Castlevania Dungeon Forums

The Castlevania Dungeon Forums => General Castlevania Discussion => Topic started by: TheouAegis on August 23, 2013, 11:00:30 PM

Title: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: TheouAegis on August 23, 2013, 11:00:30 PM
So I came up with this topic idea while posting in another topic. This is for hardcore fans.

If Konami spared no expense, or at least had damned good negotiators, who would you like to see in a Castlevania production dream team? It can be people outside of Konami, even people that never made/worked on video games. Games these days have high production values and are comprised of so many departments, just like in movies, so anything goes. This topic isn't restricted to Japanese staff either. If you want a certain Spaniard or North American included in the dream team, for example, that's fine.

Some staff positions to consider:

Programming Director
Art Director
Sound Director/Design
Animation Director
Composer
Character Designer
Storywriter
Background Artist
CGI Director
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Lelygax on August 23, 2013, 11:39:39 PM
Since its a "dream team" thing, time and logic doesnt restrict us right? So I want people from CVs from NES, KCEK, people from SOTN, people from Ecclesia, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima at the time he worked in MGS 1 and Gunpei Yokoi post Metroid 2 (He is dead now, be in peace).

Yokoi is a genius that created the D-Pad, Metroid and Gameboy among other things. IIRC he created VirtualBoy but doesnt wanted to launch it because its not like he wanted it to be yet.

I would add some people from Squaresoft too, before PS2 era. They were brilliant in PSX times.

I would add SEGA too, from a world where Dreamcast existed and made sucess enough to they continuing existing peacefully and stable enough as a console company. so Tec Toy in Brazil never became that mess that its now, we're so happy with all these consoles being made here and Sonic plushies :-/

Oh and some brilliant guys from Capcom between SNES and PSX years with Namco would be cool too. Maybe Crystal Dinamics could even do a 3D Kid Dracula along with Capcom from this time.


Its better if I stop here, as my title below my nick says, Im a wanderer, and would contiue to wander in these alternate realities and what if for a really long time (since they are much better than ours).
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Pfil on August 24, 2013, 12:53:52 AM
I wouldn't know what to say in most categories except music, where I want Michiru Yamane or someone who composes in the same vein, and artists, where I want anyone from previous CV anime titles or anyone who does the same.
In the rest, I really don't care much, make it a MetroidVania, and if that's not possible, a ClassicVania, and I'm happy.
Any CV team from 1986 to 2008 (2009 if you count Rebirth) is my CV dream team.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Chernabogue on August 24, 2013, 01:36:03 AM
MS artists for design
Yamane composing + Araujo orchestrating
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: TheouAegis on August 24, 2013, 12:53:54 PM
We have a "I can't believe it's not Castlevania Music" thread and yet everyone's still just listing Yamane and Araujo?
Sorry, Konami Kukeiha Club still tops Yamane.  Sound department should be a mix, anyway. Akira Yamaoka should be brought in for ambient tracks, if you want a creepy factor in any level, but only one or two. Pesonally, I just don't see it with Yamane, she doesn't impress me at all in terms of Castlevania music. I'd allow her to stay on for Dracula's battle BGM.

Hideyuki Kikuchi should be in charge of storywriting; he's not one of the biggest names in Japanese horror for nothing.

I would like H.Akamatsu back as either programming director or producer.

Bringing Takashi Kurahashi on board might make for an interesting game, possibly an OkamiVania. He was the art director for Mononoke and Hakaba Kitarou.

I still want Yoshitaka Amano for character designer, especially if Kikuchi was on board as well.

Takashi Hashimoto definitely on board for key animator. Get someone with decades of experience in on it! He could also help in character design, at least for some enemies. Pair him up with Masashi Ando.

For background graphics design, outsource to Production AI. They were responsible for the .hack//, Noir, Batman Gotham Knight, Arc the Lad, Lodoss: Chronicles Of The Heroic Knight, and much more.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Nagumo on August 24, 2013, 03:55:55 PM
Masaki Takahashi for character designer. May or may not to be the same guy from Dark Souls. Just Amano and Kojima he has a very distinct style with a heavy gothic flavor.

(https://castlevaniadungeon.net/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimageupload.co.uk%2Ffiles%2Ffvij2xxyx26jm7xlz3f7.png&hash=b415e04e831611722467675446487efc)

Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Pfil on August 24, 2013, 04:53:12 PM
Sorry, Konami Kukeiha Club still tops Yamane.
Yamane was in the Konami Kukeiha Club, as well as Yasuhiro Ichihashi (Order of Ecclesia) and many other musical glories.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: TheouAegis on August 24, 2013, 07:19:47 PM
Sorry, not the later groups; the early Kukeiha, like Kenichi Matsubara, Jun Funahashi, Yukie Morimoto, Satoe Terashima, Yoshinori Sasaka and Hidenori Maezawa. Sorry, I should have been more specific.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Pfil on August 24, 2013, 09:58:06 PM
What games did they make? So I can see what soundtracks are you referring to. I believe everything I've heard from KKC is very good.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: TheouAegis on August 26, 2013, 05:13:07 PM
The NES ones, a couple Gameboy ones.

