The Danganronpa series has proven to be a popular and critically-acclaimed visual novel franchise, in part due to its diversive cast of characters and intriguing story. The Game Developers Conference YouTube channel is now streaming Danganronpa creator, director, and writer Kazutaka Kodaka’s GDC 2015 presentation on his process on crafting extraordinary stories.
Most famously from Kodaka’s talk was his plea at the beginning for more people in the West to buy the PlayStation Vita, a platform he believes is, “great system” that can “showcase a creator’s unique, very original side of his or her personality.”
“And the more they [the Vita] sell, the more my game Danganronpa will sell hopefully haha.”
Kodaka goes on to discuss his method when designing games and how he takes a very character-centric approach in that regard. He states that, “The player experiences both the story and game system through the characters” and thus feels in many cases a “memorable game needs memorable characters.”
“How do you create these memorable characters? For me, the most import thing is “subjective love.” At the end of the day, for me, everything is based on my own love for the characters I’m creating.”
Danganronpa is known for putting its characters in dire situations as the concept is about high school students trapped by the robot bear Monokuma, who coerces the classmates to kill one another. Kodaka chose the approach in his storytelling because “unexpected events [story development] enriches a character’s identity.”
If you’re a fan of the Danganronpa franchise, Kodaka’s GDC 2015 presentation is worth a watch, If you’re wondering about what the buzz is about, check out our reviews of Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc and Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair.