Grimoire Nier, часть 4

Читать стоит только тем, кто прошёл игру.

Всё копипастить смысла нет,  постараюсь вкратце и лишь о важных моментах.
Ну и ссыль на английскую версию. Так как я не все тут цитирую или привожу, советую прочитать по ссылке.

Так как в Гримуаре охренеть сколько всего, думаю, будет логично разбить разбор по нему на несколько постов. Данный пост в основном об интервью с разрабами.

Первая часть разбора тут.
Вторая часть разбора тут.

Третья часть разбора тут.

С кем придётся иметь дело:

Йоко Таро - директор, отцемать ДГ и Ниера. Он стесняша. И питается вашими слезами, закусывая головами феечек.

Савако Натори - сценарист, работала над ДГ, 99's Tear (новеллы) и т.д., написала сцену обезумевшей Пополы, играя с дочкой.

Дзюн Эйсима - новеллизация ДГ, “W – the two summers” (под псевдонимом), фанатка сёнена. 

Собственно, интервью.

The director’s butt feels itchy - ..аааатличное начало интервью!

На вопрос о положительной реакции на Ниер: Йоко не ожидал такого даже, весьма удивился. 

Yokoo: The software and soundtrack were received with such praise that it’s hard to find them anywhere. 

Полагаю, тут подразумевается, что диски с остами были почти полностью распроданы?

Yokoo: Well- I never thought that they’d garner such praise. I’m pretty uncomfortable with praise, so my butt is itching quite badly as a result.

Эйсима думала, что Йоко Таро вообще запрётся после негативного восприятия народом концовки D (и кое-чего ещё) в шкафу. 

...Иисусе, такое и вправду было:
*The Locker Incident = Happened after the release of “Drag-on Dragoon” on anonymous chat boards on the net. A huge amount of internet backlash arose from the strangeness of the last battle in ending E and depression-inducing contents of the multi bad ends. In response to that Yokoo hid in a locker to ride out the storm of ASCII art flames directed his way. “Maybe Yokoo will drag himself to the locker again” became an expression that captures the conflicting feelings of hate and love from the fans.

Йоко говорит, что они, девелоперы, много вложили в игру. К сожалению, где-то они слишком намудрили, но тогда бы игра не вышла, если бы пришлось всё это исправлять. И он был готов добровольно запереться в шкафу, да.

Несмотря на большее количество позитивных откликов, Йоко всё равно не расслабляется и палит реакцию людей.

Работник Square Enix: даже мы не ожидали такого хорошего результата. We tried to satisfy the market as best as we could with a happy scream, but we couldn’t quite keep up with the sales. It was pretty painful for us.

Скваря, как всегда, да. 

Йоко предположил, что секрет Ниера может быть в том, что так как игра новая, то многое от неё никто и не ждал.

Новеллы и история оружия получили хорошие отклики, на что Йоко: "А это Эйсима слишком усердно работала". 

Эйсима: так это ж вы заставили меня написать о том, как Ниер торговал собой! Я как раз пыталась это смягчить.

- ... то есть, должно было быть ещё жёстче???

Эйсима охуевала от кол-ва контента с возгласом: "Ээээ?!?!", когда открывала почту от Йоко. 

- Такой же крик был слышен из комнаты редактора.

По задумке Йоко и других сценаристов, Ниер не мог иначе заработать деньги. Ну дааа. также у Ниера могли быть клиенты-женщины.
Эйсима: Описание этого у Йоко было просто ужасным.

Йоко: Ужасным?! Да в самый раз. Просто он [Ниер] смотрел в пол и ожидал окончания всего. Ну и ему было трудно сидеть какое-то время.

По словам Натори (касаемо новелл), если у Ниера была тёмная история в этой категории, то почему бы и у Каине нет? Она решила отобразить взгляд со стороны на это. По игре многие воспринимают Каине как девушку, и их шокирует то, какой она предстаёт в одной из новелл. Мужскую половину, которого до этого не показывали. 

