Developer's Interview Vol.02

"I wondered if anyone would still remember my game....
I was anxious every day. But, I never forgot the feeling that I was making this game just for the fun of it and because I loved it, and I was able to keep going until the end."- Eh

Isao:

This time, we asked the creator of "LIBLADE," a side-scrolling action game that has made a splash in the Japanese indie game industry.

I asked Mr. Eh for an interview and he graciously agreed! We would like to talk with him about the secret story behind the development of "LIBLADE" and his thoughts on game production. Thank you very much for your time today!

Eh:

Nice to meet you too!

Isao:

First of all, I'd like to start off by asking you about the action game "LIBLADE," which was released on Steam on November 6, 2021. Could you give us a brief introduction?

Eh:

"LIBLADE" is a side-scrolling action game featuring slashing action utilizing the analog stick. This slashing action is the biggest selling point!

liblade_screenshot

Isao:

Previously, it was released in a demo version at the TOKYO GAME SHOW, and I have the impression that the indie game community was quite excited about it several years. Many game fans must have been looking forward to it. What were your thoughts as you worked on the development for releasing of the full version?

Eh:

My development was started in October 2017 and was exposed through exhibiting at events in 2018.Thankfully, I received a lot of interest through the events and that time was when our game was most popular lol.

After that, due to the recent situation of coronavirus infection control, I no longer had the opportunity to exhibit.

Originally, I was a company employee so I developed this game as a hobby, at sometimes the development did not go as smoothly as I would have liked, and the social media updates stopped for several months.
Toward the end of development, I wondered if anyone would still remember my game.... I was anxious every day. But, I never forgot the feeling that I was making this game just for the fun of it and because I loved it, and I was able to keep going until the end.

Isao:

I really understand that feeling of anxiety, and I think everyone must empathize with it.

I saw the trailer movie and thought it was an impressive action game with very flashy and exhilarating slashing effects. Everyone could tell it was a fun game, and I thought it had a score attack mode and was structured in a way that would captivate the hearts of action gamers. Were these specifications already decided upon in the early planning stages of the game's production?

slash action

Eh :

Thank you very much. The direction of slashing from one end of the screen to the other by flicking the stick was decided from the initial development plan.

But, in the early stages of production, the game was more of a puzzle than an action game. The game idea was somewhat incomplete and lacking in power, as it involved slashing accurately through the terrain to create a path to advance, or to destroy multiple enemies with a single attack while limiting the number of times you slash as much as possible.

I found out later that this was a problem with the environment in which we were testing the prototype. I realized that it would be more fun if I could keep playing the stick in a crazy way and keep slashing messily.

And it would be fun to be able to slash and bounce back enemy attacks. Therefore, I decided not to provide guard action controls.

My goal was to create a game that is even more pleasurable by just unleashing flashy attacks and using a variety of attack techniques according to the situation.

slash

slash2

Isao:

I'm very grateful that you used my music packs for all the scenes in "LIBLADE". How did you come to know about SOUND AIRYLUVS' BGM collection and how did you decide to incorporate it into all the scenes?

Eh:

At the time, I was looking for royalty-free music for a video promotion to post on social media. I first came across your work when I discovered the music"Blue Garnet" on the dova-s Japanese website.

I had found other music on that site that I liked, but they were all your work as well. Since then, I have been completely hooked on SOUND AIRYLUVS music, and I have made a playlist and listen to it often on a daily basis, such as while working. Best of all, you can use these for your own games. You can use them as background music for your games on a daily basis, and you can use them as game assets while appreciating the high quality of the music!

Moreover, new works are being released all the time, and it is very hot that the material collection includes arrangement remakes and variations of past works.

I feel like I'm getting a collection of my favorite artist's work every time, rather than just a collection of game assets!

I decided to incorporate it into every scene in the game, simply because 'I love it so much I want to use it all.' My personal point is that several other pieces of music share the same melody line that is included in "Blue Garnet".

This was very effective in expressing the world of one game through multiple pieces of music.

Isao:

Thank you! Actually, I checked to see how the background music was being used before,

"Blind of Astria" from "Vol. 6 Legendary Boss Fight Game Music" was used in the first stage, this is surprised to me. And "Rainy Overdose" from "Vol. 1 Fantastic Electro Game Music" was a great match for the rainy stage in the middle of the game. The sad world view that spreads behind the intense action game. These two different emotions were so well expressed that I felt as if I was listening to music custom-made for this game. Even though I created this music.

Eh:

When I heard "Blind of Astria" for the first time, I thought, "This is the only way! I was like, As for the rain stage, I listened to "Rainy Overdose" first and created the rain stage just to play this music. This music set the direction for my game scene!

There were many other choices of music that would have suited the end stage, some of which we wanted to use but were not able to.

maybe you know.. "Greyscale Scenery" and "the Pale of World".

There are actually several different arrangements and variations of the same title that have been released at different times, such as "Rainy Overdose" and "Blaze".

I was happy when I found them, and I kept wondering which one would match the game in terms of whether the intro of the song and the length of the intro in conjunction with the event scene would fit or not.

Finally, I settled on "Rainy Overdose", an older version that was released in 2016.

screenshot3

Isao:

That is very interesting. I would like to continue to produce a wide variety of versions of our music.

By the way, I'd like to know about the choice of music for that scene in the final fight (if you've already played it, you may have some idea), but I can't ask you about it here because it would be a spoiler!

Eh:

Ah, that song! The choice was made after knowing the music theme, so of course it makes sense.

If you somehow feel the story of the game, you might think that's what it's all about! You might be able to say, "That's what it means! It's up to your interpretation. I would like you to play this game!

Isao:

I hope you fans of SOUND AIRYLUVS music will feel this scene!

Last question, I was wondering if you could give some encouragement to those who are trying to develop games for the first time, or if you could tell us about your own future plans.

Eh:

By all means, have fun creating your games!

I also recommend listening to a lot of music that will help you fantasize about the game scene you want to create!

And I will continue to make games in various places in the future. I hope I can publish some of my work somewhere else, too!

Thank you very much for your time today!

Isao:

Thank you very much too!