If you have a concept for a new fighting game character, Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada has explained why it might be best to keep it to yourself.
The popularity of fighting games like Tekken and Street Fighter hinge on the strength of their character rosters and how their personalities and abilities are portrayed.
While modern entries often lean on classic characters from past games, new additions still play an important role in keeping a franchise fresh, even though Tekken 8 only had three: Azucena, Victor, and Reina.
Naturally, fans have ideas of what other characters they’d like to see in future instalments, but Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada has explained why sending them to developers makes it unlikely that they’ll ever see the light of day.
In response to a fan who sent a video reel of Pakistani character ideas on Twitter, Harada wrote: ‘Many people send game companies letters, character ideas, and game scenario ideas via social networking sites and contact forums.
‘Basically, the more specific and detailed the idea is, the less likely we are to adopt it, and the further away from it we are from being influenced by it. Why? Because a certain percentage of people will file a lawsuit in the form of ‘you used my proposal without permission’ or ‘you stole my proposal’ or ‘that was my proposal’.’
Harada said people in the past have ‘protested vehemently’ that they came up with ideas for characters in games first, despite not sending him any letters or emails. ‘I’ve had them come out of the blue when I was walking around in private or at a game centre (and it was for a role-playing title that I had nothing to do with the development of)’ he added.
Okay, I have expressed this here several times, but since I keep getting the same post over and over again, let me reiterate it.
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) July 9, 2024
First, it would be wise to stop showing us your “specific character ideas” on social networking sites or in letters to us.
Instead, your actions will⦠https://t.co/0raeVPgqbU
He did, however, highlight several cases where fans have helped design Tekken characters, albeit in collaboration with the developers and not through unsolicited messages. Bandai Namco released sketches of Tekken 7’s Shaheen prior to launch, in order to ‘gather feedback on what needs to be revised or improved in consideration of Middle Eastern culture’.
Harada also pointed to Eliza as another example, who was introduced in Tekken Revolution after coming out on top in a community poll. ‘There are still many more examples, but these are all examples of cooperation that can only be achieved through good relationships with the community.’
‘However, as I explained at the beginning, it is basically a risk in this day and age to receive details of specific ideas from fans, and it should be noted that we try to avoid trouble as much as possible,’ Harada concluded.
The next DLC character for Tekken 8, Lidia Sobieska, is set to be showcased in a Tekken Talk Live presentation this week, which starts on Friday July 12 at 4am BST.
Harada has shared a lot of behind the scenes insight into the games industry recently, including why Soulcalibur has been put on the backburner.
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