Interview with Project MBR, a robot action game fought from a cockpit view: Is it true that original robot games don't sell? Why is Hiroyuki Miyaji, the creator of Gungriffon, making it with fans on Kickstarter?

Sieg Games, a game development company, announced that they will start a crowdfunding campaign using Kickstarter (Kickstarter) to raise funds for their new project "Project MBR (tentative name)" on March 7.

In this article, we will introduce "Project MBR (Code name)" mainly through an interview, but before that, let's explain about SIEGGAMES. SIEGGAMES is a game development company led by Yoichi Miyaji, who has a career of about 40 years as a game creator/producer, and has created various masterpieces such as "THEXEDR", "GRANDIA", "LUNAR", "Gundam Network Operation" and "Mobile Suit Gundam Giren's Ambition". "Project MBR (Code name)" is an original project of the company, and development has progressed to the equivalent of alpha version, and it has been decided to raise funds through this Kickstarter.

This is what "Project MBR (Code name)" is all about: a rare, completely original multiplayer robot action shooting game! Before the interview, I was shown the game in development, and the robots and stages had a tough, Japanese-style design that was really cool and exciting (especially the sequence of the robot changing from walking to flying form and attacking enemy bases from the sky!).

That's to be expected. Mr. Ryuji Inomata, the director of this work who also appeared in the interview, was involved in the development of the GunGriffon series during the Game Arts era, and is a mecha and robot-loving creator who has an eye for robots in the first place. Mr. Inomata was also the one who planned this work, and he is also responsible for the machine design and stage design.

What kind of circumstances led to the rise of this dream and romantic project, and how did it lead to crowdfunding through Kickstarter? We asked Mr. Miyaji and Mr. Inomata. If you are interested in this game and want to play it in this article, please be sure to access the Kickstarter page on March 7th
(interviewer: Katsuhiro Hayashi, representative of the Famitsu Group).

The impetus for launching Project MBR (Code name) was the lunch break game "GUNDAM Senjou no Kizuna?

――It's been a long time since I've interviewed Mr. Miyaji as a Famitsu. I'm sorry to ask, but may I start with a self-introduction?

MiyajiYes, of course. I've been working in the game industry for about 40 years, including my amateur days. I started Game Arts when I was 21, and the first game I released was "TEXDER" in 1985. It was an action game where robots transform, and I think it sold about 3 million copies worldwide?"?
Game Arts produced "GRANDIA" and "LUNAR" and left the company in 2005. After that, he helped Headlock Co., Ltd., and in 2014 he founded SiegGames. The latest work is "LOOP8" released from Marvelous in June, and I am in charge of planning and drafting.

――It has been 9 years since Sieg Games was founded.

MiyajiLooking back, I think we've made more than 100 titles, including ports, since the days of Game Arts. For robot and mecha games, we've worked on the NES SD Gundam series, GUNDAM Giren no Yabou, Gundam Network Operation, and Evangelion 2, among others.

――GUNDAM Giren no Yabou was a very hardcore, adult-oriented strategy simulation. It was a very different kind of Gundam game for its time. They're all so nostalgic. So, what was the impetus behind the planning of Project MBR (code name)?

MiyajiI'll have to get an explanation from the director, Inomata, on that.

InomataI originally worked for Game Arts. I was a designer then and now, and my first project was GRANDIA Behind the scenes, I was working on the development of Gun Griffon and I was secretly thinking, "This is great!" (laughs). After that, I was able to help out with Gun Gfiffon II, and I remember being very happy about it.
For Gun Griffon Blaze, I was in charge of designing robots, effects, backgrounds, UI, and more. It was tough, but I had a lot of fun. My last project at Game Arts was Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii.

InomataI worked with Mr. Sakurai (Masahiro Sakurai of Sora Ltd.) after "Smash Bros." was finished. After leaving Game Arts, I was wondering what to do next, and thankfully I was contacted by Mr. Sakurai and was able to help out from the planning stages of "Kid Icarus:UPRISING）. That was from the very beginning stages, when there were only a few people. After "Kid Icarus:UPRISING）," I went through Headlock and now I'm at Sieg Games.
What was the background that made Mr. Inomata think of launching this project? It may have been since the time of ""Kid Icarus:UPRISING）. Mr. Sakurai was also involved, and we all played "GUNDAM　Senjyo no Kizuna" (Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield Portable) on the PlayStation Portable with a frequency that could be said to be daily, during our lunch break.

――It wasn't for research or anything, but just for a break during lunchtime?

