Interview: Space Invaders Infinity Gene iPhone designer on RayForce, Darius and gaming culture
'The key design concepts were new, yet nostalgic and retro-futuristic'
Over on our sister site PocketGamer.biz we've been chatting with the designer of Taito's spectacular reinvention of the Space Invaders arcade classic Space Invaders Infinity Gene, Reisuke Ishida, about the iPhone and mobile evolution of the original shmup.
"[E]ven within Taito I'm known as a huge fan of Space Invaders," Ishida explains. "I don't just love the game, I also have a great deal of respect for how the franchise and its iconic characters have come to symbolise gaming in general.
"Because of this, my love of Space Invaders extends to other games, becoming a sort of affection for gaming culture as whole."
The hot new game designer goes into great detail explaining how he struggled to maintain a recognisable aesthetic and gameplay mechanic, while expanding the Space Invaders concept into exciting new territory.
"I took great care trying to design the graphics in such a way that players would be able to recognise the game's lineage and see the game as a natural addition to the shooting genre, extending from modern games all the way back to the original Space Invaders," he continues. "The key design concepts were 'new, yet nostalgic' and 'retro-futuristic'."
He also revealed that Space Invaders wasn't the only inspiration that helped him launch Infinity Gene into the global handheld phenomenon it's become.
"I was ... heavily influenced by ... the [RayForce] series: the visuals and algorithms relating to how enemies arrived on-screen, the way the backgrounds scrolled, etc," explains Ishida.
"The Ray series does an excellent job of balancing game play with appealing graphics, and was a valuable source of inspiration for me. I was also inspired by Taito classics Metal Black and Darius, but as I've been a big shooting game fan ever since I was a child it's safe to say that I was influenced by just about every shooter out there."
You can check out our Gold Award-winning review of Space Invaders Infinity Gene right here, and head on over to PocketGamer.biz to read the full Reisuke Ishida interview.
