Capcom’s new work ‘EXOPRIMAL’, which is being developed using the RE engine, continues its final tempering before its official release on July 14th.
Exoprimal, which claims to be a massive team fighting action game, tells the story of exo fighters wearing exosuits fighting against a large group of dinosaurs. Starting with providing a 5vs5 team PvE combat experience through the main ‘Dino Survival’ mode, it is expected that you will be able to meet different game modes with various fun through regular updates. The game will be available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X | platforms S after her official release.
Prior to the game’s official release, interviews were conducted with three key developers, including director Takuro Hiraoka, art director Takuro Fuse, and technical director Kazuki Abe. Through an interview, we heard in advance what feedback from users there was at the time of OBT, which took place in March, and what new content would be available in the official product version that will be released shortly after its improvement.
The fun that Exoprimal follows
“Operating against many enemies with a small number of elites, the possibility was confirmed in OBT”
Q. I’m curious as to why you chose ‘dinosaur’ as an enemy among the many materials that can be made into a game. Is there an opportunity to weave the keywords science fiction and dinosaurs together?
= The basic gameplay concept of Exoprimal is ‘defeat many enemies with a small number of people’. I thought if a dinosaur with the strongest image in history appeared as an enemy, it would fit well. In addition, I did it with the expectation that a large number of dinosaurs would approach with great power. It’s a game.
Q. I wonder why the number of participants in the base battle in Exoprimal was 5vs5.
= When 4 people form a team, it is easy to manage the other members of the team, but when 5 people form a team, it becomes difficult to manage. At the same time, the game is rewarding to play, so we thought the ‘5-player team’ structure was the best balance.
Q. I wonder where the designs of the different exo suits in Exo Primal came from, and how they were expressed to express their individuality.
= It can’t be said that it was specifically inspired by a specific work, but I think the art team was influenced by different works where ‘power suits’ appeared in anime and manga. However, this work was adapted not only for cartoon elements, but also for more realism in accordance with the worldview of the game called Exoprimal. Because dinosaurs appear as a feature of the design, the suit was designed in accordance with the dinosaurs’ characteristics. For example, since the character Skywave has wings, there is a statement that it was developed by referring to the biology of pterosaurs such as Pteranodon.
Q. If there is a suit that the development team particularly likes, submit it.
Art Director Takuro Fuse (hereafter referred to as Fuse) = Personally, I like the ‘Skywave’ suit the most. I have a fondness for the other suits, but my heart goes out to them because they went through a lot especially making Skywave.
Technical Director Kazuki Abe (hereafter referred to as Abe) = I’m ‘Zephyr’. I especially like him because he is the character with the most Capcom-like action.
Director Takuro Hiraoka (henceforth Hiraoka) = I like ‘Nimbus’, both design and action elements. It is a suit that was added almost at the end. Until then, there were a lot of cool characters influenced by Capcom, but I thought adding Nimbus would change the atmosphere.
Q. If there was any interesting or impressive feedback in the last OBT, please submit it.
= At the time of OBT, the developers did the checking while playing the game themselves, but at that time, there was a case where they were matched with people with a very high level. I remember being very happy to see that there are users who enjoy playing even reaching high levels in OBT.
Q. In the recent OBT, there was user feedback that the effect was too flashy, making it difficult to identify enemies. Is there room for improvement in this area?
= In this OBT, only some limited areas were used, and light adjustment tests were carried out including other areas, so there were no particularly significant changes to the effects, including the quality of the graphics. In a game called Exoprimal, the most important element of action is the pleasure of a minority defeating an overwhelming majority. I also tried to reduce or simplify the effect, and although the visibility improved, I was able to confirm that the fun was greatly reduced than expected. That’s why I decided this effect was appropriate.
Q. In addition to PvE modes such as ‘Dino Survival’ and ‘Dino Hunt’, I wonder what additional modes will be available in the full version. Could a Scenario Mode be added for those who don’t like team battles but still want to enjoy Exoprimal’s gameplay and story?
= Basically, exoprimal is a work that provides several modes, starting with the main mode, Dino Survival. The name of the mode cannot be revealed immediately, but the content of the mission changes every week, so instead of a 5vs5 battle between people, a team of 5 players clears the mission without an opposing team. After that, the clear time will be saved on the server, and a mode will be added to compete with exo fighters around the world with clear time.
As it is basically assumed to contain an end, the mission itself will be very difficult, and we are planning content that allows you to think about how to attack as a survival game or enjoy it with fighters from all over’ the world Additionally, the main mode, Dino Survival, only had a battle format in OBT, but in the full version, co-op missions or the story progress only when the main mode is cleared , so I think you can enjoy it more fun.
