Guilty Gear Strive: Daisuke Ishiwatari Interview (ArcREVO 2019)

Woolie VS Tip Jar: streamlabs.com/woolieversus/tip
1.You were born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Have you ever gone back to visit?
2.What is the core idea you want to achieve with gg 2020, and how does this philosophy differ from previous Guilty Gear games?
3.Guilty Gear has had many mechanics over the years, like Blitz shield, Roman cancels, and Burst, etc. What game system do you think is the most fun to use?
4.Guilty Gear games have had character unique systems like Johnny's coins and Robo-Ky's power gauge. Can we expect to see unique systems in this game as well?
5.Over the years, you have always been willing to try extremely different approaches to gameplay with Guilty Gear. What is the one thing in your mind, that must be present in order for a game to be called Guilty Gear?
6.The characters we have seen so far feel like they have been reinvented, while keeping thier core identity. How did you decide what to keep and what to throw away?
7.By the way, Sol's command grab is more scary than a Potemkin Buster right now.
8.Today, what do you think is the biggest barrier preventing new players from becoming fighting game fans?
9.You said that this game represents a full frontal confrontation with the nature of fighting games. How many times have you rebuilt the game to fit this ideal?
When rebuilding Guilty Gear from the ground up, did you look at any other current Japanese or Western fighting games and the audience reception?
10.In a previous interview with Famitsu, you mentioned that this game was being designed from the ground up without need for stylish mode for new players. In GG2020, combos are shorter, there is less okizeme, and you don't get stuck in the corner. However, the joystick motions for special moves are still traditional. Do you think new players might still have difficulty with this?
11.On the other hand, Veteran players like complex gameplay. Many fighting game fans started after seeing the high skill Daigo parry moment in 3rd strike. How do you balance appealing to both new and old audiences?
It feels like this question is one of the biggest design challenges every fighting game must face.
12.The new samurai character looks very cool and I am looking forward to hearing more about him soon.
13.There was a theory online that he is related to Leeroy Smith, the new Tekken character, because they look similar and were both revealed back to back at Evo this year. Is there any truth to this? (If yes, did you work closely with Harada)
14.In 2015, there was a GDC talk about the workflow of creating Xrd's 3D models. Xrd was one of the most beautiful fighting games ever made, yet now GG2020 looks even more impressive. How have you updated your workflow for characters since 2015?
It's sounds like you are continuing to work with Naoki Hashimoto on the music. Will he be doing all the vocal tracks?
15.By the way, was Naoki Hashimoto's band Outrage the reason why the weapons Sol Badguy created were called 'Outrages'?
16.Some fans feel that back in GGX and XX, some of the music, character designs and animations were more gruesome, and heavier than the current games. For example, testament's animations and the graveyard stage. Do you feel that your tastes have evolved over time?
17.The single player experience and online content is now more important than ever for getting new players into fighting games. Are you thinking of any new modes that will help accomplish this goal?
18.I'm happy to hear that the programmers are listening to fans asking for rollback netcode like GGPO. For many years, netcode that works well in Japan has struggled to also work well internationally. Do you have any thoughts about online play in fighting games right now?
19.On a personal note, I'm very happy that Guilty Gear and fighting games are more popular than ever right now. What does the future of fighting games look like to you?

[@SteelBallRun1890]

Look at Woolie, look at that sheer willpower and control to not get overpowered by Daisuke's aura. He's got talent.

[@giraoshaw]

Felt like I was watching a puppy cower in fear

[@noellesato311]

I’m just surprised Woolie wasn’t using his signature skill [ *GUN 2 YOUR HEAD* ]

[@Tusktuki]

How do you think he was allowed to be added into the game?

[@foobbat5245]

not everyone gets starstruck, especially when these two powerful men are basically equals.

[@inactive9544]

Passionate scrub, that Woolie.

[@KurstKensei]

Woolie is holding a gun out of camera so after the interview he will force Daisuke to make sure Baiken makes it in the base roster.

[@mocca3633]

And make her hair short. 😂😅

[@Pomho1812]

I mean who wouldn't do that to get Baiken ?

[@nhall129]

GOOD, someone needs to

[@doctordoom85]

And then Woolie begins demanding answers to Naruto questions!

