For those that don't know, the new Dead Or Alive 5 Plus is Officially out on the PS Vita in Europe!! So to contribute to the release for the game, I had pleasure to interview Tom Lee, who is the creative director for Team Ninja and he has been working for Team Ninja for atleast 13 years now! He has been over in America supporting the Dead Or Alive 5 U.S Community and he has attended some big Major fighting games events over in America as well.
RIUP - Tell me a bit about yourself
Tom Lee - My name is Tom Lee and I am currently the creative director for Team NINJA.
RIUP - How did you get into gaming?
Tom Lee - I actually worked for an advertising agency as an art director before my involvement with TN. And one of my first accounts was with TurboGrafx 16. That was my first gateway into the gaming business. Yes, many moons ago... And I think I just hinted at my ancient age through that bit of info.
RIUP - How long have you been working for Team NINJA? What's the experience like?
Tom Lee - I've been working for Team NINJA (TN) for almost 13 years. The experience has undoubtedly shaped my professional career in gaming and has affected my life in many ways. It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride for sure! We would need a long hard night of drinking for me to talk about all the stories and moments along the way...
RIUP - What is your involvement with DOA5 as part of team NINJA?
Tom Lee - As creative director, my involvement with DOA5 was discussing the overall concept and direction for the title. We spent a lot of years thinking about how to make our comeback and what kind of game we wanted to make. The thing that I'm most proud of is the message of "I'm a Figter". This became our core approach in developing DOA5 and eventually our campaign slogan. Regardless of what new features or changes we made to the franchise, we wanted to make sure that this title was first and foremost a legitimate Fighter.
RIUP - What has DOA5 reputation been like since the game release?
Tom Lee - It's been almost 7 years since the last iteration of DOA. And so there was a lot of anticipation and expectations for 5. We knew going into it, we were going to be faced with a lot skeptical views since we've been gone for so long. And we knew we weren't going to please everyone. But, one thing we wanted more than anything else was for DOA5 to be respected as a truly modern 3D fighting game. And from the reaction of our communities from around the world, I think we accomplished that with DOA5. More than any previous numbered title, I think DOA5 put a notable emphasis on competitive fighting game mechanics. You can see how evident that has been with the surge of interest and attendance from the greater FGC and the tournament scene lately.
RIUP - You've been attending fighting games tournament over in the U.S. What is it like to support the DOA community over in the U.S.?
Tom Lee - First of all, the tournament organizers here in the States have really been supportive of our game and our Fighters. People like Eric "Big E" Small and Hubbs from Big E Gaming, Alex Valle with SoCalRegionals, Rolando with VxG and most recently Shin Blanka with Final Round 16. Folks like these have made it possible for our DOA Fighters to come out and show their stuff. So I want to acknowledge the tournament organizers for embracing our community.
For me, there's nothing more pure than going to a tournament to see people playing our game at such a high level and being there to cheer them on. It's rewarding and provides me with a great sense of satisfaction and pride for what we worked so hard to produce. And I get to spend time with my Fighters during and after matches where we share our thoughts and ideas about the game or life in general. From a developer and a user standpoint, it's as good as it gets. I look forward to every tournament I can get out to meet my Fighters.
RIUP - What players do you like watching and why?
Tom Lee - Well, there's so many great players here in NA. And I like watching different players for different styles and flavors they bring to their matches. Some notable players that I aways enjoy watching (in no particular order) would be Master, Black Mamba, RyuJin, Rikuto, Allan Paris, Matt Ponton, Vanessa, Chosen 1, Rabies and most recently Xcaliber Blades. On that note, I would really like to see and meet more international players in the future because I know you guys got some serious skills as well. I hope we get that opportunity someday. And speaking of XB, I'm really excited to see all the new, young talents coming into the scene and kicking some major ass! That's so encouraging for us and that's how a community keeps growing. Keep up the good fight DOA Fighters and we'll do whatever we can to back you guys up. Lets blow the roof off this scene!
RIUP - Most DOA fans want to see Leon back in DOA5. Will he ever be in DOA5 or Future DOA games or has the strongest man in the world retired?
Tom Lee - All I can say on this topic is... You can't keep a good man down for too long.
Tom Lee - My name is Tom Lee and I am currently the creative director for Team NINJA.
RIUP - How did you get into gaming?
Tom Lee - I actually worked for an advertising agency as an art director before my involvement with TN. And one of my first accounts was with TurboGrafx 16. That was my first gateway into the gaming business. Yes, many moons ago... And I think I just hinted at my ancient age through that bit of info.
RIUP - How long have you been working for Team NINJA? What's the experience like?
Tom Lee - I've been working for Team NINJA (TN) for almost 13 years. The experience has undoubtedly shaped my professional career in gaming and has affected my life in many ways. It's been one hell of a roller coaster ride for sure! We would need a long hard night of drinking for me to talk about all the stories and moments along the way...