Для Йоко то, что Каине является двуполой - не глвавное. Удивительно, что это, однако, вызвало большой интерес после выхода игры.

А теперь о хорошем вопросе: почему Гештальты кровоточат?
Yokoo: Gestalts don’t possess a physical body or cells, but the instant they get hurt, their wounds temporarily try to return to their human state. That’s why they bleed, and can die like normal humans.

...ну вот блин, зачем, у вас же была прекрасная тематика того, что вся магея и метафизика - это что-то биологическое, естественное. Нуйобана.

К теме об ориентации Эмиля. Ко-то мог посчитать, что его чувства - это следствия слияния мальчика с сестрой, но нет, Эмиль в японской версии - гей.
Лол, мужик из Сквари прочитал мои мысли(правда, это относится к западной версии):
 Mr. T: I thought Emil liked Kaine since they slept outside together, and wanted to marry her.

- У Йоко всегда эксцентричные сексуальные предпочтения в историях.

- Мы отражали реалии нашего мира.

Ахаххахаха. 

Хороший ответ Йоко на это:
Yokoo: How would you define “unusual”, is the question. If we look around, we can definitely see homosexuals, few in number they may be. I’m not trying to say “Don’t discriminate” or anything like that, just “People like that exist. It’s simply the way the world works.” They’re labeled with “normal”, “unusual” and compared quite often, but the difference between people with certain sexual preferences lies purely in number. Some are quite abundant, some are not, but we’re all in the same world. I never intended for them to appear as special.

Дальше о любви Каине к Ниеру. Как бэ, допёрло до неё самой это, когда она дала Ниеру поддых. Также, концовка C- это концовка отца/брата, которому надо растить дочь. Концовка D - концовка игрока, вы спасаете Каине потому, что она понравилась вам.
Yokoo: Instead of being a decision for “Nier and Kaine”, it was more like a choice for “the player and Kaine”. If you like Kaine after playing through the game twice, then sacrifice yourself and save her, if you don’t then you don’t have to save her. I wasn’t trying to force your hand into saving her by shoving romance down your throat.
Вот тут, кстати, смищно: по сути, вам всё равно впихивают романс, даже если вам Каине и не нравится в концовке C, и как додают! Смачным поцелуем на фоне глубокой трагедии (...на самом деле как всегда переигранной по сюжету но да ладно). 

Короче, очень спорная часть интервью, с которой я не очень согласен.

О концовке D Нотори тоже говорит какую-то несостыковку, на мой взгляд. То есть, по её мнению, Ниер бы пожертвовал так жизнью ради каждого, например, Эмиля. Ну не знаю... концовка C чётко показала, что у Ниера чувства к Каине есть. 

И вот я, старый шиппер, сижу и мысленно спорю со сценаристами. Эх.

Eishima: Interpretations of ending C and D could really vary from person to person. 

That’s why I think Nier is a game made for a wide audience. You do have a choice to make, but we don’t try to force you into one by shouting “This is it, right!”

...Objection! Как будто у игрока есть настоящий выбор, хха.

О концепции лора:

Yokoo: We didn’t explain everything because that’s just how reality is. I wanted to reflect certain elements of reality in this game, so I didn’t put too much focus on explaining everything. I also wanted to make the basic story simple and easy to understand, so I deleted most information that weren’t vital to emotional impact.

Yokoo: At the end of the day, I wanted to make a weird and strange game. More like, I can’t make anything but strange games.

-Yokoo, were you the only brains behind “Project Gestalt” and “Replicant System”?

Yokoo: The general idea came from me, but it was later refined by Cavia’s planners, programmers, Kikuchi and Natori. They all contributed to different parts of the concept.

-The game began halfway through the 21st century in Shinjuku, I was quite surprised that it was snowing in summer?

Yokoo: That isn’t snow but salt. The corpses of victims suffering from chlorination decomposed and fell from the sky.

Ну надо же. Я думал, всё благодаря бомбе.

When humans come in contact with the demonic element, they’re pulled into contract ala DOD styled. Except instead of a contract, it’s more like a forced curse. “Become a servant to god and destroy the world according to its will, if you reject then you shall die” is the content of the contract. If they reject the contract, they’ll suffer chlorination and die, if they accept it, they’ll turn into servants of god(legions).
Значит, это не зависит от биологических отклонений?

И о конкретной причине того, почему человек в форме Гештальта не зражается WCS：

Yokoo: The Gestalt process was a system where a person’s mentality dwells in a yorishiro refined through the dragon’s corpse. DOD’s contract involves an exchange of souls, but in this case the contractor – the “dragon”, is already soulless and an empty yorishiro, so there is no soul to exchange with. That’s why the person’s soul will simply be transferred into the yorishiro and take over that.

-If people go through the Gestalt process, they can avoid the WCS?

Yokoo: Because their body is separated from their soul, they have no fear of entering a contract when they touch the demonic element.

-And the soul can be reunited with the body.

Yokoo: It’s possible. However, though the soul shall remain ageless and live on indefinitely, the body isn’t made of the same stuff. That’s how the “Replicant System” came to be – having androids manage fake bodies without a consciousness within a regulated area. If they die, then the androids make more, rinse and repeat. They make the Replicants who are immune to WCS exterminate the legions and uncover the truth behind the WCS. During that time, the Gestalts sleep and eventually regain their human form and everyday life after everything’s been said and done. That’s how “Project Gestalt” and “Replicant System” should’ve ideally functioned.

О дне и ночи:

Yokoo: The axis of the earth has changed in that time period, the sun won't sink below the horizon even at night – it’ll be like a midnight sun.

Далее о проблемах, что помешали проекту завершиться.

Об активации завершения проекта через Вайса и Нуара:

Yokoo: If Grimoire Noir is activated, all Gestalts can be returned to their Replicants(changing from a world of Replicants to a world of humans). It’s a program that utilizes magic. The keys that are vital to its activation is Girmoire Weiss and “the sealed verses”. The sealed verses are offensive magic in expectation of legion battles. Grimoire Weiss is necessary for Grimoire Noir’s activation, and the sealed verses in turn are vital for Grimoire Weiss’s. In other words, it’s a double lock intended to prevent any accidental activation of the system, so that they’ll only be activated by the manager when the time has truly come.

Вкратце одной цитаты Йоко: всё пошло не так - вот вам и сюжет Ниера.

Eishima: Well, whichever ending you reach, it’s always “Yonah dies” “everyone dies”.(laughs)

Natori: Yes, that’s Yokoo’s world.(laughs)

ОЧЕНЬ СМЕШНО.

Eishima: That’s why we had a multi-bad end system this time as well~♪

Mr. T: What, why is everyone so happy.

Ладно, теперь смешно:

-Why did he return as a young boy?

Yokoo: He was reconstructed with the “memories” that the tree had of his first visit to the Forest of Myth. Also, as the writer, I simply wanted them to “repeat the fun times they had, traveling together”.

-Personally, I thought that if he returned in his older form, he’d have a chance with Kaine.

Yokoo: In “Gestalt”, he returns in the state before he got his eye patch! So he might have a chance?!

Eishima: Well, there’s nothing really bad about a couple with such a huge age difference, but still.

-If Emil could petrify Kaine for another 5 years…

Yokoo: You said that it’s cruel, but I really cut down on the kind of cruelty that’s really harsh mentally. I turned down quite a few scenes in Natori’s scenario.

Нет, всё-таки Йоко шикарен:

Eishima: To be honest, I thought it was pretty normal for something coming from Yokoo. I heard he was aiming for something like mainstream shounen manga, so felt that this was pretty much it. However, as I read along, I just felt really weird, and somewhat disgusted. I understand it better now that I heard Natori’s “no approval for real scenarios” incident. The thing is, every character reacts differently from what you’d usually expect. Everyone just sort of accepts it and goes along with it. That’s why when I look at the story from a whole, I just get this weird sense of wrongness.

Yokoo: Aren’t shounen manga like that as well? The cream of the crop all feel really wrong.

-In summary of what you all just said, ultimately, the world of “NieR” did not have “the reality of the human world”. What remains is only a dreamlike and surreal sense of reality. In that manner of speaking, it might’ve become the kind of story that people who seek for RPGs have been looking for.

-Nier and Tyran combined their efforts to save Kaine, who went berserk in ending C and D, but how exactly is Kaine saved in ending D?

Yokoo: …by everyone’s love and spirit!

-Well then, let’s hear everyone’s favorite character.

Yokoo: No.7 for me. I really liked him ever since D.K. proposed his design, and as a result he didn’t go through many retakes.

Natori: My favorite’s Kaine. If the characters in “NieR” were in my class at school, I want to call out to Kaine, who’d probably be sitting all by herself.

Eishima: It’s definitely young Nier for me!

-Now that you think about it, Nier is quite popular, being surrounded by all these fascinating characters.

Yokoo: It’s a harem.

In the second part of the story, why are there white flowers floating in the pond beside Nier’s house?

Yokoo: He was trying his best to plant Lunar Tears and make them into hair decorations in anticipation of Yonah and Kaine’s return. He didn’t want to throw away the failed attempts, so he let them float in his pond.

Оказывается, репликантовской версии могло аже и не выйти:
Yokoo: It took approximately 3 years for development, but during that time we were called to a meeting with America’s Square Enix to give a brief report on the game and its progress. Back then, we planned to release the two games earlier, so we were on a tight schedule. When we realized that during the meeting, those higher ups just reasoned “Can’t we just go with “Gestalt”? We could live with not releasing a special version in Japan, can’t we?” in english. (laughs)

Yokoo: We planned to make a sibling story in the first place. Although back then “Replicant” was to be voiced in English, but there was some trouble with the voice actors.

-I heard that you were pretty insistent on Kaine’s voice.

Yokoo: Our original concept was for her to have a cute and lovely voice in the beginning to go with her feminine design. But I wanted to reflect her rough side even in her voice, so that’s why we asked Atsuko Tanaka to do the role.

Natori: I had the most fun writing Kaine’s vulgar lines. I remember writing **** to censor the words, but putting the dirtiest words and most horrible profanities in parentheses after them. “She’s saying something like thiiiis!♪”  I had a lot of fun, so it was great to be able to write them out even though they were censored by beeps.

Yokoo: Having Tanaka say “all of that” and hearing “all of that” in the studio was a nice experience as well.

-I’m surprised that the soundtrack released earlier than the game.

Yokoo: I made quite a lot of selfish requests to Okabe Keiichi from MONOCA and Emi Evans. In the end, they made great songs that far exceeded my expectations, so I’m really grateful. I’m really happy that the soundtrack has been receiving such positive reviews.

Жестокость:

At first, we didn’t even allow players to make backup data.

Eishima: If that got passed, Yokoo’s definitely heading to his locker.(laughs)
Yokoo: After playing the game once thoroughly, you won’t be able to use your first save file name. After seeing endings A, B and C using your second name, you would be able to play the portion described in the SS “The Lost World”. And after inputting the name you used the first time, you’ll be able to take back the protagonist.

-Is there any special meaning to the fact that you can’t use the name of your first playthrough?

Yokoo: Back when we planned on the 7-playthrough system, we wanted to emphasize the fact that he definitely “existed”, and that players “remember him clearly” by forbidding you from using the name you used at first. Not being able to use the same name after ending D is simply what remained of the “7 playthrough system just in case”.

Забавно то читать. имея на руках уже Автомату:

-What about “NieR”’s sequel?

Yokoo: Nothing as of now. However, I am quite interested in expanding the worldview like I did in this book, linking the game with other media. Things that can’t be properly expressed in the game can have their chance to shine on text. We tried out lots of different methods within our limited budget and time, and I really wanted to deliver to fans in the best way possible.