[@cruizer54]

Pleaseeeee.... :(

[@gregwilliams4926]

Man, how crazy is that Daisuke is next to his brand new unnamed character in Strive.

[@mocca3633]

you mean Blanka will be the guest character? 😂

[@TastyChurro]

Isn't he the new guy from Tekken 7?

[@saynotop2w]

haha black people look the same amirite guys

[@73juro]

@@saynotop2w r/woosh

[@shaddykack]

A.Z. Kväl r/whoooosh

[@MrWaffleSlapper]

Shoutouts to the editing with the translater's voice overlapped on top of Daisuke's voice when answering a question. I've seen way too many interviews that just leave the footage raw, or waste time in general showing the translation process.

[@tinoodle383]

Didnt age well

[@waffles7038]

@@tinoodle383 How so?

[@tinoodle383]

@@waffles7038 lol i have no idea why i said that so idk

[@waffles7038]

@@tinoodle383 Oh well. Cheers, hope things are going well for you.

[@tinoodle383]

@@waffles7038 thanks man you too

[@MaxAuxen]

Woolie did it. He held enough guns to people's heads that he doesn't even need the gun any more. He just asks people questions and they answer him, lest they find out what they're messing with.

[@Hol-Horse]

Damn, Woolie is great at doing interviews, he's really professional and calm, I'd be stumbling over my words like crazy.

[@Dirtyboots3strikes]

It helps to write down the list of questions you want to ask on your phone beforehand to help the interview flow better, and concentrate on that. Woolie's done good.

[@KarmaHoudiniGaming]

Years of hosting the podcast and doing let's plays probably works as crossover experience, too

[@lf6928]

One small piece of constructive criticism: you should always address your questions to the interviewee (i.e. look at them when you speak), even if it feels more natural at first to speak to the translator. To be fair, Daisuke also looks at the translator when he speaks, but he might just be taking his cue from Woolie. Otherwise a very thoughtful and engaging interview.

[@ggmasterguiltygear6315]

That because your a derp who gets too nervous, your palms get too sweaty too.

[@sasaki8765]

So what I got from this interview....IS HE'S TRYING TO CREATE THE FIRST EVER STRAND TYPE FIGHTING GAME.

[@iorilamia]

Sasaki there’s already a few

[@GelatinPangolin]

“[Fighting games]... Are a tool to connect people” does this mean the first strand game was actually street fighter 1?

[@otaldomatheush]

wake up DP that BB

[@derjahgalgion]

first was yie ar kung fu

[@stilmaho]

@@derjahgalgion Is Yie Ar Kung Fu older than Karateka? EDIT: just checked it and learned that Swashbuckler (1982), Karate Champ (1984), Karateka (1984), Yie Ar Kung-Fu (1985) are considered the earliest fighting games. But there are actually earlier fighting games like Heavyweight Champ (1976) and Warrior (1979)

[@derjahgalgion]

@@stilmaho Nice i didnt know about those from de 70' but we can agree that yie ar kung fu is the most similar to street due to the special inputs and the way its played i think

[@robeastv]

I think it was Karate Champ or Joust...

[@Polymathically]

Looks like Woolie acquired his Stand:「Something To Talk About」, the ability to conduct excellent interviews!

[@gomitax92]

JUST TALK!

[@jayfolk]

3 things to get more people into fight games: *Exposure, Exposure, & Exposure.* (see rugby in japan)

[@SideswipePrime606]

This is really cool Woolie! It's amazing that you got to talk to the man himself! I really appreciate the editing effort as well. But man...Daisuke is THE MASTER at giving non-answers, also I miss his long hair.

[@SuffocateMe]

definitely one of my favorite creators. not only for his amazing game developer skills but also as a talented metal musician. such a sick person all around.

[@SmuTheDJ]

Good Job on getting to Interview the Man himself. Daisuke sadly gave us a lot of non answers but i'm glad he answered the design questions about the older games. Thanks for this Woolie. Keep up the good work.

[@HDmexsComboCon]

This is the most professional episode of "Gun to your Head" I've seen. So proud of you Woolie. :)

[@DevonPalmer98]

Woolie vs his sleeping schedule

[@simran789654]

Woolies questions were general enough to not warrant it but Daisuke dodged most of them anyway, Can't help but be impressed

[@TheAuthorStudios]

Besides music and artwork, Daisuke is also a master at the art of never awnsering anything.

