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Sega's Tetsuya Mizuguchi Interviewed

We sit down with the producer of Space Channel 5 to get his thoughts on the localization of the game and a lot more.

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GameSpot News spent some time chatting with Sega's Tetsuya Mizuguchi today. With a great track record at Sega for creating hit games, Mizaguchi is best known for his work on Sega Rally 2. He's currently producing titles at Sega's R&D #9, and his latest game, Space Channel 5, is currently being prepared for a US release later this year. See what he had to say.

GameSpot News: What kind of changes are you planning on making on Space Channel 5 for the US market? Have you already done the voice acting?

Mizuguchi: Yes. We recorded most of the voices last week in the United States, and we already cast everybody that we still need to record. I think it went well, so now we're programming those voices in. It's going to take some time to get everything just right, though, as there are a lot of jokes that are in the game. Voice aside, most everything else is the same for the US version.

GSN: Music too?

Mizuguchi: Yes.

GSN: Who designed Ulala?

Mizuguchi: Well, it was teamwork. It's interesting, her character changed a lot over time - when we first conjured her up she had a helmet and it wasn't as sexy. But we had the whole space TV station concept down, so we continually adjusted things. The main thing was just getting everything right with the characters - we wanted to offer something that the both girls and boys would like. We spent a lot of time to ensure that.

GSN: Everyone at GameSpot loves to watch Ulala as she moves around - she's so cute. Was that accomplished through hand animation or was it motion captured?

Mizuguchi: It's a mix. There was some motion capture and then we did a lot of the rest by hand.

GSN: Why did you decide to use streaming video for the backgrounds? That was an interesting creative decision.

Mizuguchi: That came from the director, Yuda. He had the concept of using the combination of the polygons and video. The Dreamcast's technology made it possible. We actually used 99.5 percent of the GD-ROM because of all of the streaming video and sound. I think it's a gorgeous effect.

GSN: Have you thought about doing a sequel to the game now? How about a versus or simultaneous play mode?

Mizuguchi: At this time we haven't made any exact decisions, but we are going to create more Space Channel 5 games.

GSN: Is Michael Jackson going to be in the US version of the game?

Mizuguchi: Yes (smiles).

GSN: You used to work on arcade games at Sega AM3, but now you're at Sega R&D #9, a consumer division - how is it different working only on console games?

Mizuguchi: I think arcade games are harder because they are like big toys - they have all this flash and glamour in them. They're usually loud, offer vibration effects, and have lots of simple mechanisms. Doing consumer games is a bit different in that you really can be more creative. I try to deliver a good and true message.

GSN: What have the fans reaction been to the game? We know so many people here who love it.

Mizuguchi: I get so much email about the game, and it's a great feeling of accomplishment.

GSN: One of the things we really liked in the game were all of the little jokes. For example, the tutorial option at the beginning of the game - when you select it, it just tells you to go read the instruction manual. That was classic.

Mizuguchi: We actually wanted to do more jokes like that, but we had to cut a lot out because of the space we used up on the GD-ROM.

GSN: So in a future Space Channel 5 game, would you use more than one disc for the game?

Mizuguchi: It depends because we might go in a different direction with the game. We don't know yet.

GSN: What will the US cover for Space Channel 5 look like? Just like the Japanese version?

Mizuguchi: The US one will have holograms on it so that the characters dance as you move the case back and forth in your perspective. It'll have Ulala on the front and the Morolians in the background.

GSN: Where did the name Morolians come from?

Mizuguchi: It's actually a joke that started because of one of our artists. Her name is Mayumi Moro and we'd often use her last name around the office, so we just decided to use a derivation of it for the characters in the game. She thinks its funny.

GSN: Who specifically came up with Ulala, one of your artists?

Mizuguchi: Ulala was created by so many people, but mainly Yumiko Miyabe, the game's art director. She came up with most of the concepts for Ulala and the other characters.

GSN: When is Space Channel 5 hitting the US?

Mizuguchi: In June.

GSN: We hear that a Television production studio has picked up Space Channel 5 to do a show based on it.

Mizuguchi: We can't confirm anything yet, but we'll definitely be having a lot of special promotions and tie-ins.

GSN: Are you currently working on another project? Do you normally work on more than one project at once?

Mizuguchi: We usually have more than one project that we're working on.

GSN: Do you have any new surprises that you're working on?

Mizuguchi: Oh yes, we do.

GSN: What's it like, any hints?

Mizuguchi: Well, it's different. It's a mixture of an arcade game and a consumer game - it's like a new generation game.

GSN: So it's not a racing game (smiles).

Mizuguchi: Nope, it isn't (smiles).

GSN: So when will we hear of this new game? Tokyo Game Show?

Mizuguchi: No, not that early. Currently it's in too simple of a form.

GSN: Well, whatever your next project is, we're definitely looking forward to it.

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