IGN Wii: Based on what we have seen so far, the game seems to be using the same cinematic presentation as Elebits. What prompted that choice?
Mukaitoge: We used the same illustrator for both Elebits and Dewy's Adventure. I don't know about here, but in Japan, this illustrator is very popular. He has worked on many Japan-only games for Konami in the past, but Elebits was his first really large project. The fan response to his work on Elebits was very positive, so we decided to use him again.
IGN Wii: Can you briefly explain the basic storyline/premise of Dewy's Adventure?
Mukaitoge: The game takes place in a mythical fairytale world. The majestic Elder Tree towered over the world and brought prosperity to the land. One day, the evil Don Hedron appeared and attempted to cover the world in darkness. The Elder Tree with the help of the fairies fought back against Don Hedron and drove him and his Dark Water from the world. After a long time of peace, Don Hedron and his Dark Water appeared once more and attempted to plunge the world into blackness. The Elder Tree put the rest of his remaining strength into creating Dewy, the only one with the ability to clean up this dirty world.
IGN Wii: What is so special about Dewy? What can the character do?
Mukaitoge: Dewy is the last hope to drive away the evil Don Hedron. He is a droplet of water, and can be heated or cooled to achieve different goals. We don't want to go in to too much detail about this yet.
IGN Wii: How do you control Dewy using the Wii-mote and nunchuk?
Mukaitoge: While we can't talk about all of his abilities, we can say that the game is controlled entirely using the Wii controller. You hold it [like Excite Truck] and tilt it to tilt the environment and move Dewy. The D-pad can be used to heat or cool Dewy. When Dewy is heated up, he becomes a cloud of steam. He can then strike enemies with bolts of lightning. You can also move the Wii controller in a fanning motion to create gusts of wind or in a side-to-side motion to create an earthquake. These can be used to solve hidden environmental puzzles and combat enemies. There are lots of more abilities that Dewy has, but we want to keep them secret for now.
IGN Wii: This is the same development team as Elebits, right? How big is the team and how long has the game been in development?
Mukaitoge: The team we are using for this game is my personal team. Some of the members also worked on Elebits, but some came from other projects. The team has 30 members. We started Dewy's Adventure at the same time as Elebits, so the game has probably been in development for more than one year so far.
IGN Wii: Is this game planned as a 2007 title?
Mukaitoge: Yes, we plan on releasing Dewy's Adventure in 2007.
IGN Wii: Dewy's Adventure looks to use a top-down perspective and appears very different from Elebits. Elebits was all about manipulation of objects in the environment. Does Dewy's Adventure use heavy physics in the way that Elebits did?
Mukaitoge: For Elebits, we placed a great degree of emphasis on physics. We did not focus much of our energies on the graphical presentation of the game. For Dewy's Adventure, we spent all lot of time on perfecting our graphics technology. We worked hard on our textures. We are very proud to say that we have implemented normal mapping in Dewy's Adventure.
IGN Wii: This may be the first game that we have seen with normal mapping. We weren't really sure if the Wii supported it.
Mukaitoge: Really? We used normal mapping for some of the bosses in the game. If you look closely at the trailer, you can see normal mapping on the boss character at the end.
IGN Wii: Can Dewy fall from the environments he navigates, or is he on a set path?
Mukaitoge: You can approach the game in a linear fashion. However, there are plenty of hidden items to look for in the environment, as well as different collectibles. In those cases, you will have to explore more.
IGN Wii: Does the game run in progressive scan and 16:9 widescreen modes?
Mukaitoge: I don't know about progressive scan, but right now Dewy's Adventure runs in 16:9.
IGN Wii: Does Dewy's Adventure have a level editor?
Mukaitoge: Yes, Dewy's Adventure has an edit mode, much like Elebits.
IGN Wii: Elebits was the first game to take advantage of WiiConnect24, enabling gamers to create and share levels. Will Dewy's Adventure utilize WiiConnect 24 in any way? If so, how?
Mukaitoge: Yes, it will. [laughs] We are not quite sure how we will use it yet.
IGN Wii: Is there a multiplayer mode in the game? If so, how does it work?
Mukaitoge: We are trying to make a four-player multiplayer mode, but if it proves too difficult, it may end up being only two players. We are going to be making stages specifically for multiplayer, rather than having players unlock the single-player levels for the multiplayer mode. Players will also be able to use the Edit Mode to create levels for the multiplayer.
IGN Wii: Are than any time attack or challenge levels in addition to the single-player experience?
Mukaitoge: You must have played a lot of Elebits! [laughs] Time attack sounds good, but we are not at the stage where we have implemented something like this yet.
IGN Wii: This is your second major Wii game. What do you think of the hardware so far?
Mukaitoge: I truly feel that the Wii is good hardware. Normally in a game, you are forced to use just your two thumbs to move your character and perform actions, but the Wii incorporates 3D motion, which really opens up the possibilities of simultaneous actions. The Wii is a difficult system to develop a platformer for, but with Dewy's Adventure, we made some adjustments to take advantage of the system. The end game is a fun title that I can proudly recommend.
IGN Wii: Do you think the Wii is capable of much more on both a control and graphics level than most developers are doing so far?
Mukaitoge: I think Wii is very capable, and we can do much more with the system.
IGN Wii: Will we ever see Elebits 2?
Mukaitoge: Do you want me to make it? [laughs] I will do my best. Right now, we are working hard on Dewy's Adventure, but once we finish we will think about it.
