Capcom
How does one go about induce a raw goliath for a game likeMonster Hunter Wilds ?
Each game in the serial introduces new creatures for players to run down , and many of them go on to become iconic or appear in next games . That ’s a mass of pressure for Capcom when it ’s creating something novel for an coming game likeMonster Hunter Wilds . One of Wilds ’ new monsters , Balahara , debuted atSummer Game Festthis yr .
It ’s a jumbo serpent- and dirt ball - like Leviathan monstrosity that hides under the flaxen dunes of the Windward Plains and can ruthlessly lie in wait player or other monsters that walk above where group of them are rest . I spoke toMonster Hunter Wilds ‘ Executive Director Kaname Fujioka at Summer Game Fest to learn how Capcom go about creating a novel monster like Balahara . harmonise to Fujioka , it all start with what function the developers desire it to dish out in the game before becoming a back and off between gameplay designers and ocular designers .
“ Gameplay is thought of as a sequence of meeting more monster as you go on through the story , ” Fujikora tells Digital Trends . “ Each raw monster is go to have a function , whether that ’s being your first goliath of the game , teaching you a certain gameplay mechanic , or having a story subprogram .
“ The idea for what that monster will be is then look at from a design position ; how will it look and behave ? There ’s actually quite a peck of back and forth between our gameplay and ocular designers … It let us eventually get to the point where it ’s not just a boss or an foe . It feel like a sustenance , suspire wight that ’s part of an ecosystem . While it has a gameplay or tutorial function , it also feel like it just subsist , and you ’re dealing with it on its own condition . That is difficult , but it can be really rewarding ”
When it comes specifically to the Balhara , Fujoka tells me that Capcom wanted to create a creature that “ would be able to move around in packs in a unequalled room in a desert context . ” From there , the idea emerged to make a monster that could plunk in and out of the sand and move underneath the dunes . That influenced both its ocular pattern and the gameplay element of the Balahara ’s quicksand lying in wait that are constellate throughout the Windward Plains . “ That journey went from functionality to ecologic plausibility to gameplay contribution in a really interesting way , ” Fujioka admits .
While Capcom was hunting another monster during the hands - off demonstration ofWildsI date at Summer Game Fest , the Balahara still left a lasting impression . I ’m glad that I ’ll now see more about how such a threatening devil was created when I playMonster Hunter Wildsafter it launches on PC , PlayStation 5 , and Xbox Series X / S in 2025 .