[That developer was here!] 2nd: Ask Michi Takataka Tsuruta, who worked on the legendary masterpiece "Captain Tsubasa"!

The name of "Captain Tsubasa" "Kuku !!

Mr. Tsuruta, who worked on many masterpieces of arcades and NES software during the Tech and Tecmo era.

So how are the technology and experience you have been used in the development of the current smartphone game?And what are the difficulties of making money with the current smartphone app?

Here are some episodes in the masterpieces of the past, and their latest works.

In 1982, he joined Takan as a part -time job and was in charge of the development of the arcade game "Swimmer".Later, he became an employee of the company, planning and developing many arcades and NES software, including Gazler, Bonjack, Solomon's Key, and Captain Tsubasa.He is currently active as a freelance developer.

―― Thank you for your time today.First of all, could you tell us from the reason Tsuruta was interested in the game?

Michi Takataka Tsuruta (hereinafter, Tsuruta): A baseball game like a playing card that was when I was a child is probably the first time.

Certainly, it was a game to play according to the card instructions, such as drawing the card, if it was written as a hit, a runner came out, and if the defender pulled a double play, it would be 2 out.

The data such as the player's parameters and compatibility was not at all simple, but I really liked it and played well.

I also liked the two -dimensional maze written on paper, and I enjoyed writing my own maze in 2-3 university notes.

Also, I often played the puzzle "Pento Mino", which was based on "Tetris".

In fact, I first learned about the existence of a computer called a machine that can calculate that there are tens of thousands or hundreds of millions of solutions from the encounter with Pentomino.

That's why I became interested in the computer itself.

――Do you have a video game that you were addicted to as a child?

Tsuruta: The first thing I played was "Pong" ( * 1).I also loved the "Luna Lander" ( * 2) and "Galaxy Wars" ( * 3), which moves characters that work with the laws of inertia with the same mechanism.

"Space Invader" was also playing when it was a boom, but the one that I was particularly addicted to was "Galaxian".

* 1: "PONG (Pong)": Game released by Atari in 1973, a game in which two balls together * 2: "Luna Lander": Atari launched in 1979, operating the rocket and landing the moon.Game * 3: "Galaxy Wars": A game released by Universal in 1979, which operates a missile and hits UFO

――Why did Mr. Tsuruta, a boy who loved such a game, became interested in developing video games?

Tsuruta: When I was a college student, I bought a computer called PC-8001, thought that I could make a game similar to "Pong" myself, and played a program that was listed in magazines such as "Microcomputer BASIC Magazine".The reason is that you can play.

Later, I played various things, such as playing the program variables myself, and playing in various ways.

――So, did you learn how to do programs by yourself when you were a student?

Tsuruta: Yeah, I learned BASIC ( *) as a result, and I used a hand aloud semi -bra so that I could improve the process of processing slow programs by myself.

* BASIC: Typical programming language in the early microcomputer era

At that time, there was a game called "Snakey".When I eat a frog, I moved a snake that makes my body longer, and if I make a mistake in the direction of turning on the way, my head hits my tail and turns over the game, but the movement of this game was quite slow.

So, when I looked into it myself, I realized that the processing was slow in the key input part, and I was able to increase the processing speed by rewriting it to the machine.

If the movement is slow, you will immediately know where you can prevent mistakes, so that will make the game less interesting.

――I've been remodeling with a hand resembler!So what were the events that wanted to get a job at a game company or start working in game development?

Tsuruta: During the spring break of the second year of college, it was adopted as a part -time job after applying for a takan job in the "part -time news" at the time.

―― So, did you become an employee of Takan as it was without so -called job hunting?

Tsuruta: That's right.At that time, did you say that it was relatively flexible, it was a big era (laughs).

――What was the first game in charge of development?

Tsuruta: This is an arcade game "Swimmer" ( *).I drew a swimming hero and enemy characters.

