Kyojin no Doshin 1 (Import)

He's big, he's yellow, and he likes to destroy stuff. We've got 20 new screens of the giant.

There have been many weird games for Nintendo 64, but perhaps none so strange as Nintendo's 64DD-only Doshin the Giant 1 (or Kyojin no Doshin 1 in Japan). Developed by software house Param, Doshin is the vision of famed game-designer Kazutoshi Iida, who created Tail of the Sun for Sony's PlayStation.

Doshin the Giant debuted to eager crowds at Nintendo's Spaceworld in Japan earlier this week. The game sees players as the Giant, who awakens outside Paradise Island one afternoon and must find a way to coexist with its villagers. Doshin can be good or evil (with the press of a button) depending on player preference. He can also jump, fall on things, wave his arms in order to suck energy out of objects, pull up the land and pick up objects. He's a very useful giant that way.

A Love and Hate Relationship
Doshin the Giant is partly inspired by Nirvana's Kurt Cobain, who designer Kazutoshi Iida says became too big for his own good. In the game, Doshin must find a balance between Love and Hate or he, too, will become too big to coexist with the islanders ¿ and when we say big, we mean this quite literally. Here's how it works:

Good Doshin is yellow. Evil Doshin is, naturally, bright red with fangs and spiky hair. If players perform good deeds as yellow Doshin, they receive hearts. As soon as a certain amount of hearts is collected, Doshin grows in size. Meanwhile, players can destroy everything in sight as red Doshin, which in turn awards the giant skulls. Once a certain amount of skulls are collected, red Doshin grows in size. The bigger the giant gets, though, the more dangerous he becomes ¿ and the less forgiving the villagers, who fall victim to the Giant's feet, become in turn. If the Giant becomes too big, though, he won't be able to see his own feet and may step on important artifacts. And if he destroys all of villagers, he won't be able to build their stone monuments, which happens to be one of the only clear-cut tasks of the game.

And so you see, it's all very clear now. Actually, in truth we're still trying to figure this game out.

Doshin 1 has a very stylized look about it, but it certainly doesn't push the boundaries of what the 64DD is capable of visually. The giant is large, a bit blocky and animates rather clumsily at times. The 3D worlds are colorful, but not very detailed ¿ and the same goes for the villagers and structures that inhabit them. All in all, the game has a very first-generation look to it. That's okay though, for Doshin is not about flashy eye-candy. Rather, this game seems more about experimentation. Why can the giant be mean? What is the purpose of helping the villagers? What happens, exactly, if he becomes too big? These are all questions that can only be answered through experience, and that's exactly what Param is aiming for.

Since we brought the 64DD up, let's talk about one specific feature of the add-on device that Doshin is putting to full use ¿ the internal clock. Everything in the game takes place in real-time, whether it be simple exploration or destruction of villages. But time doesn't stop there. Even after players turn the game off, events will continue to transpire while they are away. When they come back, players may find Doshin in entirely new predicaments that need working out. The point we're making is that something will always be going on, even when players aren't there to experience it.

You might be wondering why an original, first game has a '1' attached to it. That's because there are more versions of Doshin the Giant planned for 64DD owners. In fact, two "upgrades" of sorts have already begun. Called "Black" and "White," the as of yet undeveloped titles will work in conjunction with the original, and according to Nintendo, "By overwriting the data of 'Doshin 1,' [the game] may be reborn as something completely different." Sounds mysterious.

Doshin the Giant 1 is 100% complete and will ship this December in time for the launch of the 64DD. The game is currently being considered for US release.

What does the world look like if you're massively huge, instead of really small? This game, Kyojin no Doshin 1 (Doshin, the Giant 1), will allow players to slip into the coffin-sized shoes of a giant and find out the answer.

While Kyojin looks and sounds like an RPG, the gameplay is a definite departure from the conventions and standard mechanics of the genre. Even the game's creator, Kazutoshi Iida has problems nailing down exactly what kind of genre the title will fit into when it's done. It's probably safe to say that Kyojin will be closest to exploration games in the line of Iida's first two creations, Tail of the Sun and Aquanaut's Holiday for the PlayStation.

