Kenta Cho on Blast Works and digital development

Pre-E3 TUMKIKI Fighters creator, Kenta Cho, and I had a chat via e-mail shortly after Majesco officially announced Blast Works: Build, Fuse & Destroy. After discussing the Wii port I asked which of his other creations would he be proud to see on a console. I wonder if he knew Budcat Creations was working on including many of them in Blast Works.

Congrats on working out a deal with Majesco! How do you feel about one of your games going mainstream?

KC: I'm glad that I was able to see my game working on the Wii. I hope it would be released also in Japan.

What do you think of the additions to TUMIKI Fighters like the Wii remote airport hangar and the ship editor.

I'm really interested in the additions to the Wii version. Since the original TUMIKI Fighters is very simple shmup, additional new features are essential for making it up into a full game. I don't know details of features such as the hangar and the editor but they sound very interesting. The only thing that concerns me is whether the game becomes too complicated to play by adding these features. I like a simple and intuitive gameplay.

You're well known for creating bullet patterns. Does Blast Works for the Wii use your custom patterns from TUMIKI Fighters?

In TUMIKI Fighters, I only used typical bullet patterns in modern bullet-hell type shmups, so these patterns may be used also in Blast Works. I know some patterns are too difficult to avoid for people who aren't familiar with Japanese maniac shmups and more moderated patterns may be needed for earlier stages.

Have you thought about developing original games for Wii Ware, Xbox Live Arcade or on the Playstation 3?

I'm interested in developing a game for a console and now I'm trying to write some prototypes in XNA. XNA is a great environment to experience the development of the modern console game.

Which digital platform is the most appealing to you?

I like Xbox Live Arcade because it has many small good action games such as Geometry Wars and PAC-MAN CE. I haven't owned Playstation 3 yet but recently one PS3 E-Distribution game, Star Strike HD (Super Stardust HD), is on my mind.

Out of all your creations, which is the next one you would like to see on a console?

I can't determine one of my games but I'm happy if I could play another my game on a console.

Since you're so involved with the creation of shoot 'em ups, what shmup is your favorite?

I like shmups created by Hiroshi Iuchi such as Ikaruga, Radiant Silvergun and Gradius V. They had very innovative features and it was totally new experience for me to play with them. Recently released shmups such as Mushihime-sama Futari and Raiden IV are also good and I've played with them over and over.