The Talent of... Binary Domain

The Talent is a new feature in which Made2Game peels back the curtain of trailers and press releases to take a look at the talented, creative minds that are fuelling a game's development. From art to sound to gameplay design, we want to know who is tinkering away at a game and what their involvement might mean for the project at hand.

A game that initially looks about as original as a cheese and pickle sarnie Gears of Terminator, sorry, Binary Domain has been the recipient of much unfounded criticism since its reveal back in 2010. Between accusations of generic design and western pandering, set to a backdrop of unflattering comparisons to fellow Japanese cover shooter and SEGA stable mate Vanquish, Binary Domain has found itself fighting out of critique corner from day one.

But take a step back to really look at Binary Domain and you'll find much to like. There's the curious squad loyalty mechanic that has AI companions changing their opinion of you on the fly. The shooting is genuinely satisfying, visibly ripping enemies apart and often reducing them to crawling torsos or headless maniacs. And what about the man vs. machine story? It's as much Isaac Asimov as it is James Cameron and looks all the more enticing for it. Binary Domain actually promises much more than the triple threat of pan faced hero, cover shooting and blank faced murder machines can quickly lead one to believe.

And when you see the people responsible for Binary Domain then, well, it only gets better...

Chief Creative Officer
Toshihiro Nagoshi
Who are they?
Nagoshi is a long serving member of Yakuza Studio who has been working at SEGA since 1989 when he was but a simple CG designer on Virtua Fighter. Since then he has gone on to mastermind classics such as Daytona USA, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX and the entirety of the Yakuza series. It's safe to say that this man knows his way around a good game.

Previous works:
Shenmue, Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX and the Yakuza series.

What this means for Binary Domain:
A lot of the Binary Domain team share credits for Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX and the Yakuza games. This shows a camaraderie and dedication to making brilliant games, and if the team's creative officer is bringing this team back together time and again he must be confident that they can deliver on his ideas. Simply put, we would be excited if this team announced a babysitting simulator.

In an interview with AusGamers, Nagoshi reveals that he thinks Binary Domain's squad mechanics will help it stand out from the crowd:

“Binary Domain is a squad-based shooter where trust between your squad members really matters. Everything happens in real-time and every action, every decision and everything you say to a team member will have a great consequence in the game.”

Director:
Daisuke Sato
Who are they?
With his name on a ridiculous number of games, Daisuke Sato has undertaken a huge variety of roles in game development, from planner and stage design, to cut scene artist and even programmer, Daisuke Sato is a man of many talents. Exactly what you want from a director.

Previous works:
Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX, Yakuza, Yakuza 3, Super Mario Galaxy 2

What this means for Binary Domain:
Super Monkey Ball, F-Zero GX and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are all games that show a masterful grasp of 'control'. They are games that nail the player-to-avatar connection felt through perfectly tailored controls. They are titles that know the secret truth; if a player thinks 'I should be able to jump that' then chances are, you can jump that. These are games that ensure the player is so confident in the control of their character that no matter how impossible a situation looks they will always think 'I can beat this'. Perfect pedigree to bring to a shooter, no?

In an interview with TheGamersHub, Daisuke Sato reveals that Binary Domain wasn't born as a shooter, but rather became one through natural design:

“We felt that moving into some new territory would be nice and we all quite liked the idea of bringing a world of science fiction to life. Choosing to create a game that was a Third Person Shooter was not initially what we had in mind. We were not sure what we should do but in the end the shooter fitted. It was not just as a way to appeal to a larger Western audiences”

Producers:
Masayoshi Kikuchi
Who are they?
One of SEGA's long term producers, Masayoshi Kikuchi has been behind many of the company's quieter hits since the early Xbox days such as Jet Set Radio and Panzer Dragoon Saga.

Previous works:
Jet Set Radio Future, Panzer Dragoon Saga, Sega Superstar Tennis, Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, Yakuza 4

What this means for Binary Domain:
Just looking at that list of produced games says one thing – fun. From Jet Set Radio to the Sonic sport titles these are games that put fun before anything else, and if he can ensure Binary Domain is fun and not just a single minded gruff-fest then his work is done.

In an interview with VG24/7, Kikuchi was rather vocal about Binary Domain's ability to stand out in the crowded shooter genre:

“I've looked at a lot of shooters for good references. But also there's a good point of comparison: identifying where the genre lacked and trying to bring something new to it. We wanted to contribute to the 'gap', and this is where having robotic enemies comes in. It ties heavily into the gameplay and with the very detailed procedural damage, giving you a different sense of feeling [to other shooters].”

Jun Yoshino
Who are they?
One of SEGA's newer producers, Jun Yoshino clearly has an eye for western feeling properties. While none of his games have seen huge success commercially, they have been well received critically and often live on in gamers hearts and minds long after.

Previous works:
MadWorld, Vanquish. We'll ignore Sonic Free Riders.

What this means for Binary Domain:
MadWorld and Vanquish were both games that dared to be different and dared to try new things. Heck, even when in Madworld's case said 'different' things only partially worked, it was still a welcome breath of fresh air. Bloody, creatively swear-y, signpost through the face fresh air. If Binary Domain is even half as bold as those two Platinum gems then we're in for a treat.

