Comments by SCARLET NEXUS designer, Masakazu Yamashiro on the Others

Read the comments given by SCARLET NEXUS’ designer, Masakazu Yamashiro, on the overall and individual designs of the Others to understand how the creation of these frightening and absurd mutants came about through his eyes. <h3>Overall Comments on the Others</h3> As the Others are cruel brain-craving monsters that are impossible for humans to communicate with or tell what it is thinking, I designed the Others to be lacking in emotions and thoughtless. However, as simply having them attack mindlessly would be dull, and I needed to design them to be fun to be fought in-game, I added “absurdity” and unique habits to all of them as a counterpoint to their “frightening” nature. You can check them out in the descriptions in the Enemy Compendium. The world of SCARLET NEXUS is inspired by the prospective “near future” of our modern world, and the game’s Art Director, Mr. Ochiai, was the one who came up with the theme to make the Others appear “foreign” while deciding on the enemies of this world. Of course, this theme does not just apply to how the enemies appear, but it also relates back to how the world perspective, world locations, and characters are being portrayed. As such, I felt very confident and reassured that I could fully utilize my uniqueness and characteristics as an artist while creating the enemies of SCARLET NEXUS. Initially, the enemies were planned to be created in a more colorful and anime-styled, so that they would blend into the surroundings of the world. However, to align their design with the theme of “foreignness”, and to maintain the fact that humans and Others are completely hostile entities, we decided to emphasise on its current surreal and artistic looks for visual impact. I believe that the reason why the Others, which exhibited the purity of my creativity as it was, was able to “coexist” with SCARLET NEXUS’ world settings is because the art director Mr. Ochiai’s sense of “beauty and ugliness” is very similar to mine. On the other hand, as the Others are enemy characters in the game, there are often specific requests on their movements and backgrounds from the devs. That means there are some limitations on how the Others could be designed; however, they always tell me to “feel free to do whatever you want with the design.” Also, as the Others have specific movements and backgrounds, there are definitely some limitations on how they could be designed. However the devs had always told me to “feel free to do whatever I want with the design”, so that I don’t feel largely limited while creating them. They are also extremely good at translating my designs into fightable enemies in-game, which I am very impressed with. <h3>Individual Comments on the Others</h3> ■ Buddy Rummy <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19620" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/em0400_buddyrummy_pass.png/d380d83f664c2dc9a142187c90608c8d/em0400_buddyrummy_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> Vase Paws is the Other I designed before I worked on Buddy Rummy, and as it was designed to look like a non-living creature, I made a turn in Buddy Runny’s design direction to differentiate the two from each other. The design direction I took was to ensure that it looks like it had familiarised itself with its surroundings, and that it appears as if it could be found anywhere. With these two aspects in mind, it thus resulted in appearing as an animal-themed Other. Further, the animal I decided to use for this Other was a human, and in order to add “foreignness” to the design, I decided to eliminate its knee joints. The result was spectacular because no matter how it moved around, it had to move awkwardly. This makes Bunny Rummy perfect as an Other. Name Origins: <ul><li>Buddy – Represents this Other’s habit of shaking hands with others of its kind, but eventually ripping them off.</li><li>Rummy – Represents its unsteady walking since it has legs without knee joints.</li></ul> ■ Winery Chinery <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19622" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/5qhnag8joPhUW5SXBaVyC4/1edd009f937e92952aec6f2254c114e5/em1100_winarychinery_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> Winery Chinery represents the first-ever Other I designed. When I first joined the project, it was one of the first artwork that I was requested to create – and it turned out to be a solid artwork that I wanted to show the devs of what I had in mind for the design of the Others, instead of a draft. The combination of having “organic” and “non-organic” components in the definition of the Others matches my art style closely, and this Other represents the essence of my existing illustrations and artworks. I had initially assumed that liquid would constantly leak from the faucet on its face, which would form damage-inflicting puddles, and that it would walk with its fingers to avoid touching the puddles. While it was ultimately decided that the Other would instead directly spray liquid around and onto the player, its “habit” of being a “clean freak” can still be found in its 3D motions. Name Origins: <ul><li>Winery – Represents the outflowing liquid from the monster’s faucet, as it resembles wine.</li><li>Chinery – Represents the “chine” that connects its head and lower body.</li></ul> ■ Vase Paws <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19624" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/6ZYfM6tEq054DbZhIqEGAl/b15aae3d6f7197cdecd46cb5a71493b9/em0200_vasepaws_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> Vase Paws was created as a normal enemy with various elements of the Chinery-type Others, in which they would possess humanly hands and legs of the horse. In this case, Vase Paws has both elements in its lower body. For Vase Paws, the “plants” element on the head of the Chinery have been scaled down, and are used in the upper half of this Other. Further, to add some elements of humankind and to enhance the absurdity of its appearance, I decided to let it wear heels. This is also an Other that was created at the start of the project, so these Others look similar. However, as requested by the devs, their size and attack movements have been modified to ensure that each are distinct. Name Origins: <ul><li>Vase – Represents the body part that resembles a vase</li><li>Paws – Represents the huge and unique legs of the Other</li></ul> ■ Dispen Fisher <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19626" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/755rdMJ3zkwoUTydEcO1qa/dea38943c4846a6882a8ac3cee8750b8/em0300_dispenfisher_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> The first design draft for this Other was actually the only one rejected by the Art Director, Mr. Ochiai. I attempted to differentiate