I recently had the honor of posing a few questions to NowPro producer Michiteru Okabe about recent Empire release Unsolved Crimes. If you're interested in the game, check out our full review.
N-Sider: What inspired you to make Unsolved Crimes?
Michiteru Okabe: I would say a great deal of my inspiration came from adventure games, and some I attribute to Professor Layton.
N-Sider: What kind of person do you think would enjoy the game the most?
Okabe: We'd like everyone to enjoy our game, but especially mystery game fans.
N-Sider: Why the New York theme? I got a very 70's-cop-show vibe from the whole thing. It was amusing, in a cheesy sort of way.
Okabe: We thought the best place to create a variety of crime scenes was in a 1970's New York setting. I think it makes it fun and engaging.
N-Sider: Tell us a little more about the characters. Abbot's my favorite, primarily for his lines.
Okabe: Abbot is my favorite character too! He's a dedicated cop, worked himself up the ranks and doesn't like for people to know he has a soft side. And Ponzini is also our team favorites because one of our staff members looks just like him.
Then there's Warren Sullivan, the modeling agency owner who has a fascination with guns and gangsters. Marcy Blake, Betsy's sister, is soft on the outside and a tough cop on the inside. Betsy is a waitress and model who has gone missing and who our story focuses around.
N-Sider: I noticed a bit of a brain-training influence, with the difficulty levels for each query and the scoring pentagon with the "intellectual", "inspiration", "observation", "physical", and "decisiveness" axes. Tell us more about what's behind that.
Okabe: We at NowPro think there's a needs for a game design customized for DS players since the birth and boom of the Brain Age games. Unsolved Crimes is a start targeting the core DS audience, but I think the genre still has a lot of opportunity.
N-Sider: How do you feel the game plays to your studio's strengths? I found out you were the guys behind puzzler Intelligent License for the PSP, for example; how did experience like that translate to Unsolved Crimes?
Okabe: Certainly, some of the members who developed Intelligent License were part of the Unsolved Crimes development team providing their puzzle game expertise and input. Their experience was definitely an asset when it came to designing the difficulty levels for the quizzes.
N-Sider: Has it come out in Japan? Are there plans to release it there if not?
Okabe: A Japanese version is very likely. So far we have only released the title in the US and Europe.
N-Sider: Are other games on the way? Are you or would you like to make a franchise out of this title?
Okabe: If people like the game, definitely! We would love the possibility of making a franchise out of it.
N-Sider: Thanks for your time and letting me play your game. Best of luck to you, both with Unsolved Crimes and in the future.
Okabe: The pleasure was all mine. Thank you very much.
Michiteru Okabe: I would say a great deal of my inspiration came from adventure games, and some I attribute to Professor Layton.
N-Sider: What kind of person do you think would enjoy the game the most?
Okabe: We'd like everyone to enjoy our game, but especially mystery game fans.
N-Sider: Why the New York theme? I got a very 70's-cop-show vibe from the whole thing. It was amusing, in a cheesy sort of way.
Okabe: We thought the best place to create a variety of crime scenes was in a 1970's New York setting. I think it makes it fun and engaging.
N-Sider: Tell us a little more about the characters. Abbot's my favorite, primarily for his lines.
Okabe: Abbot is my favorite character too! He's a dedicated cop, worked himself up the ranks and doesn't like for people to know he has a soft side. And Ponzini is also our team favorites because one of our staff members looks just like him.
Then there's Warren Sullivan, the modeling agency owner who has a fascination with guns and gangsters. Marcy Blake, Betsy's sister, is soft on the outside and a tough cop on the inside. Betsy is a waitress and model who has gone missing and who our story focuses around.
Okabe: We at NowPro think there's a needs for a game design customized for DS players since the birth and boom of the Brain Age games. Unsolved Crimes is a start targeting the core DS audience, but I think the genre still has a lot of opportunity.
N-Sider: How do you feel the game plays to your studio's strengths? I found out you were the guys behind puzzler Intelligent License for the PSP, for example; how did experience like that translate to Unsolved Crimes?
Okabe: Certainly, some of the members who developed Intelligent License were part of the Unsolved Crimes development team providing their puzzle game expertise and input. Their experience was definitely an asset when it came to designing the difficulty levels for the quizzes.
N-Sider: Has it come out in Japan? Are there plans to release it there if not?
Okabe: A Japanese version is very likely. So far we have only released the title in the US and Europe.
N-Sider: Are other games on the way? Are you or would you like to make a franchise out of this title?
Okabe: If people like the game, definitely! We would love the possibility of making a franchise out of it.
N-Sider: Thanks for your time and letting me play your game. Best of luck to you, both with Unsolved Crimes and in the future.
Okabe: The pleasure was all mine. Thank you very much.