Raised by Buddhist parents, lover of audiovisual culture and heavy drinker, Hidetaka Suehiro is a fascinating figure of international independent development. Known by the nickname Swery, his video games are as popular as they are criticized, as evidenced by the fact that his work Deadly premonition obtained a Guinness record for video games survival horror with more divided opinions.
His latest project, Hotel Barcelonais an action title starring a law enforcement officer who must put an end to all the serial killers hiding out in a hotel…with the help of the killer who lives hidden inside. With a premise that, although reminiscent of the John Wick saga, is strongly inspired by 90s horror cinema, Swery presented his new work in the Catalan city, as part of the IndieDevDay meeting for independent developers.
Even if during his visit to the national video game fair, which in this edition brought together more than 15,000 visitors at La Farga de l’Hospitalet, the conversation was ultimately not possible due to health problems, he maintained a written interview with this media. upon his return to Osaka, the Japanese city where his own video game studio, White Owls, is based, made up of a small team of people and Sharapova, a stuffed monkey with whom he uploads a multitude of photos to his profile. social networks. social.
In Hotel Barcelona The character Dr. Carnival is inspired by Hannibal Lecter and his previous video game, Deadly premonition, there are elements of Twin Peaks. What horror films do you use as references?
Hotel Barcelona takes inspiration from all horror films, especially Hollywood ones from the 80s and 90s. We don’t use any particular film as a starting point, but rather focus on extracting and incorporating the atmosphere and elements of horror films of that era. For example, all scenarios and bosses were designed from subgenres such as summer camp horror [terror de campamento de verano] either horror restaurant [terror de restaurante].
Why do you set the action in a hotel called Barcelona?
The Barcelona Hotel is located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, United States. The hotel’s former residents are immigrants who arrived from Europe a long time ago. To say anything else would be spoilerbut its roots may have a hidden meaning.
Choosing a hotel as a setting was an idea from Suda, the original creator of this game. He and I were both drawn to the unique atmosphere of these buildings, so when he said “let’s make a game where killers series from all over the United States gather in a certain hotel and where the player has to defeat them”, I was excited. . Plus, we talked about it over a meal at the restaurant of a castle-like hotel in Banff, Canada, which is rumored to be haunted.
Yes, it’s true that after visiting Barcelona at the end of September we decided to localize the game in Spanish and Catalan. [con ayuda de una asociación sin ánimo de lucro]it will therefore be possible to play in these languages.
You were studying cinema when you started working on video games. How does cinema influence your work?
I learned two things from cinema. The first, the art of camera angles and framing, which helped me think about what to focus on and what not to focus on. The other is the limitation of a two-hour period, which has always made me aware of the need to pack emotion and experience into a limited time.
In 2015, he interrupted his career for health reasons and took the opportunity to become a Buddhist monk. Shortly after, you left your job, how did you take the plunge to create your studio?
During my leave in 2015, I attended several international conferences. There I was able to discover things that were not present in the Japanese video game industry and in the company I worked for at that time. They advised me not to worry about the industry but instead to focus on protecting my own environment.
Has your renewed relationship with faith influenced the way you work?
The relationship between faith and video game production is very complicated. If you put your heart and soul into creating, you will waste time that you could have devoted to your faith, and if you focus on your faith, you will limit the time you have to create games. Both are important, so finding a good balance between the two is a big challenge for me at the moment.
With your video game Deadly Premonition 2 apologized and modified certain dialogues which had offended sensitivities by using the dead name [el nombre de nacimiento que ya no se usa] of a trans character. Do you think that as a creator you have a responsibility?
Games, films, comics and other cultural works are often discussed in terms of their impact on society. However, I don’t believe that an entity as small as me can exert enough influence to change the world. If a small entity like me could do such a thing, then the world would already be a much better place thanks to the power of much better, more influential, and more ethically brilliant works.
That said, I think creators have certain responsibilities. when I wrote Deadly Premonition 2I didn’t even know the term dead namewhich had not really taken off in Japan at that time. But I deeply regretted hurting some people and thought that if there was a chance to make things right, I should do it. That’s why I asked the publisher and developer to make the fix.
What is a good video game for you?
I have two conditions for this to be so. The first is that it must be a game in which “player presence” is important. The second is that it must be a game in which players can acquire new knowledge, a new way of seeing things. I think any title that meets these two conditions is a good video game, so I always try to achieve them when I work.
In the Western international industry, we are witnessing the closure of studios and massive layoffs. What is the situation in Japan, particularly in terms of independent development?
Japan is going through an equally difficult time. In the past, it was common for developers and publishers to take mutual risks during development, but in recent years, due to the increase in the number of individual developers, it has become quite rare for a publisher to invest wholeheartedly. parts in a developer. The priority now is to browse the options available in the market and find games that are cheap but salable, i.e. low-risk products.
In a certain sense, however, we live in a time in which everyone has a chance, whether they are famous or not. It can be said that the era of real competition has arrived.
At the moment you have active virtual reality projects, how do you see their future in development?
As smartphones become even more powerful and peripherals such as handheld devices and voice input devices evolve, I expect existing games created for consoles and handheld devices to gradually be migrated to smart phoneswhich will become the main battlefield.
Meanwhile, the PC market, which always demands the latest specifications, will continue to produce games that are much higher definition and require more time and money to develop. However, many developers do not think it is practical to do the same work as today, but for video games. smart phoneor work only on cutting-edge IT titles, which always require a huge budget.
In this context, my company White Owls also believes that virtual reality and mixed reality are very important platforms that can still be cultivated. We have no plans to release only VR games in the future, but we will certainly continue to refine this technology. And of course, in 2025 we will launch Hotel Barcelonaa, a video game that offers all players an idea of what me and White Owls do.
He uses social media a lot, but tends to only share positive things. In your everyday life, are you ever negative?
Hahaha, of course I’m negative sometimes. When my cat pees on my futon, when I go to the office on my day off but forget my keys and have to go home to get them, when an American immigration officer says to me, “I never heard of your games. “!” But I try to stay positive, turning it all into laughter.
Where does this passion for alcohol come from that you reflect on the networks under the hashtag #DrinkKing?
My hearing is too sensitive for my own good and I’m a bit hypersensitive in general, so I tend to wear earplugs all day. I can hear people’s words very clearly, especially in restaurants, so much so that I have difficulty concentrating on my meals because of the conversations happening next to me.
Drinking alcohol dulls these feelings and allows me to enjoy my time in a much more comfortable state, allowing me to focus on what is in front of me (eating, talking, reading, watching a movie, playing games, etc.). So, just as there are those who relax with a treatment of spa or a massage, I use alcohol to rest my brain. And in Spain I tasted wine and sangria, and also received a bottle of L’Hòstia Ratafia liqueur from a fan.
