Japanese Game Graphics: Behind the Scenes of Your Favorite Games

by Works Corporation, Works Corporation Staff

Japan is the world power in video games, producing the most popular video hardware and software in the world that has won countless fans worldwide.  Now these fans can take a look at the making of their favorite games in Japanese Game Graphics, which goes behind-the-scenes of the most-talked about and popular titles released for Playstation 2 and other consumer videogame hardware.  Each of the 26 games covered (including Final Fantasy X2, Soulcalibur 2, and Oni Musha 2) gets its own fully illustrated chapter to describe the game and take readers beyond what is seen on the screen.The artists, illustrators, and creators of each game are extensively interviewed and they themselves describe what is unique about their game, what challenges they had to overcome to create the game, and how the characters and stories were created. They also describe what software and digital techniques (often invented especially for the game) were used to create the look and feel of each game and game world.

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book offers a behind the scenes look at the software and methods used to create the graphics for around two dozen Japanese video games. Covering the works from a variety of developers, publishers, and platforms of release, this book was an enlightening read for me.

Although I have no background in graphic design, let alone video game development period, as a massive fan of video games, I enjoyed the education. I came of age alongside many of these particular games, so it was also a nostalgic read.

With only a couple pages devoted to each video game, the opportunity for deep dives wasn't present. Oftentimes, the subject for a game would be a specific set of cutscenes, or broad discussion on the tools used. This was fine by me, but someone with graphic design interests may find this underwhelming.

Additionally, I sometimes found the syntax awkward. This was originally written for the Japanese market, later translated to English, and that occasionally shows. There were some parts where it was hard to parse what exactly was trying to be communicated, as if the source material was translated, but not localized or proofread by a native English speaker.