The Game
A giant suddenly crashes into the normal everyday lives of a people peacefully living on a Paradise island in the South and that giant is you! When you start the game, you're still a "little giant", and as the game goes on, you grow bigger and bigger. People will learn to be grateful to you -- for example, as the giant, you can seek out building materials and other stuff for the villagers you come across, and each village will establish commemorative days to give thanks.

Since the computer controls the humans, your job is to encourage them to like you, and trust you, by being kind to them. This is complicated by the fact that the giant has the words "love" and "hate" inscribed on the soles of his shoes, so he will leave tell-tale tracks as he is walking around. If you treat the villagers badly, they will hate you. They're going to be shocked when you first appear in their village, so walk quietly if you don't want to scare them off. But there's no single correct way to play the game. As with all of Iida's titles, experimentation is encouraged.

The game world will also feature animals like elephants, birds and fish, along with a mysterious human-like being. Doshin, the Giant is set to appear on Nintendo's Japan-only 64DD, and the Param team, aware of the add-on's rather hairy future, even put an impassioned plea on their website to Nintendo (Japan) to hurry along and release the add-on unit.

The People
Iida, who is part of a development group called Marigul, says that the 64DD's writability is ideal for his style of adventures, which offer unlimited possibilities and a never-ending quest.

One thing is for certain, the game creators are an unusual bunch of people. On their Japanese Kyojin website, the team members asked themselves about their individual reasons as to why they wanted make the game. We translated the answers into English:

Kazutoshi Iida: "It took longer than I'd intended to get ready, but eventually I got started! My number six reason for wanting to make Doshin, the Giant is that I wanted to get rich and attract loads of women. Number 4 reason was because it looked interesting. Don't you think a game in which you slowly get bigger and bigger is interesting? I personally think that kind of game is really cool. That's why I made it."

Takao Senbayashi: When I first saw it, I was fishing with my family. On that day, it was really foggy in the morning. The line had been still in the water for maybe an hour or so, and I suddenly heard a noise going 'Doshin! Doshin!' coming from out of the water. The noise got louder and louder, making the water in a nearby bucket tremble, then the whole thing tipped over. Then with a great roar, a giant yellow thing was right there in front of me. It was then that I realized that it had human form and my senses reeled. When I came to, I had fallen down the river bank but was still clutching my fishing rod. I don't believe it was a dream."

Tatsuhiko Asano: "I want to put music like it's coming over to us from distant mountains, soft and warm, like a living thing."

Gabon Shibata (not his real name): "Role-playing games and action games were really groovy cats. But they're fading out now. Why? Because I discovered 'Doshin'. You see, the people who put Doshin together didn't use stuff like tricks and traps. Like the night when my father gave me 640,000 yen for a New Year's present, this game makes you feel good, like you can do anything. Doshin is a funky, mad game."

Hiromichi Iwasaki: "This job is all about human relationships. Giving advice to the office girl who's had an affair with the boss, listening to complaints from the old company guy who is tired of his job. Oh, all right, I'm kidding. Actually, my job is to do the graphics for the characters (humans) in 'Giant Doshin'. Obviously, I have to make them very realistic. Humans, eh?"

Tomohiko Yagisawa: "Everyone is pretty carefree about living, then suddenly some huge guy turns up -- aaaiiiieee! Run away! That's what I want to happen in this game. The aim is to create scenes of people's everyday lives. Heart is more important than technique. It's going to be great!

Despite the little information Marigul has leaked out about Kyojin, it's already clear that the game will be rather unconventional. Let's hope that Nintendo will look over Marigul's shoulder to make sure that the game is also technically up to par. The promise of a Iida-style RPG loaded with lofty gameplay mechanics and philosophy, enhanced by Nintendo-style graphics is enough to get us excited. Look for more information as it becomes available.

Note: The title uses the onomatopoeic word 'Doshin!' which is meant to represent the crashing sound made by the giant as he walks, or sits down, etc.

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