* "Swimmer": Takan was released in 1982.A game that operates a swimmer (hero) swimming in the river, aiming for a goal while avoiding enemies and driftwood.

At that time, one sprite could only be used, and to be precise, only 7 colors could be used, so I decided which color to use first, and then driven the data of 16 x 16 dots of the character in hexadecimal.。

When the driving was over, I burned the data to the ROM lighter and inserted it into the board to make the character visible for the first time, so I repeated the work of debugging while looking at it.

Nowadays, you can easily draw characters by using Photoshop etc. even on ordinary PCs, but at that time it started by drawing on grid paper.

――Is the “Swimmer” in charge of the plan?

Tsuruta: No, when I entered, the development had already begun, so the first thing I participated in from the planning stage was "Gazler" ( *).

* "Gazler": Takan was released in 1983.Arcade action that operates the hero, takes water into the body, spits out toward the flame and erased

――What was the development period of the arcade game at that time?How many development staff were there?

Tsuruta: The development period is about 6 months.In the era of "Swimmer" and "Gazler", I think that two programmers were in charge of two graphics and three sounds.

If you think about it now, I think it was really a small number of people at the time.

――It seems that you were planning and developing the Solomon Key.This work was an unusual case where the arcade version and the NES version were almost at the same time, but why was it released at the same time?

Mr. Tsuruta: At first I was developing only the arcade version, but later I decided to release the NES version.

So, after making fine adjustments, we decided to stop the development of the arcade version at the time of completion, and then proceed with the development of the NES version.

After that, when the NES version of ROM production began and the hands were empty, we returned to the development of the arcade version again.

Action puzzle game masterpiece "Solomon's Key"."Fold cranes" appear as a kind of hidden character ( * The image is NES version)

――In the “Solomon Key”, it was novel that the protagonist can take or erase it and go to a high place freely.How did you come up with this original idea, unparalleled?

Mr. Tsuruta: I think the hint was probably "road runner".

"Road Runner" was able to dig a hole and drop the enemy robot, but it was a basic idea that it would be more interesting to be able to get a block, not just digging.rice field.

Actually, at first I wanted to make it a pure action game, but it was difficult to try it, so I made an action puzzle game.

This is an aside, but when erasing the block with a head, it is not once, but it is broken after jumping twice.

In the arcade version, depending on the case, the lever may easily enter diagonally, so if you make a mistake in an angle, it will not break once.

--I see!As long as the element of the puzzle is incorporated, it is troublesome if you accidentally clog the input on the way.Also, I've heard that Tsuruta -san's name is the original story of the hidden character "Kazuru" that appears in the NES version. Is it true?

Tsuruta: That's true.This is "Tsuruta Original" anagram.

By the way, in the smartphone app that Mr. Tsuruta is currently making, a picture of a fold crane is displayed at startup.

―― At that time, there was a corner that introduced the tricks of the game as a specialty project for NES magazines.Did you put the hidden character in the "Solomon Key" from the development stage of the development stage?

Tsuruta: That's right.There was a request from the company from the beginning that hidden elements would be intentionally entered.

――By the way, how many development staff of Solomon's Key?

The Tsuruta NES version had a total of three people, each with one planning, program and sound.

Later, I asked some helpers to help me with the stage design, so it's actually a little more.

By the way, the sound staff was not resident, so there are only two main people in charge (laughs).

――After that, you seemed to have developed the “Captain Tsubasa” series in the Tecmo era.

Tsuruta: Yes.The first work and the Captain Tsubasa II were in charge of the development.The Super Nintendo version of "Captain Tsubasa III" was supervised in the form of supervision.

At the development stage of "Captain Tsubasa II", I had already left Techmo, but I was outsourcing, and I was working at the same level as a person in the company.

The animation of the NES version "Captain Tsubasa" was impressive!

――What kind of parts were you in charge of Captain Tsubasa?

Tsuruta: It's a whole planning part during the match.I made all the data of the "picture contest system" to move the picture.

The specifications of the content system of "Captain Tsubasa II" were all made based on the previous work.It was much more enhanced than the previous work, and it was like a dedicated language with a subroutine call.

I wrote an assembler data to move the picture drawn by another staff from this position on the screen to that position, or how many frames to do it.

For example, as a result of the calculation, it was such a system, saying, "As a result of this shot, this shot will enter the goal, so in that case, let's play a picture when you enter the goal."

The teams and players' parameters were created by the chief of the plan at that time to overse the data of difficulty.While consulting with that person, I was creating a system that could adjust the difficulty level.

――So Tsuruta also made the movement of Tsubasa's suddenly sinking and the movement of the cool ball ball with that cool.

Tsuruta: That's right.Using the formula formula created by the programmer, I made a parameter based on the original manga.

Also, in the first work "Captain Tsubasa", I only came out a little, but the production that the ground became diagonal was very cool, so when I make "Captain Tsubasa II", I will come out in various other situations.I was thinking about it.

―― Certainly, when the player did a sliding tackle, there was a production where the pitch was displayed diagonally!

Tsuruta: In the case of "Captain Tsubasa II", I started making it with all the pictures with the pitch right and left from the beginning from the beginning.

Then, if you make one picture of a tackle player, it will make it look different, and if you have a sense of urgency, if you tilt it and add strength, it will be powerful and interesting.That's why.

By the time I started developing "Captain Tsubasa II", all of the staff had already grasped the number of characters that I needed.

Whether this composition is or not, this composition is required, and how many patterns in the ball can be done, it is okay to determine the amount of the base material from the beginning.I was.

――By the way, how did you come up with the famous “Kuku !!

Tsuruta: The original story is the mouth of the programmer at the time.When he made a mistake while playing at the game, he actually shouted, "Ku!

So, what if everyone runs out of MP during the development, what should I do?I made it while laughing.

Later, I was angry from the person, "Why did you make it!"。

This is the scene of the name zeriff "Kuku !!

―― From here, I will ask about smartphone games.What kind of smartphone play do Tsuruta usually play?

Tsuruta: I was working hard on Pazudora for a while, but I didn't play much after I came to think, "It's hard to get stronger without charge."I play other games a bit, but I don't do it for a long time.

If you start making games, you can't take the time to play other games seriously.

――What are the titles you can boast in the smartphone games you've been playing so far?What are the most impressive games recently played?

Tsuruta: I don't have a good game at all, so there's nothing to be proud.

One of the most interesting things I played recently is the game called "Wall Kick Jump".It's so good and interesting to kill time, but I die as soon as I play ...

"Wall kick jumping" that Mr. Tsuruta was quite interested.It's a simple game that touches the screen to make the hero jump and competes for how high you can climb.

――What creators are you paying attention to personally?

Tsuruta: I think the author of the "wall kick jumping" mentioned earlier is quite good.In the game, I display ads at a very good timing and to give the next feature, so I am studying a lot of play.

Then, the same author seems to have created a game that looks interesting again, "Tenku Bran", so I'm also worried.If you put your hand out because it looks fun, you will surely be hurt again (laughs).

――Do you look from the developer's point of view and feel a considerable sense of the author of the “Wall Kick Jump”?

Tsuruta: Yes.But I'm sorry that I wanted to adjust the difficulty balance (laughs).It's a bit difficult for me, so I fail in the same place every time and get over the game ...

Probably the author is very good at games and I think it was based on that, but it would have been better if Easy mode was prepared separately.

Mr. Tsuruta says that he is worried about the jumping action game "Tenku Blanco" created by the same author as "Wall Kick Jump".

――So, why did Tsuruta himself want to develop a smartphone game?

Tsuruta: When I showed another game made by Flash to an acquaintance before, I started with advice, "Why don't you put it out on your iPhone?"

The first thing I made was a puzzle game called "Astro Zill" ( *) in 2009, just when the iPhone 3GS began to appear.Until it was completed, it was hard anyway ...

"Astro Zill", a puzzle game that sucks and outs the ball and erases four balls of the same color.

――Is it difficult to develop because it is different from conventional arcade games and home games?

Tsuruta: No, it's not the difference between the platform, but for the first time in earnest for the first time.

The manual is English, and the functions of the functions are long, and there is only an Objective-C like "Nanjakori!?", So when I started, I didn't know how to display the sprite.

I was studying while saying, "Isn't this a penance!"I'm used to it now.

-So, does the know -how of development cultivated in the Tecmo era not use much for the development of current smartphone games?

Tsuruta: Not so.Until now, the only difference that I had to ask a programmer and make it, but it was hard to make it myself.

Conversely, if you can do the program properly, you can make it the same as before, so past experience is useful.

The development scale of small games for iPhone and iPhone is about the same.

Originally, I also painted the picture myself, and the way of making data was basically the same as it was, so I work while imagining that this combination will do something like this.Is done.

――The experience of working in the old small man system is now useful!

Tsuruta: Yes, what I couldn't do was the program technology, and otherwise it was possible to train with nature.

Regarding the program, I had been touching C language etc. for a long time, and I also made shooting games with X68000 ( *), so I think it was useful that it was not a start from scratch.。

* X68000: Sharp PC.Famous for having a high -performance sprite display function, which is comparable to the arcade game board

――After your smartphone debut, have you always been developing smartphone apps?

Tsuruta: At first, I used to use my spare time while helping other companies' work.

After that, there was a time when the requests from the company that I often got to work have decreased, so I came to make it in earnest, thinking, "Well, I have to put a little more effort into it."

――Is the first “ASTRO ZILL” made a paid sale?

Tsuruta: That's right.The next app was made free of charge and introduced an advertisement and in -game billing using IAD, but the sales were honest.If there is no mechanism such as gacha to some extent, it seems difficult to connect to profits.

Previously, I created a program called "Nyan Heaven", a title that allows you to add a cat album with in -game billing.

"Nyao -on Heaven" is a rhythm game that learns the cry of the cat played with footprints and touches the footprints in the same order.

Can I sell if I put a photo on a cat on the memory game that presses the button in the order of the sound, like the old "Simon" ( *)?Will it sell if a cute cat photo is added?I made it with an acquaintance, but it was hard to sell ...

* "Simon": E -games in which the four buttons are shining, and pressing the button in that order to play.

Actually, the stock of your own aircraft in the action game was sold more than the album.Probably because it was a mechanism to add a new album when you cleared the stage.

―― Just put in the billing element will not easily increase your sales ...

Tsuruta: So, for example, even if you introduce a system that consumes gacha, it will be quite difficult to make a profit unless you carefully build it in advance.

――The work that Mr. Tsuruta recently released is the puzzle game “Fukuhitoshi Star Send”.

Tsuruta: In this game, the chain is a key, so if you have a chain, you can make it comfortable, so that the spark flies and the curse disappears on the stars, we repeatedly adjust and make adjustments.rice field.

Then, the curse made a more nervous feeling, such as putting a beat before shooting the bullet, and making a squeaky sound to shoot in the future.

"Fuku cat star transfer" is a puzzle game that touches the cats and the star mark so that it is connected by one line, rotates, runs a spark, and erases the same color curse as the erased star.

――Is that Tsuruta -san likes a lot of cats because the work of cats is continuing?

Tsuruta: I don't particularly like cats, but when I clear the stage in "Nyan Heaven", when the cat sounds and jumps, it's fun just looking at the picture.I was worried about being.

Previously, I used to make a game called "Fukun Cat Janpo" where cats just jump.I was making something that was interesting just to jump, just to be healed by relieving stress.