[@Samael767]

This is awesome! Go Woolie!

[@hannesisking2498]

daisuke looks exhausted. i hope he's alright.

[@marcusmcclain3251]

I'm legit impressed by the insightful questions Woolie had to ask

[@HOV2131]

You have done me a great service this day. Hearing about the approach Daisuke is taking with the game design has put me more at ease with the direction we're headed.

[@MagoDSnowman]

Woolie, you must make him your master in order to finally beat Octopimp

[@hcaelBBleach]

I love Woolies choice of questions. Thank you man really valuable stuff here.

[@N00BSYBORG]

Man, Daisuke just wants people to get into fighting games. I really hope new players will pick up Strive since it's more about decision making than execution. The "I'll just lose cause I don't know combos" excuse doesn't fly anymore.

[@HeirofDacia]

People are really good at making new excuses to save their egos, so I doubt lower execution will help. As a great example, look at Samsho: Barely any combos that you actually have to learn, but people still accuse each other of cheating and all that just because they lost (Source:scrubquotes)

[@shinluis]

“More about decision making than execution” sums up perfectly what i like about fighting games and why i eventually “left” fighting games after playing so much of them back in the day

[@rampant1apart]

Eh...I want to be optimistic, but from what I'm seeing from the FGC, people are getting salty already about this game becoming too "casual". Their words, not mine, and I don't agree with it. But I'm already seeing people eye their torches and pitchforks, which sucks.

[@shinluis]

@@rampant1apart ahh, the good old FGC gatekeeping

[@Dirtyboots3strikes]

Oh, don't worry. They're gonna find another excuse. "This character needs NERF" is still around, whether it's justified or not. On the "Can't do combo" excuse, I kinda blame the Marvel Vs. games for that.

[@U.F.O_0908]

This is one of the single best interviews I've seen in my life. Not just from a gaming perspective. The interviewer (Woolie?) asked some of the most proffessional and insightful questions. So well stated. The man is a wordsmith. Also, Daisuke was born in MY COUNTRY, South Africa!! Love Guilty Gear, Love Daisuke and his music. Jam is my girlfriend. Peace.

[@smbhax2000]

Great editing, handling the translation times so efficiently really makes the interview easy to watch, very much appreciated!

[@XC11301991]

Is Guilty Gear going to have Woolie's swamp musk into their game?

[@ChristianStout]

It's actually going to come on a scratch-n-sniff card in the physical release, or by mail order if you buy digital.

[@DeathKnight5608]

@GSDA This is not the "Smell of the Game" I was hoping for.

[@tomoe7255]

Damn woolie,what great questions you make it,awesome interview

[@NomSauce]

Wow, great interview man, I don't even play GG or have that big of an interest in it but your questions made it a really worthwhile listen

[@Moonguided]

Holy fuck, Woolie, I'm so hyped for you!! Being able to sit down with Daisuke as a fan of the series is so exciting!! I'm so proud of all the cool shit you've had the opportunity to do.

[@danielmesri5741]

Damn Woolie these were some fantastic questions. Good job and thank you for the amazing content and coverage.

[@jackfrost884]

Great stuff thanks for it!

[@RaveDX]

This GG Strive content just earned you a new subscriber. Thanks for the scoops!

[@paulbrown3rd531]

This was very insightful. Thank you, Woolie, for posting the interview and for the thoughtful questions to the developers.

[@boomguy2]

I love how Daisuke straight up didn't comment about why Sol's command grab is better than Potemkin Buster... could be the translator's fault, I guess.

[@UltimaKeyMaster]

That is some damn fine editing to interlace the translations like that.

[@xAuragothx]

Super cool and really interesting! Can't wait to see what all this means for Guilty Gear going forward.

[@johnmichaelhernandez2954]

Damn Woolie how did you get Daisuke for an interview?

[@ultrainstinctroshi7315]

@Absolutely Dreadful the fuck you talking about

[@christhechilled]

@Absolutely Dreadful huh?

[@Guahappan]

I know the reference but what are you actually talking about?

