Dragon Quest Builders, developed by Sq. Enix and first launched in 2016, is a spin-off of the favored Dragon Quest sequence of RPGs. Initially launched in Japan in January 2016, the sport was launched in different markets later that yr, earlier than being ported to the Swap in 2018.
Earlier this yr, the sport was ported to cell gadgets worldwide. We spoke to the producer of the cell model, Yuki Furukawa, concerning the discharge.
PocketGamer.Biz: The place did the preliminary concept for porting Dragon Quest Builders to cell originate?
Yuki Furukawa: We’ve mentioned the opportunity of a cell model for DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS up to now. Nevertheless, the specs for the cell gadgets on the time didn’t fulfil the required necessities to ship easy gameplay and the most effective gaming expertise for gamers. Nevertheless, the emergence of high-performance cell gadgets lately introduced a chance for us to develop it for DRAGON QUEST followers.
The most important replace from the console variations is the inclusion of actually well-designed touchscreen controls. Are you able to focus on the prototyping of the touchscreen controls, and at what level the modifications to constructing took form?
Thanks very a lot for appreciating the sport’s controllability! Essentially the most difficult impediment in creating this title was enhancing the consolation of the touchscreen controls.
Throughout the early phases of growth, we created a prototype with specs that had little to no modifications from the unique sport. Nevertheless, we instantly found that the prototype contained many points and it was not simply playable.
Recreation controllers are higher suited to intricate controls, and with touchscreens, your finger will partially obscure the display. On prime of that, cell gadget screens are very small in comparison with sport screens. Due to this, we skilled points the place the ensuing controls weren’t consistent with what the participant had meant.
And for that purpose, we rebuilt our prototype many instances and began to discover new options which might be distinctive to the cell model of DRAGON QUEST BUILDERS, such because the UNDO characteristic that enables gamers to revert again to their earlier state, and the distant placement characteristic that enables gamers to straight place blocks on distant areas.
Essentially the most difficult impediment in creating this title was enhancing the consolation of the touchscreen controls.
Yuki Furukawa
How joyful are you with the launch of the sport on cell thus far? Are you porting Dragon Quest Builders 2?
I’ve been studying our clients’ opinions and I’m actually grateful that the sport has gathered many excessive rankings. Nevertheless, we did obtain some suggestions concerning cell gadgets heating up and consuming numerous energy, so we have now carried out a brand new replace the place gamers can scale back their heating and energy consumption by means of their participant settings. I need to admit that on reflection, it will have been even higher if we had been capable of implement this characteristic earlier than the sport’s launch; however with that mentioned I consider that we didn’t face any main points general and it was a great launch.
Whereas the following mission that the event staff will participate in remains to be undecided, we sit up for using the teachings we realized in creating DRAGON QUEST for future sport developments.
Have there been extra phases in creating a sport with an already established IP?
There have been no extra phases in growth. The options created by the event staff went by means of trial and error, and step by step got here to fruition after having Producers Noriyoshi Fujimoto, Takuma Shiraishi and Yuji Horii, who all helped develop the unique sport, play-test and supply a lot of recommendation.
What are you able to inform us about your future cell tasks?
We can not reveal a lot presently, however the DRAGON QUEST franchise will increase even additional sooner or later. We’re honored to have lately celebrated the franchise’s thirty sixth anniversary and we’re excited to carry extra DRAGON QUEST video games to Western followers.
Followers can keep assured that developments are underway with expansions on cell and extra supported languages being a part of the plan.
Final yr, Sq. Enix made our record of the highest 50 cell sport makers. Hold your eye out to see if it makes the record once more once we launch our 2022 record later this month.
