Itagaki made DOA4 while pissed

By Tom Bramwell Published 5 July, 2006

Well, half the levels. Plus, more on DOAX2.

Team Ninja's Tomonobu Itagaki says he's working very hard on the jet-ski parts of Dead or Alive X2, but other details like the story have yet to be nailed down. The tits are all in place though, obviously.

Speaking to UK website Kikizo, Itagaki continued to skirt around the issue of what one of his other projects, Dead or Alive: Code Cronus, actually is, and also revealed that he does most of his best work drunk. Someone email this to my boss.

"Most game developers including myself like to think in depth, so it's important to have time when you're not thinking so deeply. So you know, all those attractive environments in DOA4, we usually come up with the ideas for that and talk about it while we are drinking." As many as half of them apparently.

Why the love of drink? Well, as the transcript of my last "official complaint" meeting explains, it lubricates the creative process. You should certainly consider it if you fancy making games. "In the last ten years - not that you asked this question - I think I had better ideas when I was drinking whisky," Itagaki explains.

But back to DOAX2, which, unlike its volleyball-based predecessor, introduces all sorts of watersports: "I am working on the Jet Ski part of it very seriously," says Itagaki, "because I like Jet Ski games. There are two types of gameplay with the Jet Ski. One is the racing, where you compete on the difference of one hundredth of a second. And the others are more about riding the waves with good style."

As for other details, DOAX2 will have "about twenty new songs", and the photo mode will allow you to take pictures of things, amazingly.

For more on Itagaki's rockstar development habits, check out the rest of the interview. You can read more about DOAX2's features elsewhere on Eurogamer.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000. Follow him on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (25) Latest comment 6 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Skooch #1 6 years ago

    This explains a lot about Japanese games ;)

  • ManicDrunkMonk #2 6 years ago

    "...Itagaki continued to SKIRT around the issue..."

    Surely that pun was intended?

  • itamae #3 6 years ago

    Itagaki is nearly as crazy as that Eno guy from Warp. I really like his rock'n'roll approach to videogames. \o/

  • Teeth #4 6 years ago

    He's not wrong though. What he's saying sounds irresponsible and outlandish, but if you take a bunch of developers down the pub, 90% of the time they'll be talking about the same shit they're talking about at work - the game. Often you'll go on funny tangents and if you do it often enough there'll be a good idea or two. When we go down the pub we often call it an "offsite meeting" ;)

  • Hicksy #5 6 years ago

    Well the game is shite so I guess he could be onto something :o)

  • Teeth #6 6 years ago

    Hmm, maybe we're doing something wrong then :)

  • Kiigan #7 6 years ago

    Okay okay Itagaki, we get it. You wear leather jackets and sunglasses and drink a lot. We get that you're a really awesome rebellious character.

    Can you shut the fuck up now?

  • Xerx3s #8 6 years ago

    This explains a lot about Japanese games ;)

    Well, it explains alot about japan in general. ;p

  • TheBoyChris #9 6 years ago

    "When we go down the pub we often call it an "offsite meeting" ;)"

    Damn right - wish we'd go the pub more, but the nearest one to our office is about 1/2 a mile away and is rougher than the average Millwall fan :(

  • nickthegun #10 6 years ago

    It sounds like someone has been playing a lot of Rumble Roses..

    /not that theres anything wrong with that....

  • Lukus #11 6 years ago

    "The tits are all in place though, obviously" - A little bit crude Mr Bramwell?

  • The-Bodybuilder #12 6 years ago

    >"Can you shut the fuck up now? "

    Aren't you cool.

  • peterfll #13 6 years ago

    I reckon you wouldn't get many American developers down the bar together. They have a real strange aversion to what they perceive as mixing "business" with "pleasure".

    Similarly, certain studios must culturally be adverse to this. I can't imagine many EA teams enjoying a swifty together.

    My next generalisation will be issued at 3pm.

  • Kiigan #14 6 years ago

    The Bodybuilder said:

    "Aren't you cool."

    Yes. And I was wearing sunglasses when I typed it too, totally ratarsed. I'm proper rock and roll, me!

  • regmund #15 6 years ago

    i'm sure Nagoshi said in his old Edge column that he was blasted when he came up with Super Monkey Ball..

    ..So come on EA,time to roll out the barrel!
    Edited by regmund at 05/07/06 @ 13:57

  • Zuiyo #16 6 years ago

    This is nothing new. Noritaka Funamizu admitted being high on exhaust fumes from his Honda when creating Street Fighter II.

    Other things he admitted at the time included belonging to a polka dance appreciation club in uni and sleeping with his socks on.

  • SimonM7 #17 6 years ago

    Jet ski bits? :o

    This makes DOAX2 sound half appealing!

    Well the game is shite so I guess he could be onto something :o)

    I bought Breakdown in a bargain bin for 3 quid. You need to play this.. Should give you some perspective on shit games.

  • The-Bodybuilder #18 6 years ago

    >"Funamizu admitted being high on exhaust fumes from his Honda when creating Street Fighter II. "

    No wonder there's that stage where you beat up a honda.

  • Metalfish #19 6 years ago

    No one picked up on the word watersports in the article? Come on when I read that I was expecting loads on puns from you guys. Maybe if it was coming out on wii...

    /sighs at unexpected maturity

  • Syrette #20 6 years ago

    Sounds like my kind of job.

  • Rombote #21 6 years ago

    Not sure, but I'm fairly confident the bar and going out/eating/drinking with colleagues plays a fairly major roll in Japanese work culture generally - not just the games business. At least, working for a Japanese company, that's what I'm assured.

    Drinking away your inhibitions will naturally give you the confidence to share increasingly mental ideas, as well as bond with your work buddies. Nary an eyebrow would be raised at this news in Japan, I wager.

  • admir #22 6 years ago

    DoA games are just stupid

  • Vin #23 6 years ago

    I can relate totally.

    Whacking down some whisky whilst doing shit paperwork gets me well creative with my choice of words.

  • NegativeZero #24 6 years ago

    "other details like the story have yet to be nailed down"

    ... *story*? I don't think people play these games for the story.
    Edited by NegativeZero at 06/07/06 @ 01:08

  • admir #25 6 years ago

    what loosers play this game