I have liked games for a very long time but when I saw 'Gradius' at the arcade as a junior high student, I became certain that in the future all forms of entertainment will be taken over by video games.
For me, when we're all human beings, it's just interesting that we cannot understand the other person or how they think. That's one part of the human aspect that fascinates me.
I feel that a world in which you only see what you want to see is incomplete. And as a game creator, I am only here to prepare a game that will expand the breadth of your thinking, and leave the decision between good and evil up to the players.
Speaking seriously, 'Ikaruga' influenced how I synchronize the game sequences with the music. Combining the two in a way that appeals to people's hearts is a task that's quite difficult.
I don't think that humankind is worthy of trust when we can't let go of war, draw borders between neighboring countries, seek to become richer than others, find joy in defeating others at sports, and choose someone of the opposite gender based on their appearance.
When I'm able to eat cheap and delicious food, like ramen and beef bowls, I can't stop but to think, 'Ah, what a great era I was born in.'
My belief is that if there are already games that other developers are putting out that are satisfying to the player, with great action or an excellent story, then I desire to create something different - a different type of experience.
So 'Nier Automata' feels like a story about androids but no, the main theme of 'Automata' is human.
Actually, multiple playthroughs and deleting save files are things that other games have done, so I don't see myself as a forerunner of those elements in the game.
After we released 'Drakengard 3', I think everyone was well sick of all the games I made by then, and I really didn't really want to work anymore. I was thinking I'd probably just go and hide in the mountains and live out the rest of my life as a hermit or something.
I've always felt that it didn't feel right for me when a protagonist goes through a storyline where they're killing a lot of enemies, and at the very end of the story he ends up kissing the heroine and that's where you end the game.
I really do love psychology and philosophy but I'm no professional at these things. Because I love seeing the true side of humanity, as I've continued that, I have ultimately lent towards philosophy and psychology but it is not something in which I try to study.
To be honest, I think I am making normal games targeted towards normal people. But ultimately when I release those normal games, weird people find them to be weird games and enjoy them. Which probably means there's something wrong with me.
What I really love about philosophers and psychologists is that they sound smart.
In 'Nier Automata', the protagonists are androids, not humans, and that's very common in a Science Fiction story.
I get bored very fast, so I would like to do something new. Something like a restaurant is attractive. It does seem to be a very tough job though.
I felt that just looking at the world in general, there are so many types of people, and some hide who they truly are. And I feel that every person has some kind of warped identity inside them that they decide if they want to show or not.
