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.
— Yoko Taro
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 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 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.
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.'
Even I have certain depictions that I personally don't like, but I don't believe artists should necessarily follow a particular person's preference. They should focus on the things they like and follow their own desires.
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 kind of want to continue to fail, because it's easier for me to think of what I want to do next. Whereas if I succeed I might have to follow that path.
For 'Nier: Automata', I wasn't told to target anyone. I just made what I wanted to, and I tried to stay hidden from Square Enix as much as possible.
I constantly want to do something new and surprise the audience.
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.
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.
In any case, 'Nier: Automata' is not a perfect game. But I am proud of everything in it.
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 you really think about it, it doesn't really matter where a game ends. Ultimately, if the player is satisfied with stopping at a particular point, it doesn't matter if it's where the creator intended things to end or not... and so that's where the idea of having so many endings came about.
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.
In 'Drakengard', you have magic and non-magic missiles that couldn't shoot each other down.
The reason my games are chaotic is that the world is chaotic, not me. I don't aim for bad endings - they just naturally come out.
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.
I personally don't feel like I'm really different with the mask on or not, but I don't really like to take interviews or go talk to other people or in front of other people.
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.
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.
There are multiple teams within Platinum, but the specific team I worked with, Team Taura, is really young and powerful and they're very talented in going through a lot of volume of work at a really fast pace.
As for my favorite games growing up, if I were to mention a game other than 'Gradius', it would have to be 'Xevious'.
You can even express movies and poetry using video games. For those reasons, I've decided to create stories through video games.
If there are 100 people, I don't anticipate all 100 liking my scenario - but I write it so at least one or two of them will love and get really into that particular story.
Whenever I write the scenarios for my games, I don't necessarily envision them being liked or being wonderful for everyone.
Personally I don't want to be regarded as that one person who's responsible for the title.
The reason why there are so many characters who suffer in my games is that I want to show reality.
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.
So 'Nier Automata' feels like a story about androids but no, the main theme of 'Automata' is human.
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.
