Pre-3p5-Famitsu-Interview

Translation by User:Reika

This interview was conducted and published by Saji-san, a hardcore player who also writes for Famitsu. He has some pretty interesting gameplay vids on his Twitter page, do give him a follow here! https://twitter.com/sajiy1

Translation starts here

SEGA's Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei Liberation (henceforth shortened as Dx2) will be celebrating its 3.5th anniversary on 22nd July 2021! We sat down (remotely!) for a chat with the Producer Tanabe-san, who is joined by his two newly minted directors Iwasaki Tomoki-san and Yamamoto Hirokazu-san, who will be in charge of development and operations respectively!

Let's hear what they have to say about the future of Dx2!

From left, the Producer Tanabe-san, Development Director Iwasaki-san and Operation Director Yamamoto-san

Changes starting May

Saji: Dx2 is entering it's 3.5th year soon! What do you think about that?

Tanabe: It's all thanks to the players that we managed to operate for three and a half years in the cut-throat mobile gaming market, thank you so much!! We are in the midst of preparing a big summer update along with a 3.5 Anniversary campaign, which we hope will be able to satisfy everyone! More details will be unveiled during our live stream on the 13th of July.

Saji: Any major changes to the 3.5 Anniversary (compared to the past ones)?

Tanabe: For starters, the management structure will be overhauled starting May.

Saji: Could you elaborate?

Tanabe: Moving forward I will be undertaking more challenges (TL note: Likely means he will take a more active role in other SEGA games), so I have appointed two new directors to oversee development and operations! Development will be helmed by Iwasaki-san, while operations will be lead by Yamamoto-san.

Saji: I see! Seems like we'll be shifting into high gear with these young directors!

Tanabe: They might be young, but these guys have been part of the Dx2 team since launch, so rest assured they have plenty of experience with the game.

Saji: Could you explain the difference between producer and director for our readers?

Tanabe: To put it simply, the producer is in-charge of the business-side of the game, while the directors are in-charge of the game's fun and quality. This doesn't mean they're only in-charge of greenlighting stuff but rather, they are involved in (and hence responsible for) the entire process from conception to eventual release. Iwasaki-san will be joining us in the next livestream to directly reveal what is in store (as the development director).

Saji: Well then, Iwasaki-san could you please introduce yourself?

Iwasaki: Hello everyone, this is development director Iwasaki speaking. I was born in 1992, the same year Shin Megami Tensei was released! While I wasn't able to play it the moment it was released, I'd like to think of us both being the same age (lol). I've been working at SEGA for 7 years, every day has been a blast working on such a popular title!

Saji: Yamamoto-san, you're up next.

Yamamoto: I joined SEGA about five years ago, but even before then I've been involved in other (smartphone) titles and works involved with demons and such.

Saji: I don't think we can publish what those titles are lol. I take it that you have lots of knowledge on demons as a result?

Yamamoto: Ever since I've become a member of society it feels like I've been involved with demons lol.

Saji: The two of them are in-charge of development and operations respectively. Could you explain what the difference are?

Tanabe: In a nutshell, development involves contents and updates, while operation plans out events and summons (TL note: Development folks made Angra, Operation folks made him 27,500 gems mothYEET). Both are highly involved with each other, with a lot of discussion between the two divisions. There are also various department leaders under each director - basically I outline the roadmap overview for the year, and the directors decide how to best plan and execute it.

Saji: Event rewards are decided by the operations team?

Yamamoto: Yup that's right.

Saji: If you plan to introduce a new event gimmick or mechanic, you will then turn towards the development team?

Yamamoto: Yup, if we want to add a new type of event for example, we will outline the concepts to development and ask for their help on it.

Saji: In the recent ranking events, while the reward thresholds have been slightly relaxed, Top 1,000 still seems a bit too rough. Would you consider reducing these to Top 3,000 instead? (TL note: He's talking about the Prana skills offered to the Top 1k for the SMT IV Commemoration event. Saji-san looking out for the playerbase, what a bro :'D)

Yamamoto: That's true, we also feel most players tend to hover around ranks 2,000 to 2,5000 while deciding whether or not to push for Top 1,000. While I cannot promise you anything about increasing the thresholds to Top 3,000, it is something we do monitor every time we do a ranked event. Also while we're on the topic, I would like to introduce a way to obtain these event-limited skills a few months later down the road, so that players don't feel too demotivated missing the reward cutoff.

