Published in Arcadia issues 27 (August 1st, 2002) and 28 (September 1st, 2002). Interviews and character profiles from Arcadia’s monthly beatmania IIDX column, Beat Raizing IIDX.
August 2002
IIDX fans, check it up! In this column, we’ll dig deep into every part of IIDX, discovering new appeal that lays below the surface! This time, we have a special interview with the IIDX character designer and graphic artist who’s been gaining huge popularity lately, GOLI!
Joined Konami in 1999. Best known for his work on the beatmania IIDX series.
– GOLI, what kind of work did you do before joining Konami?
GOLI: While I was studying spatial design at art school, I worked part-time at a TV station and worked as assistant to a manga artist. I would also help out a VJ friend of mine by designining club flyers.
– You’re known for having a very unique style to your art. How did that style end up coming about?
GOLI: Back in the day, I drew in a much more fantasy-style, and would submit art to various magazines. I liked game art, so a lot of those were game magazines. Like a certain arcade game magazine (laughs).
My current style would have to come from first-hand experience at clubs during my days as a student. I’d watch the VJs who played at Shinjuku or LIQUIDROOM, and their overwhelming visuals left a massive impression on me. The conclusion I reached from my experience at that time was “as long as it’s cool, anything goes”.
– Why did you join Konami?
GOLI: From the very start, the world of arcades has been full of amazing illustrators and designers, who I’m sure have had no small influence on the current generation of artists. But as a result of that, there hasn’t been much in the way of new styles, and I can’t help but feel like aesthetic originality is thinning out some…
And so, I wanted to see how far my own abilities would take me in the industry, and decided to challenge myself by entering the world of games. The reason I decided to go with Konami in particular is that a lot of designers I was interested in worked there, like Metal Gear’s Yoji Shinkawa.
– What was your first job at Konami?
GOLI: It’s been beatmania IIDX this whole time. I told people at Konami “I do VJ events and stuff at clubs, you should come watch sometime,” and then they actually ended up coming. And so they saw my work there, and I was assigned to the division producing beatmania. I originally figured I would just work on home games, but as someone who was raised by arcade games, I was really happy to be working on something related to arcades. With arcade games, you can see firsthand how players react to your work.
I started working on beatmania IIDX from substream, and as soon as I was assigned to the team, there were only two months to go until release. Thankfully, I was able to make it thanks to help from many great senior members of the team. In particular Yuz, who I ended up naming a character after, really looked after me in so many ways. Most of what I know about making games, I learned from Yuz.
– What is your work process like?
GOLI: There are a lot of times where I’m just off enthusiastically drawing as soon as the topic is settled on. My work process is vigorously drawing a rough draft on paper with Copics and markers, and then scanning that and touching it up in Photoshop. When I’m finishing up the digital version, I always try to leave in some of the noisiness of the rough version, to whatever extent I’m able. When I’m drawing characters, I think more about the balance of their entire body than their faces.
Usually I listen to trance when I’m doing the coloring on my art, but if I’m doing a male character or something, I’ll listen to something more intense, like metal (laughs).
– Do you model your characters off anyone in particular?
GOLI: Not really. But there are a lot of times where I’ll see people walking around town and think “oh, that’s good” and incorporate elements from them into drawings. The Celica I drew for Arcadia has this bag on her waist, which was actually based on something I happened to see a girl wearing at a convenience store. I thought “man, that’s cool”, so you could say she served as a model for that drawing (laughs). When I create a character’s fashion, I try to design them as something that would be easy to dance in at a club. I also factor in player feedback.
– Any comment for the fans anticipating your next work?
GOLI: Games are something that helped shape me into the person I am now, so I want to keep doing what I can to involve myself with games in all sorts of ways. I’m going to keep pursuing my own idea of “coolness”, so thank you all for your support. I’m also looking forward to seeing the art people submit to this column, so please keep sending in a lot!
Goli’s Graphic Gallery
Duel
IIDX Image Character #03
Age: 23
Blood Type: O
Born: London
Favorites: Big Beats, Drum ‘n’ Bass, Hip Hop, Milk Tea
Hails from London, the Mecca of England’s club scene. Used to stick exclusively to clubs with an underground vibe, but has been expanding his musical tastes recently
A former hooligan with a burning passion for soccer. Spent his teenage years repeatedly getting into trouble for causing injuries. But one day, he had a change of heart after seeing a certain Japanese film, and moved to Japan. Ended up trying out IIDX after stopping by an arcade and has been hooked since. Has a great admiration for Japanese culture, and has founded a business called “TO-RA-YA” to sell genuine Japanese goods to Japanophiles in his home country. Is currently sending Japanese music and cultural goods worldwide.
His tastes and dialect have been changing thanks to the influence of his IIDX-playing friends from all over Japan. But one thing that will never change is his fussiness about tea time.
Has recently been following Ereki’s lead and going to tanning salons. He’s grown pretty fond of them.
Siren
IIDX Image Character #04
Age: 26
Blood Type: A
Born: Los Angeles
Favorites: Deep House, Minimal, Electro, Hot Dogs
From the home of West Coast hip hop, Los Angeles. Dreams of becoming a Hollywood star, but is currently a foreign actor playing bit roles on Japanese daytime drama. When he’s not acting, he’s on-duty at the English school DOVA. Is famous among his students for his stiff smile.
Spends his nights soothing his daily fatigue with some IIDX. Likes to drag his students to the game center to play with him, so he can bask in his superiority at the game.
Usually listening to his favorite moody, cool deep house tracks.
Loves the look and language of samurai and ninja. Has recently been noticing shadowy figures from behind and lines of sight locked on him. He’s expecting that a ninja or something has been trailing him.