this Other from the other normal enemies, which made its design deviate from the Others’ intended design direction. The original design had also lacked my own unique artwork style, so I was actually happy that he was sincere in his rejection. After which, we were able to finalise the current design that we both are satisfied with. The way this Other was created had been derived from the devs’ request to make its various design elements playable, as they wanted the player to be able to destroy its water tank to achieve the Soaked ailment. That’s why its design is based on a mop and a fish tank, but with hands and a head added into the mix. To incorporate the “emotionless” characteristic of the Others, you can also see that I had designed its head to appear emotionless. Name Origins: <ul><li>Dispense – Represents the spraying of water from its hoses</li><li>Fisher – Represents its resemblance to a fish dealer, while carrying a fish tank on its back</li></ul> ■ Brawn Yawn <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19628" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/4qrG72CsYNRA67rpQ2Kcv3/e55ede877a13b90f225b8e42b2e585bf/em0800_brawnyawn_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> This Other was designed to have an animal theme. It resembles a crocodile, so its head greatly shows this characteristic. However, as they are Others as opposed to ordinary monsters, I needed to ensure that we incorporate the “non-organic” design theme – and that’s why it currently has a metal mask on its head. The game design documents had defined it as an Other that liquefies the ground in order to bury itself in, but I thought the concept of it was too surreal and fantasy-like. As such, I decided to give it the ability to liquefy itself as well, so that it makes more sense in terms of its background settings. You can see a lot of light bulb-shaped parts on its arms. They are added to clearly indicate its weaknesses as many different elements are mixed into its design. Also, the light emitted by the light bulbs had been used as a reference while I was designing the brain crush organ of Others. Name Origins: <ul><li>Brawn – Represents its bulky arms</li><li>Yawn – Represents its huge mouth resembling yawns</li></ul> ■ Barrista Santa <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19630" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/3w7tMRd9XQ4fUHWZbiFRpK/7ca678c30bc6804c73894afcc70ef80f/em0900_barristasanta_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> I gave it the name “Santa” immediately when I knew that this Other would be throwing things around. As I also needed to design its habits, I first came up with some irrational gameplay and development difficulty ideas for this Other, such as giving it the ability to destroy things around or interfere with other enemies. Ultimately, it ended up being an enemy entity that represents two Others of its kind in one. Its box-like body part and sleight of hand movements have been designed with humour in mind. Name Origins: <ul><li>Barrista – An original word created to represent its throwing actions and the two Others facing each other, which resembles “ballista” and “barista”</li><li>Santa – Represents its habit of throwing objects</li></ul> ■ Bandeau Pendu <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19632" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/6pXh7cRO4JnTaozAZMfsVa/0c07292c1d52f113e66b370df003a2b8/em0700_bandeaupendu_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> Bandeau Pendu was one of the drafted designs that was created at the start of the project. It initially had a human body encased in glass and wings, but its parts were later adjusted to suit its playability. The inspiration for this Other actually came from a video that I watched about headstands. Although it had a human-like upper body and a human head, I needed to eliminate its looks of emotions and thoughts. As such, I clipped the upper half of its head and replaced it with a pincushion instead. Also, while it looks like a bird or a flying animal when looked at from afar, the player would suddenly notice that it looks like a human. This acts as a surprise element for players, and I think it is fun for players to notice in-game. Name Origins: <ul><li>Bandeau – Represents the strap surrounding its body which resembles a garment</li><li>Pendu – Represents its looks of being hung upside-down</li></ul> ■ Wither Sabbat <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19636" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/VFtbSxlQVQa6L50FFLyNf/24f3b7bd799eb832abb0974d1a3cf7cb/em0100__________pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> There was actually one particular Other that was created by the dev team in Bandai Namco Studios before I joined the team, which meant that this Other was the only one created in “collaboration” with the team. It was initially called a “Goat-type” Other, as it had hay-like hair and wore a corset. It gradually transformed to have metal scraps as its limbs and a cloche as armor to protect its weakness. The Sabbat-type Others have very straightforward designs like the Rummy-type ones, so players could probably tell their difference from others just by looking in detail. Name Origins: <ul><li>Sabbat – Represents the head that resembles the demon/spirit Leonard, which also has an alias of the “Sabbatic Goat”</li><li>Wither – Represents its hair which resembles grass withering away</li></ul> ■ Dominus Circus <div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-medium" style=""><img alt="" class="wp-image-19634" height="338" loading="lazy" sizes="(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px" src="https://images.ctfassets.net/hnoi7ctzfs57/7zddMkK6VzUqWauA00msRT/743f877e46c05d6e51b02cadc27c35d7/em1400_dominuscircus_pass.png" srcset="" width="600"/></figure></div> (*Spoiler Alert) The lower body pedaling a unicycle is its main body part. It spins around in the “ground”, which its playability aspect unfair as the player would not be able to interfere with it in any way. As it is the strongest Other in the game, I designed it to incorporate elements of inanimate objects as well as religious icons, instead of making it represent some kind of living entity. However, the “absurdity” element is also fully incorporated into its design. With regards to the balance of its “frightening nature” and “absurdity,” I pushed the limits for the latter as this is the final Other boss. Also, I needed to further promote aspects such as “foreignness” and “seriousness” of the story at that point. Name Origins: <ul><li>Dominus – Represents its existence on top of all Others</li><li>Circus – Represents its body parts which resemble circus-like elements such as elephants and unicycles</li></ul>

Games

All games

Shop games

News & Events

Support

Bandai Namco

About Us

Careers