We spoke with Yu Suzuki about where his giant-flying-animals-on-an-alien-planet video game idea came from.
I’ve been playing Air Twister and it is bizarre.
Is that how you thought people would react to it?
Yu Suzuki: I didn’t really know what people would expect.
I just made the game.
That’s normal for me.
Air Twister feels a bit like you’re playing an interactive dream.
Was that the intention?
Thank you very much.
I appreciate your comment.
Yeah, not particularly.
I wasn’t really thinking that it was an effort specifically to do that.
One of the influences for me, in creating this fantastical landscape, was The Never Ending Story.
Like, kind of… controlling the world.
So, having these floating things flying around.
That was really interesting to me.
I also really liked the fusion of mechanical and biological creatures together.
That’s always been part of this fantasy idea.
You need a javascript enabled web app to watch videos.
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Is that something that it’s possible for you to’t help but create?
Well, I wasn’t really thinking about having to put a story in it.
it’s possible for you to go through the map, and pick up items, and power ups.
So, that all just played into bringing users back to the experience.
You said, “Replayability is important.”
Did you ever consider putting in modern checkpoints?
Or, was it always the intention to restart from the beginning every time?
So, there are game modes where they have checkpoints.
So, you’re able to start from the beginning, or the middle, or the end.
I have never played a game that sounds like this.
Was the intention for it to sound completely unique?
The person who created the soundtrack is Valensia.
And, I have been a long time fan of his.
I’ve always thought that his sound would be a perfect fit for this fantasy-style world.
But, of course, I had no personal contact with him.
it was kind of like, “Well, how can I reach out to him?”
So, I just started going on social media, and Twitter, and Facebook.
Were you surprised by the music he was turning in?
I knew of his style of music from the very beginning.
I knew what kind of music he can create, and what he does create.
I know what he does is genius, in that respect.
I had a lot of respect for him from the very beginning.
He’d have it, like right away.
He just worked so fast, and it was just there.
It was really easy to work with him.
We had to change some of the lyrics, to fit the Air Twister world.
I was hoping you could clear up something for me.
Is the protagonist human sized, or is she tiny?
[Laughs] Yeah.
She’s human size.
So, the swans are huge and the garden on this alien planet is filled with massive plants?
Right, that’s correct.
The animals are large.
In conception, they were just cool to me.
I just thought they were really neat to have, you know, those different kinds of animals.
I became particularly enamored with the fish one.
My first thought was to put the fish, the trout one, as the main mount.
But, I thought that might go a little bit off the edge.
So, I went something a little bit more mainstream, with the Swan, as the main animal.
It would be a little bit too adventurous perhaps, to go with the fish for the main one.
In the games various lore directories, it mentions the protagonist is good at a sport called Flying Cucumber.
How do you play Flying Cucumber?
I dont know how to answer that one [laughs].
I can tell you, it’s just part… its there to help to fill out the world.
We don’t have rules for it.
Its just a kind of a one-off thing.
That’s for the sequel, is what I’m hearing.
Does Air Twister represent a small project for you?
Yes on both accounts.
Small project here, then probably go and move on to a larger one later.
Are there any video games you’ve played recently from other creators that youve enjoyed?
Do you know a game called, It Takes Two?
I really enjoyed playing that, especially with another person.
It Takes Two, I thought, was really fun to play.
And, another game that I played recently was Little Nightmares II.
I’m not really good at the horror kind of stuff.
So, I don’t really want to play it alone.
But yeah, I thought that was a good game, too.
Air Twister releases tomorrow, June 24, exclusively for iOS devices on Apple Arcade.
Got a news tip or want to contact us directly?