Often sees Duel at second-floor chill-out bars. The most pretentious, try-hard member of his circle of IIDX friends. Always stands at a 45 degree angle. Takes better care of his beard than his hair.
September 2002
IIDX fans, check it up! In this column, we’ll dig deep into every part of IIDX, discovering new appeal that lays below the surface! This month, we’ve got the movie designer who’s worked on numerous videos from the very first IIDX to the latest release, VJ GYO!
Joined Konami in 1998. Has been in charge of movie design from the start of IIDX through to the current 7th style.
– To start, why did you decide to join Konami?
GYO: After graduating from college, I was working in the game industry, but doing a different kind of work. But this designer I was working with at the time ended up leaving a huge impression on me, and I said “I want to be able to do the kind of work they do!”. That feeling was so strong, I decided to resign from my position only having had a bit of work experience. After that, I worked as a design assistant in a different industry while attending vocational school. And then I joined Konami as a newly graduated designer. Immediately after I joined, I worked on planning for the original beatmania IIDX, although beatmania 3rdMIX released first, so technically that was my first product as a designer.
– As a creator, what is being in charge of IIDX’s movies like?
GYO: There’s no capacity limit on the assets used in beatmania IIDX’s movies, so from a design standpoint, we have a huge amount of freedom. On top of that, we get to work on all sorts of completely different visual concepts all in one game, so I think it’s a really rewarding job.
In addition to movies designed specifically for a single song, there’s also the generic movies that GOLI is in charge of based on specific genres that are set to play with different timing for each song, so we also need to figure out how to incorporate variety into those. I probably produce around 10 movies for every game. Though I want to be able to do even more.
– I think you’re doing plenty as is (laughs). What’s the process like for creating a movie?
GYO: I’ll hear from sound director TAKA that they’re working on a certain kind of song, and he’ll have me listen to a rough version. And of course if I’m handling the video for that song, that means I’ll keep listening to it after that too. It doesn’t take long for a vague concept for the movie to come to mind, but I’ll often get stuck when it comes to figuring out the general flow and progression. When that happens, I’ll look at my surroundings while listening to the song in hopes of finding inspiration, or I’ll look at something or somewhere that inspires me while listening to the song… I’ll try changing the context in which I’m listening to the song in those sorts of ways. Things like the song name, song progression, melody, rhythm, BPM, and lyrics when applicable are also major factors in production. Though there are some times when I’ll just break down what I had and start over too. There’s not really a standard process for my video creation.
– I see. Does seeing the way other people on your team work help to motivate you?
GYO: It does. I think it’s been a constant throughout the production of the series that if you don’t take note of what others are doing and use it to motivate you, you’re going to fall behind. As a group of movie producers, we have to aim to create something different than what others are doing to create a product that’s rich in variety. Plus if you create something good, the other team members are going to get hyped up about it. Although sometimes you’ll make something they won’t get very hyped up about (laughs). But generally if you make something that the other team members like, it means players will like it too. Though I get really happy when I hear players say they like a movie that didn’t go over quite as well within the team. It’s like, “these guys get it” (laughs).
– (laughs). So, in your mind, what is beatmania IIDX?
GYO: beatmania IIDX is a game that has challenged me to create concepts that have never before been seen in a game, and a product that has allowed me to freely develop myself over a long period. And I have too much gratitude to express to the people who have assisted me during development, and most of all, to the people who have spent time playing IIDX. And so, it’s something I want to keep working on as long as I’m able. Through IIDX, I’ve learned the benefits of continuing to work on a project as much as possible. I’m the sort of person who wants to please others, you see (laughs). I get motivated and demotivated very easily. Working on IIDX is more than just making something; it’s the first time I’ve continuously worked on one project without stopping (laughs). I’m still just a novice, but I can say I’ve truly felt firsthand that perseverance leads to success.
– Lastly, a message to players?
GYO: It seems that in addition to the sizable number of people who have been playing from the start, a lot of newcomers have been getting into the series recently, which I’m very happy about. It seems like some people gained interest in the series through the movies, so I’ll keep working hard so that the IIDX community can continue to expand through them. Everyone, please have some friends who have never played before accompany you to the arcade, and play a lot together! Also, even though they may be in the shadow of GOLI’s mascot characters, please send in illustrations of movie characters as well (laughs).
Goli’s Graphic Gallery
Shi-low
IIDX Image Character #05
Age: 23
Blood Type: B
Born: Tokyo
Favorites: dj TAKA, Truffle, Caviar, Foie Gras, Kittens
Half-Japanese, half-American (but a Japanophile through-and-through).
Ereki’s older brother. Would regularly hassle his younger brother when they lived together.
A fan of anything derived from Detroit techno.
Likes minimal for dancing, and IDM for listening.
Started IIDX with 2nd style. Is rivals with Yuz, and their battles of will continue to this day.
Quiet on the outside, but on this inside is a player of burning intensity.
The biggest sore loser of the group. His favorite word is “self-control”.
Hates passive, indecisive people, but likes assertive, forward people.
A bit honest to a fault, but in his private circle he’s popular among both men and women.
The kind of person who tends to naturally attract others to him. Even Nyah, who is usually harsh with men, will be frank with Shi-low.
A huge cat-lover, is currently living with a former stray (with the landlord’s permission).
If you put the cat on Celica’s head, there will be blood. She’ll hit you so hard you could die right there.
If you put the cat on Erika’s head, there will be robbery. You’ll cry because she’ll love the cat and never give it back.
Is currently living alone, away from his parents. Stressed out about a lifestyle that he isn’t yet accustomed to.
Worries about what to eat every day. His signature dish is nikujaga.