It’s been almost a month since Wild Hearts was released and you can already see the popularity of Omega Force’s monster hunting game. With a wide variety of beasts to slay and a dynamic universe to explore, Wild Hearts has proven to be a hit with fans and critics alike.
We recently caught up with Game Directors Kotaro Hirata and Takuto Edagawa to find out what they think of the warm reception Wild Hearts has received, what the future of the game will look like, and what it looked like in the early stages of development.
After initial greetings and brief congratulations on the success of Wild Hearts, we immediately got to work, asking the two directors what they thought of the game’s reception. According to the transcript, Mr. Hirata says:
“It has been very well received in the market, the fans love it and the development team is very happy. On the other hand, we were asked to fix a few things here and there, adding updates. day and stuff like that. So there’s a lot to do.”
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It seems to be a mix between approval and the need to keep up with the work, but at Omega Force they are familiar with the monster hunting genre. Their previous franchise, Toukiden, hasn’t released any new games in a while, but it’s clearly influenced Wild Hearts.
“Toukiden is a great series and the knowledge gained during its development is evident in Wild Hearts. However, Toukiden left a lot to be desired in terms of sales and reach. With Wild Hearts, we wanted to change that. First of all, we wanted to create a hunting-based action game that fans around the world could enjoy. Our idea to achieve this was to introduce the Kemono, the prey that players hunt. We wanted these creatures to be recognizable to everyone , no matter who you are or where you come from.”
In Toukiden, many monsters reflect mythology, while the Kemono of Wild Hearts are nature-bound beasts. Could you tell us more about how the decision was made to create this strong connection between Wild Hearts monsters and nature?
“When we created the Wild Hearts grips, we felt it was important that the Kemono be very familiar, but at the same time frightened of players. We considered many possibilities, but in the end we chose nature and animals, because everyone can recognize them and, at the same time, fear them. These were our two central ideas.
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Fear is a very interesting concept, it makes killing these creatures seem more of a necessity than the glory that comes with hunting them. Did you include other similar themes in the creation of Kemono?
“The idea for Kemono came after the central theme had been decided. There are many Japanese cultural elements in its design, and our concept was: what if nature completely covered all man-made human structures? »
Of all the Kemono designs, which one is your favorite?
“I love the Rodent,” Edagawa said. “It’s the first Kemono to appear in the game and it has both the beauty of nature and its menacing look. I also like Terraursido. It has a very unique design, because on its back is an artificial structure similar to houses. However, Hirata chose the Silvetter out of all the creatures. “I like the Silvocadora because it’s the first Kemono we made and we used it to make the battle system. Without the Silverizers, this game wouldn’t exist.”
Besides the Kemono that inhabit this universe, another thing that caught my attention was the world of Wild Hearts itself, as there seems to be a lot more to explore outside of Azuma. Is there any chance we can explore the northern and western lands in the future?
“When we started development, the key for us was to create a fictional, yet realistic world. To achieve this effect, we considered many different elements and started working on creating a timeline. We knew from the beginning that the world of Azuma was going to exist, but creating this timeline and comparing it to the real history of Japan helped us explore many scenarios. There is the possibility of creating additional content, but we don’t We didn’t deliberately skip parts of the map as we had more content planned for the future.
We know the Karakuri were created to keep Wild Hearts from being too difficult. Were there any other mechanics that you added or removed early in development that would have changed the difficulty?
“We knew from the start that this game had to be unique and offer an inimitable experience. One of the first things we tried was basing the game on the ability to grab Kemono, which can be done in the final version, but in a more subtle way. We also try to base the game purely on shooting. Another idea was that hundreds of players should work together to take down the Kemono. Based on trial and error, we chose Karakuri’s idea because it is creative and provides a new experience for players.”
It seems there is a way to counter every Kemono with the Karakuri. This rock-paper-scissors style gameplay was also conceptualized early in development?
“Actions to defeat the Kemono are based on player intent. We originally designed Karakuri to expand player choices and actions, but this ended up increasing its effect even more. If you find the right way to approach a Kemono, you can gain a huge advantage. This part of the design was established early in development, but finding the right solution is not easy or obvious, as Kemono can also perform many different actions.”
Wild Hearts is the latest hit from EA Originals. How did you work with EA to create this game? How did they influence development?
“EA Originals had their own corporate policies, but in this case they had a lot of respect for our creativity in development. They provided guidance and support, but ultimately the final decisions were ours They didn’t restrict our work in any way and in fact it was a very good collaboration and a very good working relationship.For example, thanks to EA’s servers we can enjoy cross-play and they also helped us enormously help with localization.
