Moving from VA-11 Hall-A’s story-driven approach to the action-focused .45 Parabellum Bloodhound has given Sukeban Games plenty to figure out—and combat hasn’t been the biggest challenge. MonsterVine spoke with game director Christopher Ortiz about how Parasite Eve helped inform that transition, why the moments between battles required so much iteration, and how Venezuela’s electronic music scene influenced the game’s world. Ortiz also discusses what the studio has learned from its first 3D game and where things stand on release plans.
You’ve mentioned being inspired by Parasite Eve in developing .45 Parabellum Bloodhound. Can you elaborate on how that influenced the design or gameplay philosophies?
Christopher Ortiz: Our previous game VA-11 Hall-A was story-driven, so the crowd it gathered gravitates towards that sorta vibe. 45PB on the other hand, we wanted it to be “action” first, as in you’re always moving around and interacting with the mechanics, and thought that something like Parasite Eve, where you can pause battles while keeping it dynamic, would be the perfect bridge for that crowd to try the game.
It seems like the game has gone through a couple of iterations to get to where it is today. What led to the extended development time?
Christopher: It’s our first 3D game that’s also heavy on mechanics and action, so pretty much everything was a learning experience. Although if I’m being honest, the battle system was much less stressful than figuring out the flow of what you do in between combat encounters. That was by far the biggest cause of iteration.
Are there any lessons from your past studio works that helped shape .45 Parabellum Bloodhound?
Christopher: Almost nothing we did on VA-11 Hall-A translated except knowing the required stamina to ship a commercial game. With 45PB, we’ve definitely learned what we DON’T wanna do in game development ever again, like RPGs with heavy UI usage. Next time I either wanna focus on something purely narrative or purely action. I love RPG and adjacent games, it’s just not for me as a developer I’ve realized.
The progress logs were interesting to follow, especially the recent one highlighting a Boiler Room set. How does music play a role in your life, and did it shape the musical themes for the game?
Christopher: I go to raves and clubs pretty frequently and many ideas come to my head while on the dancefloor, but the reason I feel so connected with electronic music goes back to Venezuela and how its own electronic music scene developed much in the same way as it did in the US, with the rougher parts of Detroit and Chicago defining techno and house. It’s all this history what inspired a ton of what you can see in 45PB’s universe. It’s a shame AI is fucking shit up so much to the point I gotta be vigilant on some producers these days. DJs are low-key more important than ever because of this and I hope they realize it soon.
What do you hope to take away from showing the playable build to the public for the first time at Tokyo Game Show this weekend?
Christopher: For us this type of event is more of a morale booster. Having people come by, ask for signatures and photos etc. is a good way to remind ourselves that there’s fans still out there hungry for Sukeban. We gotta do our best.
Is there anything you can share with our readers regarding localization plans or a potential release date?
Christopher: Development is going well and we already have an idea when the game is gonna be finished but not when it’s gonna launch, but keep an eye to our socials and newsletter. Release is coming sooner rather than later, just gotta figure out how to do this effectively so the noise doesn’t drown it.