Saji: Who decides a demon's skills and stats?

Tanabe: The development team basically. There is also a Battle Team that evaluates a demon's balance, and provides feedback based on test play. (TL note: Lol an entire team basically playtested Angra and went "Yup he's fine")

New Director Visions

Saji: As we embrace the new management structure, I'm sure most of us would like to hear what the new directors personally think of the game. What does the development side think Iwasaki-san?

Iwasaki: As a long-running title, there are a few things, both good and bad, that have been preserved "just because". I would like to discard this thinking and aggressively pursue a fresh new gaming experience. In order to not alienate the players, I will be working closely with Yamamoto-san to ensure our updates are released at a balanced pace.

Saji: This might be a bit difficult, but could you elaborate on the "good and bad things that were preserved"?

Iwasaki: It's not too bad as a whole, but in my opinion too much of the game's direction is decided by the higher-ups - I would like if more consideration was given to the opinion of frequent players. For example, there are many inconveniences that can easily be fixed with small Quality of Life (QoL) updates - even though these might appear small, just adjusting these will make a great deal of core players happy. I feel these tend to get overlooked by the current structure, so I would like to change that.

Saji: While new content is a must, as a player I would be grateful if you could also work on QoL updates at the same time. For example, please improve the brand sorting and filtering functions.

Iwasaki: That's a great example! Unless you are a frequent player, it's easily to overlook how much of an overhaul brand management needs. Moving forward, I hope to delegate these tasks to members who are also deeply hooked to the game.

Saji: Thank you Iwasaki-san. What about the operations director Yamamoto-san, what do you personally think of the game?

Yamamoto: With this new management structure, I would like to reconsider a lot of policies as we steer forward to the 4th anniversary. Personally, I think too much of Dx2 is over-centralized by a certain demon, be it in PvP or other content (TL note: And your battle team thought he was fine lol). While banner-exclusive demons will inevitably be stronger, I think a huge draw of MegaTen is being able to use your favorite demons, so I would like to re-explore this angle in Dx2 to increase the MegaTen experience.

Saji: What do you think needs improvement on the operations side?

Yamamoto: I touched on this a bit earlier, but I think the power-creep for banner-exclusive demons has gone a bit out of hand lately, with many feeling "I can't climb any higher unless I obtain this demon". Personally I would prefer if players summon because they like a demon instead of feeling forced to due to the meta, and I think it's important to have a balanced, diverse meta. It's a very high hurdle to cross, but I would like to tackle these issues one by one.

Upcoming content is a whole new game experience

Saji: Well then, on to the new update! Will it be an update to existing content, maybe a new stage with harder difficulties? (TL note: Basically "is the update yet another level of BoS" lol)

Iwasaki: Dx2 has added new content with every major update - our top focus has always been developing new game content. As I mentioned earlier, QoL changes are nice, but we need to balance between those and new content when deciding how to allocate our resources.

Tanabe: Previously I spent a lot of resources on testing to ensure our new releases were fatal bug-free. Iwasaki-san will be fully in-control of resource allocation in the future, so it's up to him to find his own balance.

Saji: This seems like a rather important task, what do you think Iwasaki-san?

Iwasaki: While I would like to continue developing new content, I would also like to spend extra effort on updating existing content, so the game doesn't get too stale.

Saji: I feel this applies a lot to frequently run content, such as PvP, Democalypse, Brands of Sin, Aura Gate etc.

Iwasaki: For example, I think there are many changes that can be made to spice up Democalypse. However, I am also wary about such changes upsetting players who like how Democalypse currently is, so one option is to release a spin-off incorporating these changes as a new game-mode, while also preserving the current Democalypse format.

Tanabe: This is a pretty difficult situation to be honest. I know many players who have voiced dissatisfactions about certain content, but looking at the data there is also clearly a portion of players who enjoy them, so it is hard to make sweeping changes without affecting either party. This is a dilemma the planning team frequently faces.

