Suda51 Answers Your Questions, Likes Wreck it Ralph

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Suda51 is a pop star. Waiting to be led into a scheduled demo and interview, I can see him through a small circle of fans, posing for one picture after another, one of his arms extending forward with his finger in the shape of a gun, the other around a sexed-up model dressed in cosplay as one of the female assassins in his new game Killer is Dead. He's dressed in jeans and a stylish silver blazer with a simple black t-shirt underneath, while she's been made to wear a skin-tight silver body suit, bringing attention to more than just her bursting cleavage.

After the fandom dies down, Suda goes from pop star to professional. He walks into the booth, nonchalantly posting himself up against a wall so he can watch how people are responding to his game. He wears a face of quiet intensity as he shifts his eyes from the screens to the players as they slice their way through glowing armed guards, rapid-firing the attack button. Once we settle in to the demo, he explains what's happening in the game, sounding like he's done it a million times before. Hamming it up for the fans is just one part of his job. Interacting with the press is another. He's a guy that makes games, and his games get people talking.

I arrived to the interview with five questions, three of them thought up by USgamer readers. The last two are my own. I'll be posting my impression of Killer is Dead next week.

Ross Roubister wanted to know if Suda feels like he's found his niche with over-the-top comedic action games.

Suda: "When I finish work on something dark, I want to rebound in the other direction. There is a relationship between all of my titles, and they reflect one another. For example, Lollipop [Chainsaw] was bright and cute, so I made Killer is Dead with a more serious tone. It's sort of a balance like that."

Gabo asked if Suda has plans to make more games like Lollipop Chainsaw in order to increase the size of his audience.

Suda: "Not particularly. Our goal is to keep creating triple-A type titles, and our mission is to keep creating new types of games and game experiences. This is what we want to focus on. But of course, I don't want to say I'm not trying to expand the fan base. I want to expand it as much as possible."

mindthedust was curious about a potential connection between Mondo, the protagonist in Killer is Dead, and Mondo from one of Suda's previous games, Flower, Sun, Rain.

Suda: "They do have a similarity. They both wear a black suit and a black tie, so spiritually, yes. In my mind there is something related."

Ross, Gabo, and mindthedust, I hope you're satisfied with his answers. I asked about the art style in the new game. It's realistic in form, but the shading is highly contrasted and glowing, and it looks like everything in the game is coated with a high-gloss plastic. It really pops, so I asked if they had a name for it, and the inspiration behind it. Both Suda and his director Shin-san had a response.

Suda: "We named the shading of the characters and environments "high contrast shader." It's not like cell shading, it's not like realistic shading, and it's not like comic book shading. We wanted to come up with something original, something nobody had seen before. That's the style we went for."

Shin-san: "In a technical aspect, our mindset was if anyone looks at a screenshot of the game, we wanted it to look distinct. We wanted them to know it's from Killer is Dead." Smart.

My final question was a bit of a goof. I asked him if he has a favorite American kids movie.

Suda: "Well, I really liked Wreck it Ralph. I know it's pretty new, but it was really funny to watch. And I guess Star Wars. Is that a kids movie? I saw it when I was a child." I assured him that any movie with bed sheets as memorabilia counts.