RIUP - What is your involvement with DOA5 as part of team NINJA?
Tom Lee - As creative director, my involvement with DOA5 was discussing the overall concept and direction for the title. We spent a lot of years thinking about how to make our comeback and what kind of game we wanted to make. The thing that I'm most proud of is the message of "I'm a Figter". This became our core approach in developing DOA5 and eventually our campaign slogan. Regardless of what new features or changes we made to the franchise, we wanted to make sure that this title was first and foremost a legitimate Fighter.
RIUP - What has DOA5 reputation been like since the game release?
Tom Lee - It's been almost 7 years since the last iteration of DOA. And so there was a lot of anticipation and expectations for 5. We knew going into it, we were going to be faced with a lot skeptical views since we've been gone for so long. And we knew we weren't going to please everyone. But, one thing we wanted more than anything else was for DOA5 to be respected as a truly modern 3D fighting game. And from the reaction of our communities from around the world, I think we accomplished that with DOA5. More than any previous numbered title, I think DOA5 put a notable emphasis on competitive fighting game mechanics. You can see how evident that has been with the surge of interest and attendance from the greater FGC and the tournament scene lately.
RIUP - You've been attending fighting games tournament over in the U.S. What is it like to support the DOA community over in the U.S.?
Tom Lee - First of all, the tournament organizers here in the States have really been supportive of our game and our Fighters. People like Eric "Big E" Small and Hubbs from Big E Gaming, Alex Valle with SoCalRegionals, Rolando with VxG and most recently Shin Blanka with Final Round 16. Folks like these have made it possible for our DOA Fighters to come out and show their stuff. So I want to acknowledge the tournament organizers for embracing our community.
For me, there's nothing more pure than going to a tournament to see people playing our game at such a high level and being there to cheer them on. It's rewarding and provides me with a great sense of satisfaction and pride for what we worked so hard to produce. And I get to spend time with my Fighters during and after matches where we share our thoughts and ideas about the game or life in general. From a developer and a user standpoint, it's as good as it gets. I look forward to every tournament I can get out to meet my Fighters.
RIUP - What players do you like watching and why?
Tom Lee - Well, there's so many great players here in NA. And I like watching different players for different styles and flavors they bring to their matches. Some notable players that I aways enjoy watching (in no particular order) would be Master, Black Mamba, RyuJin, Rikuto, Allan Paris, Matt Ponton, Vanessa, Chosen 1, Rabies and most recently Xcaliber Blades. On that note, I would really like to see and meet more international players in the future because I know you guys got some serious skills as well. I hope we get that opportunity someday. And speaking of XB, I'm really excited to see all the new, young talents coming into the scene and kicking some major ass! That's so encouraging for us and that's how a community keeps growing. Keep up the good fight DOA Fighters and we'll do whatever we can to back you guys up. Lets blow the roof off this scene!
RIUP - Most DOA fans want to see Leon back in DOA5. Will he ever be in DOA5 or Future DOA games or has the strongest man in the world retired?
Tom Lee - All I can say on this topic is... You can't keep a good man down for too long.
RIUP - DOA5+ will be out on PS vita this Friday!! What Will you be expecting DOA5+ to do and succeed in?
RIUP - Is it possible that the new extra features on DOA5+ will become DLC on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 consoles?
Tom Lee - We're always thinking of ways to improve and extend the experience on our main console titles. So, you never know if some of these features make their way to the current gen consoles in the future. It really depends on you guys and the response we see from the community.
RIUP - Will DOA ever return to arcades?
Tom Lee - Bringing DOA to the arcade scene is not in our current business plan. Do you guys feel there's a great need for us to dive back into the arcade system?
RIUP - Any shout outs that you would like to say?
Tom Lee - I'd like to send a BIG shout out to all the DOA players around the world that have come back to support DOA5 in their local and national tournaments. That goes for all the haters who still come out and play for $, trolls and online warriors who enjoy talking trash from behind the screen, noobs who are eager to learn and of course all of our dedicated supporters & ambassadors who champion our cause. DOA has always had a mixed bag of Fighters who come and go. I suppose its part of our tradition... But, I do know the scene will keep growing strong as long as the Fighters keep coming to play.
Big UP to all the supporters within the greater FGC that are fighting for us behind the scenes. Tournament organizers, fighting game notables from other franchises, FGC medias for their coverage, other sponsors of e-Sports and even some of our competitors in the 3D fighting game scene. In fact, I would love to see an alliance of 3D fighters in the tournament circuit to help strengthen and bolster our mutual cause. If anyone from the 3D fighting franchises are reading this... let's talk!
RIUP - Thanks alot for your time
Tom Lee - Thanks Rev!
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Links:
Tom Lee's Twitter: https://twitter.com/kalchi
Team Ninja's Twitter: https://twitter.com/TeamNINJAStudio
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