Designer:
Hiroyuki Sakamoto
Who are they?
Hiroyuki Sakamoto has worked as a principle designer with the core team at Yakuza Studio for a while, lending his formidable eye for fun to a number of unquestionably strong titles. A raw talent.

Previous works:
Super Monkey Ball, Super Monkey Ball 2, F-Zero GX, Yakuza, Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4

What this means for Binary Domain:
How does one man go from designing the marble madness inspired arcade simplicity of Monkey Ball, to masterminding the blistering twitch-tuned perfection of F Zero GX, to sculpting the mountain of RPG beauty that is Yakuza, to creating a satisfying third person shooter with innovative squad morale dynamics? By being a man who knows how to make a damn good video game, that's how.

Sound Director
Hidenori Shoji
Who are they?
One of SEGA's unsung musical genii, Hidenori Shoji has been supplying unique, frequently fast paced music for games since the 16-bit era. His most appreciated work is likely his electronica re-working of the F-Zero soundtrack for the Gamecube's F-Zero GX and its arcade counterpart F-Zero AX.

Previous works:
Spikeout, F-Zero GX, Yakuza Series

What this means for Binary Domain:
Specialising in hard and fast, guitar driven, electronically edged music, Hidenori Shoji's involvement with Binary Domain means it should feature some blisteringly forceful audio to drive you through its frequent, frantic firefights. Not that the man can't do tense ambience or solemn emotion when the moment calls for it, but we imagine the guitar got a good workout for Binary Domain's plentiful gun battles and gigantic boss encounters.

Art Director
Nobuaki Mitake
Who are they?
Nobuaki Mitake has been with SEGA for a long time and has grown from a level designer and artist on detail intensive projects such as Yakuza and Shenmue, to the role of fully fledged art director with Binary Domain.

Previous works:
Shenmue, F Zero GX, Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4

What this means for Binary Domain:
The stand-out game that preaches Mitake's abilities could be Yakuza, what with all its intricately detailed Japanese streets and interiors, but F Zero GX is an equal testament to the man's attention to detail. F-Zero GX is doubly important when you consider most players were whizzing past his amazing futuro-sculptures at ludicrous miles per hour, the cads. That attention to detail should get the appreciation it deserves in a slower paced shooter.

Writers:
Tsuyoshi Furuta
Who are they?
Tsuyoshi Furuta stands out in the team as he has not been with Yakuza studio from the get go. Although that's not such a bad thing, It's unlikely that someone who specialised in writing stories about monkeys and their balls would be the best fit for a gritty third person shooter. Furuta is now 36 and while he started his working life as an assistant director in movies and TV he has been writing for games since 2000. He joined SEGA full time in 2010.

Previous works:
Yakuza, Yakuza: Dead Souls

What this means for Binary Domain:
The brilliant thing about Furuta is that he is a proper videogame writer. Sure he started out in film and television but that just meant he was well trained and dutifully tested, Furuta has been writing in video games for over a decade now so he's had plenty of time to sharpen his craft. Because that's the thing, we frequently get excited when we hear about comic writers and film directors coming to work on games but in truth, they are no replacement for a strong, talented video game author. Considering Furuta's previous work was on thought provoking role playing tales, Binary Domain looks to be in strong hands and could be much more than a simple blam-fest.

Anthony Johnston
Who are they?
An award-winning comic book writer and novelist, Johnson's non-game credentials include Wasteland and Daredevil alongside a Manga reworking of Wolverine. Johnson's role on Binary Domain was in editing the Japanese script.

Previous works:
Dead Space, Dead Space Extraction, Dead Space Ignition

What this means for Binary Domain:
Having worked rather extensively on EA's excellent sci-fi horror series Dead Space, Anthony is no stranger to peppering long meandering video game scripts with frequent, big, impressive setpiece's and constant narrative encouragement to keep us players interested. This makes him perfectly suited to prune a script penned by someone more used to scribing extensive, dialogue heavy RPGs than fast and furious action shooters.

Tom Jubert
Who are they?
Jubert is an independent writer specialising in video game scripts, which, believe it or not, is still rare in this day and age.

Previous works:
Penumbra, Driver: San Fransisco

What this means for Binary Domain:
Tom's work on the Penumbra series shows his ability to breathe believable life into a fertile, alien world, and that he knows how to lead a player along with tasty narrative breadcrumbs. Those credentials should have served him well in adding colour Binary Domain's narrative.

And there we have it, hopefully you'll agree that Binary Domain is being put together by a serious selection of video game excellence. Interestingly, much of the team has been working together since the Gamecube launch title and arcade hit Super Monkey Ball, cranking out hit after hit after hit. Sure, not everyone played every smash they produced, but that doesn't diminish the fact that Yakuza Studio are far more than competent, and Binary Domain could be a genuinely brilliant game if all the pieces click into place.

Binary Domain is scheduled for release in Europe on February 24th, with a North American date pencilled in for February 28th.

Words by James Bowden (Twitter: @Dalagonash)

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