sound effects for whenever a demon is hit. "It's too weak" or "Doesn't feel like we're cutting through bone"; in other words, they lack impact.


 * We also think it's important for attacks to live up to the action experience and have already been experimenting to nail the level of quality necessary for it. Our results can be seen in the retail version.


 * Menu interface and design
 * As I have stated before, the village and mononofu mission segments which would be involved with these menus have been removed for this trial. This is not an accurate representation of the final product. Rest assured, everyone: we intend to have these menus match with the world in the final.


 * Archaic feel
 * There have been many issues with the user interface and font "not being ancient enough" from users. The team has tackled this issue before during the design process, each of us struggling to go with the fully traditional aesthetics or with a modern presentation. Too much ancient UI might detract or alienate players with its graphics. We decided to use this layout as a balance to the game's world for accessible user-ability and for simplicity. We too feel that the game should include a traditional Japanese feel to it, and we're happy to see people wanting to see more of it in this title. We hope to cater to these fans of the ancient world with Toukiden's world screen.

Improvements are still underway and there's still many more issues we're hoping to fix. I'll explain what else the team aims to remedy at a later date, so please look forward to it. Here is a short list of frequently asked questions real quick; more will be answered within reports with the video game news media.


 * Q: It is it impossible to do online co-op?
 * A: The trial version has it available for the Ad Hoc. Infrastructure and Ad Hoc parties are currently not available, but they will be present in the retail version.


 * Q: Is there a trial planned for the PSP?
 * A: There will be one up sometime in March.


 * Q: How do I dash?
 * A: Hold down to enter the running phase. Be aware that when dashing, characters will gradually lose health.


 * Q: Is character creation limited to name, gender, equipment colors, and voice?
 * A: This trial is focusing on presenting multi-player functions, so altering characters is intentionally limited. The retail version offers more detail such as hair, facial features, and so forth. This featured will be covered at a later date.


 * Q: Is there only humans and demons in this game's world? I want to see some variety.
 * A: I don't want to reveal too much before the final product's release... Please be patient for more details.

Hope to see you again."

Although I question the integrity of his words, at least he and Omega Force are aware of the criticisms and are being good sports about it. Sake neko (talk) 21:22, April 4, 2013 (UTC)