Let’s ask director Yokoo a simple question 5: We can enter the Shadowlord’s castle from the lost shrine, but we couldn’t see anything like that from the roof.

Yokoo: Behind the altar on the topmost floor is an elevator that brings you a long way underground. Then there’s a pathway the leads into the Shadowlord’s castle. Position-wise, it’s located on the back of the mountain in the lost shrine. 

-Last but not least, please give a message to the readers of this book, Yokoo.

Yokoo: I am happy that you liked “NieR”. Please don’t expect too much from now on, but go about it with the mentality of trying a bit of something and finding it unexpectedly good.

Дальше идёт What would it be like if Grimoire Weiss has a Tour Guide section. Это очень забавно.

Также далее Q&A with Grimoire Weiss, где на вопросы как бэ отвечает Вайс.

Это забавно, можно почувствовать себя в роли Ниера.

Моё любимое:

Q7. Do Shades eat?

A7. They do eat....... THEY FEAST ON HUMANSSSSSSSSSSSS! .......Why aren't you afraid? ......It's alright to be afraid, you know?

Вопрос из одно инревью касаемо местности:

Q: Is the world map the Tokyo Bay? It sure looks like it.

A: We've made it so it's somewhere in/near Tokyo. We tried to make it with the idea that, "perhaps this is how the place will look after Japan has been flooded due to the plate shift". By the way, other regions have different settings, and the Tokyo Tower will not be featured in the overseas versions. Depending on the region that the game is sold, it could be the Tokyo Tower, the Empire State Building, the Big Ben, the German Television Tower, the Eiffel Tower...etc.

By the way, today is both Shinji Ikari and Nier (brother)'s birthday.

Well- I never thought that I'd still be watching Eva in this time and age.

And I felt like I've said this in some magazine interview before, but the true reason behind brother Nier's birthday is-

Далее интервью с Эми Эванс, замечательной певицей. чей голос мы слышим в песнях. 

О том, как она попала в проект (спасибо Кеити Окабэ), чего от неё хотели в процессе, что она ощущала и так далее. Она молодец, очень ответственно с Окабэ отнеслись к проекту, создав осты, которые оценивают все - и те кто играл в Ниер, кто не играл, кому Ниер нравится или не нравится. 

Ещё комменты от Йоко далее.

-You know what they think of sound novels now, right?

Yokoo: Yeah. The overseas people weren't too happy with it. I mean it's true that the sound novel part came up out of the blue and all, but is "****" really a good response.(laughs) More like, when I see those people on forums playing the game on illegal copies that came before the release date saying "****", I feel like saying "**** you!".

Nier was in development for 3 years. Average team is 20, max is about 40~50.

First request to Yokoo was to make "a happy ending filled with love".

Yokoo: For the ending, I tried my hardest to make it happy, just as Satou requested.

Satou: ...you call that trying hard?

Yokoo: Yeah.

4Gamer: By the way, does Yokoo have a thing for bad endings?

Yokoo: Nope, none at all.

Everyone: (laughs)

Yokoo: Why are you laughing.(laughs)

4Gamer: Well, Nier could have a happy ending or a bad one depending on how you see it.

Yokoo: I think it was quite happy compared to DOD.

The Facade army barging in to save Nier at the end was based on a certain manga "where death gods fight with swords".

You can use DOD weapons in Nier because Caim and Angel scattered it all over the place when they fell. (Ending E in DOD requires you to get all weapons) But the actual reason is because it was too costly to design models for new ones.
Обоснуй - их конёк, это точно. Каимово оружие действительно распидорасило по миру Ниера.

Replicants don't realize that they can't have babies since they have no concept of what normal childbirth looks like. Basically, managers like Devola and Popola just call them to a place, say "You're going to give birth soon", and put them into sleep, then create a replicant from a test tube-like thing while they're asleep. When replicants die, D&P just 'recycle' them into new bodies.

Я б поиграл :D

Yokoo said they considered depicting the fight between humans and legions if they had another game.