InomataI was completely taking a break. We really played every day. I feel like I was driven by a mysterious sense of mission from the middle (laughs). I wonder if those days lasted for about a year? Eventually, we said, "Let's get on the cockpit and play together," and after the project calmed down a bit, we went to the game center on holidays and played on the arcade version of the cockpit-type.
It continued for several years, and in the end it was about once every two months, but even until just before the coronavirus disaster, we all gathered and played together.

――It's completely private now, isn't it? You were really into it.

InomataYeah, that's right. I really enjoyed that gaming experience, but now there aren't many of those kinds of games. At least, I can't find the ones I want to play. So that's what made me think of coming up with my own project.

――Did you consult Mr. Sakurai about this project?

InomataNo, I informed him about this interview for the first time. I said, "You're doing something you like, so please do your best!" (laughs).

――That's a very characteristic cheer from Mr. Sakurai. By the way, when you were putting together the plan, did you consider not only the game content but also the development costs and sales?

InomataNo, not at all. As I mentioned earlier, my main job is a designer, so I don't know anything about that. I also have no experience as a director, so I just consulted Miyaji to make an original robot game.

――Miyaji-san's response to Inomata-san's proposal?

Miyaji"That sounds interesting, let's do it!" There was no talk about money at all.

I want to challenge myself to make a new game!

――That's how it started (laughs).

MiyajiThe project that came up from the field with "I want to make it" is basically something I've been wanting to realize for a long time. Of course, it won't work without content, but this time the concept and content were clear, and above all, the enthusiasm was great, so I thought, let's challenge it.
At first, I vaguely thought that if I made an alpha version and consulted with the publisher, they would handle it. However, when I consulted with several people, I got reactions such as "The game is interesting, but original IP is strict", "Robots and mecha games are difficult to expect sales", and I judged that I could not make a major debut.
It is true that there are few success stories, so I understand why people would have such a reaction, but we have confidence in our plan and content, so we want to see it through to the end. That's why we decided to go ahead with it on our own, which led to the announcement of this Kickstarter.

――I had the chance to preview the game before this interview, and I felt "It's been a while since I've seen this atmosphere!" and was excited. The development has come quite far, hasn't it?

MiyajiThank you. It's definitely more than just an alpha version. It took quite a bit of time and money to get it to this point (laughs).

――How long has it been since you started the project?

MiyajiWas it about three years ago?

InomataYes, I think it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

MiyajiWe have been doing other work as a company, so we haven't been working on it all the time, but it has taken us this long. Financially, it's probably been over 50 million yen. We decided to go with Kickstarter because it would be too physically taxing to continue on our own.
After going through this process and making this decision, we want to fundamentally change the way we make games. Publishers in Japan are looking for "sellable" games, which is understandable, but there is often a disconnect between the games publishers want and the games creators want to make, making it difficult for creators to make the games they want.
I have been making games for 40 years, but the underlying point is "I want to make interesting games". I have never come up with a plan from the point of "I want to make a game that sells". Of course, as a good adult, I understand that it won't work just by itself, but on the other hand, I also feel that the era has returned when creators' personalities and enthusiasm shine and sharp games are accepted.

――Yes, that's exactly what indie games are.

MiyajiIndeed. As a general trend, there is a polarization between AAA titles and indie games. However, indie games often face a large hurdle in terms of the funding needed for development and promotional marketing. This is true for companies like ours as well. There are many game development companies in Japan, and I'm sure everyone is feeling the same dilemma.
So, we want to try making games together with fans by openly setting the game content and goals from the beginning, and getting their support and cooperation. There have been cases like this before, but they haven't become a major trend yet, so we would like to make it a success story.

Original multi-player robot action game! Developed with an emphasis on game balance

――We look forward to the feedback from game fans. Now, could you tell us about the game content?

InomataIt will be an original multi-player action game with up to 5 vs 5 robots. The world setting is based on the Earth about 30 years in the future.

MiyajiWe have designed it with a game balance that you cannot win if you go alone into the enemy camp. Teamwork and formation balance are important, and it is very important to think of tactics as a team, and to cooperate and fight while calling out to each other in real time.

――Robots are all original, of course, and each has its own characteristics.

MiyajiOf course. For example, robots that can transform from walking form to flying form, robots that are good at reconnaissance and surprise attacks in shapes that are difficult to be found by enemies, robots that can take on the role of a shield with thick armor, etc. There are various personalities and characteristics. In addition, it will be possible to strengthen the body and customize the armament.

――We felt a sense of Japanese-ness from each robot. Not just ruggedness, but each one had a unique form and was very attractive.

MiyajiThank you. That is the power of Inomata's design.

――What kind of game rules will there be?