[@gamersxpro1234]

@@ultrainstinctroshi7315 kzbin.info/www/bejne/e5CqY3p4priYeqM Time Ethics

[@ultrainstinctroshi7315]

@@gamersxpro1234 ho FUCK that's a throwback

[@playing_jazz]

Nice interview bro you did a really great job. That interview made me nervous as hell though. Not at all what I was hoping to hear. Made me depressed.

[@ultradeak8616]

What a killer interview!! Great job Woolie!

[@ThePunishersRevenge]

WOW! Good job dude!

[@SavepointCafe]

The Rugby World Cup analogy is a good one, because that sport too is quite daunting to understand fully. But the exposure and popularity it gained in Japan made it so popular that clubs filled up with new members. Whether that translates to GG will be an interesting one to watch. Great interview Woolz!

[@lololololol3121]

excellent interview woolie, and thank you for asking daisuke about ggpo

[@sohaibnk]

Clear, concise and to the point excellent interview Woolie!

[@nhall129]

Love the editing for the translation

[@ravdeepbagri1313]

The biggest barrier to fighting games is online and player saturation. If you have good online and a massive player pool of all skill levels, new players can always play against new players. Players learning fighting game mechanics is an on-boarding process, and it needs to be made more fun and also less essential when scrubbing around. Max made the observation that smash players can convert downthrow combos even with the variables of weight and damage percentage, which is a skill that is more technical and difficult to execute than fireball motions. They learned this because they were willing to do so and had the opportunity to do so, (smash has bad online but enough player saturation you can play it locally in the most casual of settings.) you can mess around forever in that game. Whereas in xrd; you need to spend about 20 hours in lab practicing the eight defensive options in the game or else you never get the opportunity to play. Not knowing what to dead angle/faultless defend/just defend/burst is just gonna put you in more block strings. The good thing about Strive resetting you to neutral all the time means you get more opportunity to press buttons in neutral, combined with a potentially wider playerbase people could actually play the game. Fighting games is math, and also work. If you can have a space to learn just a little bit at a time it could create a cycle of retention rather than losing to the one guy who is currently online five times in a row.

[@Tradefleet96]

Not entirely sure I like Daisuke's answer regarding unique character systems. Guess we'll have to wait and see.

[@kanavi2]

He pretty much said that he will add them but not at the beginning

[@awsomeDualshock]

I dont know. It kind of sounds like a similar process to how he developed the previous games.

[@twanmul3868]

Great questions, thanks for that!!

[@MrHeitorSouza]

Nice interview. Good to know they're investigating rollback netcode.

[@ForFutureUse]

Yo, that was a good ass video. Well thought out questions, well edited. Big thumb up.

[@HKgaming86]

Guilty Gear is such a dope fighting series

[@Ivy_Writer]

Dope interview. 👍

[@letmeshowumypkmn]

lmao the way he reacted to the rollback question. You can tell he gets asked about it a lot

[@bennymountain1]

he better

[@Phoenix-pb4sm]

If they make a game with good netcode nobody will ever have to ask again though

[@leonakalife]

HOLY SHIT. The woolz meet soul badguy. This video was fun.

[@happycapy47]

Wooow excited to see this

[@TheGreatEllipsis]

Great interview, Woolie.

[@SilverZephyr09]

GG Strive will be the second strand-type game

[@frustratedsquirrel]

Wakfu has been doing Strand technology long before Norman Reedus's Funky Fetus stepped into the spotlight.

[@dethbotx171]

Awesome job Woolie!

[@rogersnick17]

Thanks Woolie

[@ursmarrings27]

Woolie, did his homework. And I love this video for that. Well done.

[@HoChiMints2007]

HOLY BALLS IT'S DAISUKE HIMSELF. Woolie you absolute legend

[@joshsleezetube]

DAAAAAMN Woolie I didn’t know you had these kind of connections!!!

[@ultrainstinctroshi7315]

How you managed to keep your shit together is beyond me. Great stuff Beautiful

[@Af0]

some great questions man

[@ohlawd6763]

Big Man interviewing the Big Man. Good shit, Woolie

[@TheNarutodude1995]

It makes me Immensely happy to see Woolie interview Daisuke. The absolute madman.

[@elrey8144]

Top tier editing

[@Guts1991]

Awesome, Daisuke is awesome! (and woolue too)

[@PauloQueirozJS]

Wow interview with the almighty god Daisuke sama!! What a time to be alive, I just turned 38y/o and I can't live a day without thinking about fighting games.