The other reason I don't want Yamane back (she left Konami, remember) is because Konami has a history of hiring young music students. Konami gives up-and-comers opportunities. Yamane's had her time in the spotlight. Konami should bring in someone else. Granted, this thread would contradict that seemingly, but seeing as how I can't name anyone that hasn't made a name for his or herself, I can't very well name them now can I?
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Abnormal Freak on August 26, 2013, 05:23:05 PM
KKC is just a banner name. There were no particular "members," it was just a generic way to credit the music.

Anyway, I think my dream team would be new blood. CV I-III, IV, Bloodlines, Rondo, Chronicles were all done by different teams and talents. ReBirth was a good continuation of this method in the "Classicvania" department. Just give me more of that, quit recycling old staff and sprites.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Abnormal Freak on August 26, 2013, 07:24:33 PM
Though if we're gonna go the 3D route, and since I wanna see Castlevania in a completely different light that I think would be interesting, I'll throw this shiz out there just to see if it sticks:


Producer/Technical Director
Shinji Mikami

Scenario Writer/Creative Director
Goichi Suda

Character Designer
Akihiro Yamada

Art Director/Cinematics Design
Daniel Thron

Sound Director
Akira Yamaoka

Music Composer
Eric Brosius

Protagonist Voice Actor
Stephen Russell


I just popped a major nerdboner.


Basically it's a mishmash of some of my favorites. Mikami and Suda because they did great together on killer7 and Shadows of the Damned; Mikami has the technical backing to make smooth gameplay, Suda has the ingenuitive ideas and storytelling (when he tries; see killer7) that make gaming fun again.

Yamada would do character designs similar to his Dracula XX work because that cross between manga art and pop American comic art is really fantastic. All that heavy Jack Kirby-esque shading, oh man.

The cutscenes and overall art direction would be handled by Thron who did the first three Thief games, done in the same "animated digital painting" style that also uses silhouette live acting. Why? Because it's unique and far more interesting than the crud we see in every other game and really fits with the comic style art Yamada would whip up—heavy shadows, limited motion, and all that.

Thief TDP - Garret Meets Constantine (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SUgMgVFfUxk#)

Yamaoka would whip up SFX and sound fonts. Brosius would do the music because I'd like to see more ambient music in the Castlevania series. I'm sure many will disagree with this big-time since the N64 games didn't go over well, but Brosius would take a very interesting approach by injecting ethereal soundscapes into the picture.

Thief Deadly Shadows OST - The Overlook Manor (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IfttUuCac0#)

Russell as lead character voice actor because he's funkin' sexy and knows how to act. He plays thief Garrett in the cinematic above and is better than most video game VAs, in my opinion.

And for good measure, throw in some special, overstylized anime cutscenes directed by Takeshi Koike and animated by Madhouse just for a few scenes of over-the-top absurdity.


The game would play kind of like the N64 games only polished and non-wonky. It would be a platformer basically, but also have large flat planes and hills to traverse. No combo combat BS, make it more like a 3D Diablo or something: a hack and slash, though not necessarily of the level up and run away and be tactical kind. One button to execute a main attack. Have a secondary lesser attack like a small sword like Reinhardt has, whip main weapon. Perhaps eliminate sub-weapons in favor of the secondary attack. Throw in a slide move if you can make it not suck.

Ledge-climbing would be involved, just use it sparingly and don't make it obvious/limited where ground can be grabbed on to, and have a stamina meter because you can't hang on to that shiz forever. Probably no shimmying, because that shit's super hard to do IRL (i.e., an excuse to not have it because I hate ledge shimmying).


Would be an action game, of course, but also have spaced-out combat. It's not going to be a constant assault game; enemies could even attack you unsuspectingly by way of ambush or just like...I dunno...clumsily falling off a cliff and landing right in front of you. Or like harpies or eagles or some shit carrying little fleamen that bombard you. But I'd like for it to not be completely action- or combat-based. Get some breathing space in there, have some time to explore—though not without peril and a sense of dread, that anything could attack at any moment. But it also depends on how you play. Are you stealthy? Can you hide in the shadows and not make noise as you creep by some skeleton guards to get into a cave entrance? Stuff like that.


In tight corridors and certain interiors you would have cinematic camera angles like in Eternal Darkness that flow with the player movements so as to always let you see what needs to be seen, while looking deliberately framed and pretty as well. Mix it up so it's not over-the-shoulder all the time. Just make it interesting at key points.