Saji: What about new ways to upgrade demons? Although there are still many demons that haven't been added to the game, the number is finite as long as you don't venture into "Dx2 original" demons. As such, I think it's inevitable new upgrades will be added just like any other RPG. Also I agree with what Yamamoto-san said earlier, I would like more content where more demons could be used, a diverse meta so the speak instead of just being dominated by banner-exclusives.

Tanabe: I can't go into details yet, but there is a new method of upgrading demons planned to be released on the 3.5 Anniversary.

Saji: While we're on the topic, I would like if you made Magnetite useful again. Back then, even if you pulled an off-banner unit it would still have some value as fusion or panel fodder. Nowadays, MAG is rarely used outside of panelling multi-fusion exclusives, it would be great if something could be done about this so that MAG as event rewards becomes enticing again.

Iwasaki: We originally planned for MAG to become relevant again by introducing demon armaments for Battle Tower (TL note: well maybe you shouldn't have released banner-exclusive armaments then lol), but we'll continue looking into ways to make MAG relevant again. Regarding off-banner pulls, the new upgrade will make them useful again, so I think this will help alleviate some disappointment of pulling an off-banner 5★.

Saji: What about a system of converting dupes to Universal Spirits? I think that would help make off-banner pulls more bearable.

Iwasaki: Right now Universal Spirits are positioned as the rarest resource in the game, so we are cautious about their availability so to not damage their value. It's something we are constantly considering.

Saji: The most disappointing thing right now is pulling a dupe that I have already fully-panelled, and can't be turned into an armament at the moment.

Tanabe: Iwasaki-san touched on it a bit earlier, but the new system will have some way to utilize such dupes. We want to create an environment where a player is happy pulling any 5★, on or off-banner.

Iwasaki: We'll also continue looking into making MAG relevant again.

Saji: Thank you! Now the latest content released was Battle Tower, which fuels a certain view that Dx2 is a PvP-focused game. I think it's also important to consider players who don't enjoy PvP, will there be content tailored for them coming soon?

Iwasaki: That will be the new content added for 3.5 anniversary.

Saji: Oh? Will that be the highlight of the new update?

Iwasaki: Yes, it's a completely new game mode, so please look forward to it!

Saji: I will be anxiously waiting for the livestream for sure! Now onto some specifics, is there a timeline for Honey Sweet's Limit Break quest?

Tanabe: It's been a while I'll admit, mostly due to voice recording delays caused by the pandemic. This time we got ATLUS to help with Honey's Limit Break story, so I hope everyone will wait a bit more for it!

Saji: I see! The recent event stories have been an improvement for sure, and Vincent's Limit Break story was also really good! Onto the next question, can you please do something about chain effect animations??

Iwasaki: While it sounds easy on paper, it's also difficult to implement in order to avoid confusion on what effects actually happened.

Saji: I don't mean cutting them out completely, especially in content like PvP (where it's important to know what happened). I would be extremely grateful if they could be removed during Auto-Quest for example.

Yamamoto: Maybe we can consider that while Auto-Quest is running.

Saji: Please consider it!! Next would be the Black Market, right now it's pretty much only used for buying Purge Extracts.

Iwasaki: I don't think it's something that can be improved by just improving the shop lineup. Nobody would ever refresh the content with gems, and the roulette rates are horrible, even though I can understand the original intent behind it. It's something that should be improved, but not high on our priority list as we would like to focus on other content first. Honestly I think it needs a complete revamp.

Saji: At least you're aware about it lol

Iwasaki: We know it's a function nobody really uses.

Saji: This leads us to the problem with Macca being useless. I think if you improved the Black Market lineup, you could sort of fix this problem.

Yamamoto: That's true, it's something that could use a few small tweaks.

Tanabe: I used to actually use the Black Market a lot in the early days.

Iwasaki: Hmmm you're right. I've always just felt that Black Market was something that needed a lot of fixing, but listening to this conversation maybe it could use a few quick fixes for now lol.

Saji: Please do something about Macca to. Also the items which just sit in our inventories and do nothing, like the various jewels.

Iwasaki: I had a discussion with Yamamoto-san a few days ago about these items. We want to eventually do something about them in a future update, but frankly speaking things that "just sit around doing nothing" are on a lower priority for now. I can understand the feeling of "wanting to do something with them" as a player though, I feel the same way.