Project O for Wii seems to be a new simulation game
Staff from Final Fantasy XII, Dragon Quest VIII, Harvest Moon and Chulip are working together in development studios Cing (Hotel Dusk) and Town Factory on a new Nintendo Wii game tentatively titled Project O. Publisher Marvelous Interactive’s Yasuhiro Wada, general producer of the Harvest Moon series, talks in an interview with Famitsu about the upcoming 2008 game.
Wada revealed that his inspiration for Project O originally came from a Doraemon toy set. Similar to the “secret tools” that appear in the popular children’s animation series, Wada imagined a tool that allows players to create a world, give it life, and observe the subsequent happenings. He likens this to the game Sim Earth. But in addition to a distant view of the world, he wanted to let players experience the world from the first person perspective of one of its residents. He likens this to Sim People.
Project O started with the idea of being a combination of Sim People and Sim Earth. But it’s since become something a bit different, thanks to the influences Kimura took from Norikazu Yasunagano, who created World Neverland for the PlayStation back in 1997. That title was a “life simulation,” where players could experience the relationships between artificial intelligence driven characters.
The game will combine the life simulation elements of World Neverland with the presentation of Kimura’s own Chulip. On top of all that are simulation elements from Harvest Moon. The game will feature simulation, adventure and even a few real time action elements.
The simulation elements will push the Wii to the limit, promised Wada. When in the god’s perspective, the game will display dozens of characters simultaneously, each moving using unique AI routines.
On top of the simulation elements, the game will deliver the feeling of being part of a storyline. In the interview, he promised something different from any previous game. Kimura chimed in and noted that there’s one exception: the Harvest Moon series. Kimura feels that Project O will be similar to Harvest Moon in that it will feature a loose storyline surrounding the simulation gameplay. — Quotes translated from Japanese by IGN.