―― In “Fukun cat star feed”, as the stage progresses, the timing when the enemy attacks with a curse is getting faster, right?If you have any tips for capture, please let me know.

Tsuruta: There are two ways to think about connecting the line from the front line to the cat, and two ways to connect it back from the position where the cat is, but first look for a cat with a line connected from the beginning.That's good.

If you find a connected cat, it's a chance, so I think it's better to erase it as soon as possible.

Even if the number of chains is small, if you erase it from the one that can be erased for the time being, when a new line comes out, the one -way line will be a three -way one, and you will have a chance to make it easier to connect again.It will be like that.

Before the ally cats are annihilated, erase all curse to clear the stage.

―― “Fukun cat star feed” is also a basic play, and it is a form that can make a profit by in -game advertising, right?

Tsuruta: That's right.There are types of resident at the top of the screen and advertisements that display a certain number of stages each time you play.Regarding the latter advertisement, if you put out an advertisement too often, you will feel sick, so it is made to put the "weight" on each stage and come out moderately.

――What is the “weight” that was in the current story?

Tsuruta: The simple stage in the early stages and the stage with a difficult tension at the end of the stage are different, that is, the pressure is different, right?Therefore, we weight the stage weight for each difficulty level and advertise at a certain time that the "weight" accumulates.

Then, the "wall kick jumping" I mentioned earlier, but probably, I probably accumulate the play time and put out an advertisement after a certain period of time.I think this is a smart way.

――I'm wondering if the latest work, which will be released soon, is a puzzle game ...

Tsuruta: This is a maze escape game called "Symbol Maze".Once a normal puzzle game is solved, it will be over, but in "SYMBOL MAZE", you will be able to create a stage edit by clearing a certain stage.

Furthermore, the data of the self -made stage can be imported and played by other users who have seen the stage data by converting them into text data on Twitter and tweeting.

Mr. Tsuruta's new work, which is scheduled to be distributed soon, is a puzzle game "Symbol Maze" with a stage edit function ( * screen is under development).

――In the Wii U's “Super Mario Maker”, you can play your own stage between players.

Tsuruta: Yes, it's just like that.If you follow the tweet with a hashtag on the title of the game, you will be able to enjoy various stages.

Of course, I know the answer to what I made, so I can't help playing alone.

The stage data on Twitter is displayed in emoji, but when I was thinking about how to pack about 3 bits, I remembered the era of making old NES software.

―― It's like a score memo in the NES version of “Captain Tsubasa” (laughs).By the way, is this work free of charge, and is it a mechanism to earn with advertising revenue?

Tsuruta: That's right.Even after solving the distributed stage, I thought that those who continue to play with the stage edit will probably love puzzles and will be addicted for a long time, so rather than expanding the frontage, it will be something that people who like can enjoy thoroughly.I am making it to do it.

If you guide the ball to the goal point (the position of the humanoid escape mark) by touch and swipe operation, it will be cleared ( * screen is under development).

――Finally, please give a message to Game Diets readers, including the introduction of the new “Symbol Maze”.

Mr. Tsuruta: In the "Fuku Cat" series, I made it to be able to play in a short time easily, listen to the cats crying, and release stress, but "Symbol Maze" first is the first.I'm going to make it easier to do it, and I will prepare a lot of stages so that I can play with it.

We will eventually want to be able to search for the author as well as the stage edit, so please play once when it is distributed!

―― Thank you for hearing various stories today.I pray for your success in the future!

Expert, which developed masterpiece games and NES software in the 1980s, is still active, and is surprised that he has been challenging a smartphone game business with the same passion as when he was young.Isn't it a lot?

In fact, this is the second time I have interviewed me, Tsuruta.I asked some of the same questions as last time, but I still had a lot of answers to all questions, and I heard a lot of games that I was crazy about when I was a boy.It was just a feeling of insensitive.

Despite the sudden request, I would like to thank Mr. Tsuruta for the cooperation of the interview.

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