I've got a PowerPoint deck that I use for internal presentations, and there's a slide on it that asks, 'What percentage of your game is combat versus exploration versus puzzle solving versus platforming,' and I refuse to answer that question.
You have to design and program differently. Combat action in an MMO is so different to combat in a first-person shooter.
In 'Drakengard', you have magic and non-magic missiles that couldn't shoot each other down.
I think it's important to have scaling challenge because there are players who I feel play 'Dragon Age' for the wonder, story and exploration but wouldn't enjoy getting their butts handed to them. We do still have easy mode - it's not a pure story mode in that there's zero combat, but it's not super-challenging.
I wanted to experiment with more deliberate combat but I never wanted to lose that DNA of what 'God of War' is.
Development of 'Bloodborne' and sinking into the battle of the hunter and the unique horror world was not only an exciting experience but it also allowed me to re-acknowledge the charm of a fantasy world and the intrigue of 'Dark Souls' for me.
I wonder sometimes why the U.S. reviewers are more negative towards turn-based battle systems.
I've worked on a lot of fighting games, so I was very used to the idea of combat sounds.