And other cool stuff. 'Cos it would be a cool game.


Oh, and tons of tits and asses. But elegantly so.


There you have it: my multi-million dollar recreation of Castlevania.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Munchy on August 28, 2013, 05:18:37 PM
Artwork - Whoever did OZ and that other Portrait of Ruin artwork
Music - Hitoshi Sakimoto
Dracula voice - Christopher Lee
Gameplay/everything else - Platinum

If there was some magical way they could make it into a first person brawler, I could live with that.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: TheouAegis on August 28, 2013, 10:01:39 PM
No no no music has to be rock or jazz! You can mix in other guys, like Yamaoka. But still, has to be rock.

I'd use Yamaoka for caverns/catacombs with most any combination of composers, except in the case of.... :

If Konami could get the funding, I'd say they should bring aboard Kenji Kawai. His musical style could appease a lot of people. He's percussive jazzy rock like the NES composers, he's symphonic with choral ensembles like the later composers. Dude's got decades worth of music composition behind him. Ghost in the Shell. Vampire Princess Miyu. Patlabor. Ranma 1/2. Project A-Ko. Devilman. Dark Water. Samurai Pizza Cats. Mermaid Forest. Burn-Up. Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Iczer-1. Sorcerer Hunters. Blue Seed. Ring (the Japanese one). Ultraman Nexus. Death Note. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Gundam 00. Seven Swords. All the boss fights would be awesome! And the stage music would be able to appease almost everyone since he does rock and jazz and ambient symphonic and choral ensembles.

Toshihiko Sasashi should be brought in as well. This is the style of music Castlevania games should have! Mix these guys together! He's one of the Ultra composers -- CASTLEVANIA NEEDS ULTRA COMPOSERS!! CASTLEVANIA ULTRA!!!! Ghost Sweeper Mikami. Gundam SEED. Big O. Hunter x Hunter. Full Metal Panic. Fatal Fury. Cutie Honey Flash. Burn-Up Scramble. Magic Knight Rayearth. Gunslinger Girls. Ultraman Mebius. Kamen Rider.

If there's money left over, Akihito Tokunaga. I listened to a lot of songs that guy helped compose and arrange throughout college. A LOT. He did the music for Dragon Ball GT and Slam Dunk The Animation. Want at least two stages with catchy rock beats? Get him to write them.


I'll give Thron props for creativity, but I just don't see that style in a CV game. Actually I can see it in a CV game, but I just don't like that style. But artistically, yes it shows his talent. I would say I want live-action cutscenes, but no matter how you do them, I just can't see them being much better than SegaCD..... But obscuring most of the body and the heads, that might work in a Castlevania game. Then BOOM ROAR! Full-on monster shot! Scare the crap out of kids.
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Abnormal Freak on August 29, 2013, 02:04:08 AM
I'll give Thron props for creativity, but I just don't see that style in a CV game. Actually I can see it in a CV game, but I just don't like that style. But artistically, yes it shows his talent.

I just like seeing different things. The Thief cutscenes blew me away when the games first came out, and I'm amazed there still hasn't been anything like them since. Daniel Thron actually wanted to do the visuals for the movie A Scanner Darkly and did a demonstration/teaser trailer sort of thing. Shame it never happened; never saw the movie, but the "toon shading over live acting" approach looked really dumb.

Here's one more, from the second game, booooiiii.

Thief 2 Cutscene 5 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTXAYNRtBac#)
Title: Re: Castlevania Production Dream Team
Post by: Lelygax on August 29, 2013, 08:18:30 AM
If Konami could get the funding, I'd say they should bring aboard Kenji Kawai. His musical style could appease a lot of people. He's percussive jazzy rock like the NES composers, he's symphonic with choral ensembles like the later composers. Dude's got decades worth of music composition behind him. Ghost in the Shell. Vampire Princess Miyu. Patlabor. Ranma 1/2. Project A-Ko. Devilman. Dark Water. Samurai Pizza Cats. Mermaid Forest. Burn-Up. Irresponsible Captain Tylor. Iczer-1. Sorcerer Hunters. Blue Seed. Ring (the Japanese one). Ultraman Nexus. Death Note. Higurashi no Naku Koro ni. Gundam 00. Seven Swords. All the boss fights would be awesome! And the stage music would be able to appease almost everyone since he does rock and jazz and ambient symphonic and choral ensembles.

This, or then bring "dai", "dai" did a lot of good music too.

Kenji sample:
Mein Theme Kes -Kenji Kawai (higurashi no naku koro ni Vol 2 OST (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaH_BfV8ILg#)

dai sample:
dai - ひだまり -destructive (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMgccPxKrRo#)

[Umineko Music] Ride On - Dai (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnwNqSXaTak#)

Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru BGM - Final Answer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zq-HbOF1xvI#ws)