InomataThe game will be based on team battles, and the victory will be achieved by attacking and capturing the enemy stronghold located at the back of the stage. In the process, the capture and defense of multiple intermediate bases will also be important, so there will be a struggle for them.
Also, a feature is that multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be remotely controlled can be operated together. The basic is 5 vs 5, but with the UAVs flying around, the screen will have a battlefield feeling.

MiyajiAs for the game rules of so-called MOBA, you can enjoy the play feeling of this game because it requires unique actions and tactics that only robots can do, and you fight from the cockpit view.

――Is the game specialized for multi-play?

MiyajiThat is the plan at present. I would like to think of a single campaign mode, but that would be a story for the future.

――Miyaji-san is the producer and Inomata-san is the director, but what about the other participating creators and development team?

MiyajiWe have been developing this game mainly with Sieg Games. There are about 10 people in total.

InomataOf course there are people from former Game Arts, but not only them, we also have young staff joining us.

MiyajiBesides, we plan to ask Inoue-san (※1) for the world setting and Iwadare-san (※2) for the music as external creators.

――An impressive lineup of people have gathered here. Will the supported platforms be PlayStation 5 (PS5) and PC?

MiyajiYes. We are considering Steam and PS5. Until now, we have been developing with Unreal Engine4, but in order to meet the user needs going forward, we have decided to switch to developing with Unreal Engine5. Along with that, we are also targeting PS5. The "image board" of the materials you are providing this time was created with Unreal Engine5 and captured from the actual machine. The "development in progress screenshots" were created with Unreal Engine4, so if you compare them, you should be able to feel the difference in rendering quality.

◆Image boards（Unreal Engine5）

◆Screen shots（Unreal Engine4）

――I certainly feel the difference when I compare them like this, and I strongly wish that the development will be done with Unreal Engine 5 (laughs).

MiyajiWe creators feel the same way (laughs). By the way, the game will be sold as a paid download, not F2P. There will be no pay-to-win elements such as gacha. We will manage the game while emphasizing game balance, together with all of you users.
For that purpose, we will also work on forming fan communities through Discord and disseminating information through Twitter. We also plan to have a beta test, and from that stage we would like to develop the game while listening carefully to your opinions and requests. We recognize that this is very important in this day and age. Of course, we will also listen carefully to harsh opinions (laughs).

――Could you tell us about the development schedule for the future, in addition to the discussion about the beta test we had earlier?

Miyaji(By summer of 2023) We will conduct the beta test and collect feedback from our users, and we don't want to take more than a year after that, so... we would like to release it around spring of 2024.

Inomata...All I can say is that we'll do our best and make it happen (laughs).

MiyajiEven after the release, we will keep updating the game, and it will be a cycle, but we will always listen to our users' voices and make the game even better.

First, our goal is 100 million yen. We will make a game that our users will find enjoyable.

――So, I heard that a crowdfunding campaign through Kickstarter will start on March 7th. Could you tell me what it will be about?

MiyajiWe have set the initial goal at 30 million yen, and if we reach that, we can start a closed beta test. We have set the stretch goal at 60 million yen, and if we can get to 100 million yen, we can develop and release the game with the contents we have discussed so far. It's our first challenge, so we don't really feel the difficulty of the hurdle, but we would like to aim for this goal first.

――What rewards are available for backers?

MiyajiWe have various rewards depending on the tier. In addition to Steam Early Access DL keys, digital soundtracks, beta test access, and additional credits in the credits section, there are also rewards such as exclusive mechs and drones, and the right to have an NPC pilot appear.

――These are all great rewards. Do the special aircraft have any special abilities?

MiyajiNothing particularly strong. We want to keep the game balanced, so there are no rewards that would affect that. We're focusing on design, making sure they have distinct features that you can be proud of and stand out.
We also wanted to do rewards like a cockpit-style cabinet, but we had to abandon that idea due to transportation issues. On the other hand, we want this game to be immersive, so we're thinking about if we can make it compatible with PS VR2 in the future. It's not a definite plan, just something I'd like to do. If we can make it happen, it would be really fun.

――I'm so excited about it. From what I've heard so far, I can feel the strong intention to create a game that creators want to make and users will enjoy playing.

MiyajiI'm glad you feel that way. For now, we don't have any goals for sales or break-even points or anything like that. We're just going with the flow (laughs). But that's kind of how it is with games.
When I think about it, I think it all comes down to whether we can make the game that users want and get them to pick it up. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have this kind of interview.

――I'm looking forward to seeing the response to "Project MBR" (Code name).

InomataUnbelievable! We look forward to the response to "Project MBR" (Code name).

MiyajiWe will make an interesting game together with all the users. We would appreciate any and all opinions. We will take them all into consideration. We appreciate your support.