Q. If a PvP focused mode is added, I wonder how it will progress.
= There are two parts that can be submitted at this time. First, Exoprimal plans to continue increasing game content through title updates even after release. So, after the release, we will look at the user response and if there are many voices that want PvP, we will review it internally.
Secondly, among the opinions received from users who enjoyed OBT, there was an opinion that it would be nice to have an exo suit that controls opponents, and an opinion that they would like to enjoy it without direct combat. Therefore, the product version is set so that you can match the situation you want to prioritize between PvP and PvE in the final mission, so I think there will be users who prefer PvP enjoy it more fun by using this setting.
exoprimal is ‘currently in progress’
“We will reflect user feedback through regular updates even after release. Capcom IP collaboration is also under review.”
Q. Briefly introduce the missions found in the full game version.
= Various missions not introduced in OBT are added to the product version. There are also mission rules that have not yet been revealed to users. In OBT, most of the missions were to defeat dinosaurs or protect a certain area from dinosaurs, but in the full game, the way players have to secure certain objects is also included. In the Final Mission, we also plan to play with 10 people working together. In addition, the full version will be added with fields, dinosaurs, and different types of missions with a volume incomparable to OBT.
C. Due to the nature of team battle games, there is a possibility that certain positions or suit combinations considered advantageous for victory may become fixed. Is there a separate device in place to help distribute positions evenly in each game?
= This OBT was provided at a very low difficulty level, and there were not many types of missions. Therefore, the personality or situation of the suit may have become fixed. However, as presented earlier, there are different types of missions in the full version, and even in the same mission in the same area, the type of dinosaur that appears or the place where it is’ n appears to change, so each method of attack is different.
Therefore, we wanted to create a different situation every time we played, and have fun thinking and acting in each situation. Of course, there has to be a strong situation specific part in the final mission. I believe you will be able to enjoy the game more through the process of discussing how to defeat it among users.
Q. In OBT, there were few types of dinosaurs, and despite the variety of exo suits, no special strategy was required in actual battles. There is also an opinion that the process of killing dinosaurs again and again during long rounds is boring, Will this get better too?
= In the full version, a set of high rounds will definitely happen, or more types of dinosaurs will appear. Therefore, I think that users who felt that their experience at OBT was a bit disappointing will surely be satisfied.
Q. In ‘Dino Survival’ OBT, the sudden change of PvE content to PvP was so sudden that it was difficult to adjust. I wonder what the intention was to convey through this structure.
= Among the different opinions in OBT, there were many opinions ‘I did well in PvE, but I was upset because I was reversed in the last mission’. Referring to such user feedback, I thought about ‘why it happened, how much it happened, and what kind of experience the users want to have in the game called Exoprimal’.
The reason why PvE and PvP were applied at the same time in Dino Survival is because I thought that once you get past a certain point in PvE, you get used to the game and it’ r tension decreases. Solving that was the most important thing, and the reference to this was the ‘Dark Soul’ series, which is based on individual PvE content. In Dark Souls, when you go online, other players invade, and in this case, the element of PvP intervenes during PvE, creating ‘tension’. I thought this was very fresh. We wanted to incorporate this experience into Dino Survival Exoprimal.
Q. There is an opinion that the mixed mode of PvP and PvE has a unique charm, but is rather difficult and complex. I wonder if there are any plans to modify the rules.
= There are no plans to change the basic rules significantly, but among users who played OBT, there was a reaction that the playing time in a certain rule was long. When there is a difficult situation, it is modified so that you can enjoy the game without interruption by adding easy-to-understand explanations or modifying expressions.
Q. You said you plan to focus on live services in the future, but I wonder if it will be a method of adding updates from time to time after release or a large-scale expansion pack release method.
= exoprimal plans to move forward by adding updates regularly after release. We are not considering selling major expansion packs separately for a fee. Update content is added free of charge.
Q. It seems that every character can be skinned Can we expect skins related to other Capcom IPs?
= Of course. We have plans to collaborate with existing internal IPs.
Q. Finally, is there a message you would like to convey to Korean consumers who are waiting for ‘Exoprimal’?
= exoprimal may seem like a difficult game at first glance, but if you play it yourself, you will see that it is an enjoyable game with very simple controls. In addition, there are many new elements that cannot be tasted in other games. This is a work created by the development team with all their souls, so please enjoy playing it.