[@PieLovesPi]

This is some good shit

[@lrdalucardart]

You are my Hero!

[@keijimaede3521]

Fucking thank you Wool!

[@antigone9571]

This is sweet

[@neildarr]

Well done woolie

[@platypuspracticus2]

Great interview. You should do more interviews. Not sure if that's something that could work in the CSB podcast or if maybe should try doing a different series for interviewing different developers/producers/notable peoples...but should find a way to work it in if you can.

[@yourfathersbelt]

Nice questions Wooly.

[@Tsanasa]

What a great interview! Plz show us the raw Japanese version!!

[@Aoiavalon.]

I liked your first question, I always wanted to ask him that

[@tokyobassist]

You've single handedly helped in renewing some faith in this game. This wasn't sounding good at all but you did better job really explaining how it can be so stripped back, so different but ultimately felt like a fun game and not some sacrilege. Not to dog on Max but his impressions video and Daisuke's interviews made it feel like this game wasn't for Guilty Gear fans and was a misguided chase for that Dragon Ball money.

[@GenericSoda]

The point about rugby is pretty interesting: a lot of manga preface a boom in popularity with their subject matter too (Slam Dunk, Hikaru no Go), and I feel like Tekken is doing something similar, albeit on a smaller scale.

[@TheBen2424]

8:35 what a beautiful DP

[@LXanderHanover]

Daisuke is based, hoping for the best for this new game!

[@glass12]

I hope that this "foundation" allows for a bigger roster, out everyone in there!

[@TheSilverazo]

Daisuke is such a nice guy

[@cpthurme]

Darn Daisuke sidestepped the question on more heavy metal, gruesome stage and character designs. Guess we've got more bright and sparkly anime on the way.

[@LeonStephan]

Woolie never washes his hands again. And eyes.

[@VileGlory]

So they're pretty much acknowledging that today's gamers aren't as dedicated to learn fighting games like they use to. What a shame.

[@DctrBread]

more like saying people quit hard games more easily now.

[@bloomallcaps]

@@DctrBread Yeah, basically. Now you can just look for other games on Steam which are way cheaper or even go watch some gameplays on KZbin. We have more options and that's gonna make fighting games change the way they attract people to them

[@DctrBread]

@@bloomallcaps then again, fighting games sell pretty comparably on console today compared to old days. maybe online is just trash.

[@bloomallcaps]

@@DctrBread In the old days arcades were a thing tho

[@DctrBread]

@@bloomallcaps yea but since arcades are toast we have to talk about the appeal of console

[@synkadus]

Oh shit!

[@DanteDSol]

Me, after the first teaser when it was still unnamed: Wow this character looks like it was made for Woolie Me, now: _chotto a minute_

[@thefuture269]

That's my GOAT 😭😭😭

[@Mavv77]

Dang my dude got a interview

[@xyanide1986]

Great interview man! So did you get Baz in?

[@warmpancaxe]

THIS IS HOT CONTENT

[@GoodlyPenguin]

Damn Daisuke got really skinny over the years

[@yosha2467]

"The ability to discover things as you play is what makes Guilty Gear" is such a non-answer response.

[@dreadedsage8630]

How

[@berserkerf0x574]

Actually , i think it fits quite well. Guilty Gear had tons of Mechanics even in PS1 , and in that era there were NO tutorials about it. Personally i believe that he wants the players to experiment with the battle System and mechanics and be creative. And that truly is Guilty Gear.

[@slashingzordz7998]

My man is old now yet he looks younger wtf

[@XonixDerps]

Has Max seen this yet as well? I just wanna see what he thinks too o:

[@G_Travel99]

How did woolie and the interpreter didt explode from daisuke unmeasurable awesome aura?

[@NT35000]

Yo, Daisuke cut his hair. He looks so different

[@DraztikMeasurez]

NO TESTAMENT NO INVESTA-MENT!

[@midnightxii4996]

lol

[@HubbaGaming]

Sooo taking out unique powers certain characters had is crucial to making the game simpler? Not sure if I agree with that, it's possible to keep the game on the simpler side while maintaining the components that made characters unique.