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Hisao Oguchi: Sega's Unknown Hit Maker
by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
With all of the excitement over Sega game designers Yu Suzuki (Daytona, Virtua Fighter) and Yuji Naka (Sonic The Hedgehog, NiGHTS), Hisao Oguchi has gone nearly unnoticed. His games, on the other hand, are almost always major hits. As the general manager of Sega's impressive Research and Development Department 3 (also known as AM3), Oguchi's list of hits includes such recent arcade smashes as Top Skater, Crazy Taxi, Gun Blade, and Lost World: Jurassic Park; but he has been with Sega since 1984, and his library of games is extensive.
Unlike Sega's other lead designers, who tend to be extremely private, Oguchi has an effusive and open personality. He is an extremely relaxed person who, like his games, has a healthy sense of humor.
Gamers Today: What were your first games?
Hisao Oguchi: It was called Dokey Dokey Penguin. I think that might translate to something like "Panic" Penguin or maybe "Heart Attack Penguin." Nobody really remembers that game. It's not well known, even in Japan.
GT: What have you done lately?
HO: Since I've been at AM3, I've worked on so many games I don't know where to start. Most of the games I have worked on have been for arcades. AM3 hasn't been as involved with the consumer software. We did another Jurassic Park game before Lost World: Jurassic Park-- it was like a rail chase with two people sitting on a bench. I worked on Virtual On-the robot combat game. I've spent time concentrating on double-player arcade games.
GT: How long did it take to do Virtual On?
HO: It takes about one year for each project. I mean the first Virtual On project, for the arcades. The second Virtual On project was the consumer game for the Saturn. There was some overlapping that went on between the arcade version and the Saturn one.
We're working on a Dreamcast version of Virtual On. The most important thing about Dreamcast is the fact that it lets you connect to the Net and do on-line gaming. That's where the excitement comes in--it lets you play on-line against other people.
GT: Do you play any on-line games?
HO: I'm a core user of Ultima Online.
GT: Has online gaming become a major force in interactive entertainment?
HO: Up until now, AM2 and AM3 have always worked on arcade games. They've worked really hard at arcade games, but from now on they're moving towards Dreamcast and the world of online gaming because that's going to lead Sega to a new realm.
GT: There are some great games in the arcades these days, but the arcade business is dying. Why is this happening?
HO: The technology keeps getting better, but that doesn't mean that there are good games. More expensive technology and better graphics doesn't necessarily make a good game, and game play is sometimes being left out. Technology's important for making good games but... My take on the situation is different from yours. You say there's a lot of good games out there, but I think there is a lot of high technology games that aren't very good. I see less and less good games, quality games, creative games, playable games.
There are a lot of realistic simulation games, but a game is not necessarily a good game even if it is a good simulation. Having better technology helps with making really good simulations because it can mean more realistic games, but a lot of people are forsaking the game play for the technology and just producing simulations.
HO: The ability to create good graphics has been steadily building for the last six or seven years and just about everybody has that technology now. Everybody has the same quality graphics, but the art of making interesting games is being left behind.
A lot of game companies care more about technology than games. Look at all of the 3D characters and games that have been developed in the past few years. I think the images of the characters are sometimes better portrayed in 2D.
It's really easy to get good camera angles and show characters from all sides in 3D. If you do an up shot or a down shot of your characters in 2D, you have to actually redo all of the data in order to produce it, so the 3D has its plus sides; but you lose some of the character. When it comes to arcade games, I'm trying to pull away from making high technology wonder games. I'd rather make games that help people interact with each other.
GT: How many good games come out in a good year?
HO: My department makes about five games per year, so I guess I would like to see five great games per year from the whole industry.
GT: Where did the idea for the arcade version of Crazy Taxi come from?
HO: All the car games up until now have mostly been simulation racing type games. I wanted to have a game that offered something more... something cool. It didn't really have to be a taxi, it didn't have to be a taxi. Another member of the team came up with the idea of a taxi. The idea of a game with a taxi... I liked that., and those two words put together in the same concept-taxi and crazy--was cool.
I also want to talk about Top Skater. You can actually get on that machine. (Top Skater is a skateboarding simulation. The controller is a skateboard-shaped platform that players manipulate by shifting their weight.) Michael Jackson came here halfway through the production of the game, so they had him try Top Skater even though it was only halfway developed. He said it was cool. He comes a lot. He loves Sega.
