Design and influences VA-11 HALL-A

christopher ortiz, game designer

ortiz said sukeban games founded when , damas started blog write anime , video games. managed grow small awesome community, lead them create short dating sim blog s first anniversary. after enjoying video game creation process, decided continue following path. majority of influences va-11 hall-a come old pc-98 games, because retro yet futuristic ; x-girl cyber punk adventure served blueprint game s aesthetic. according ortiz, in 70s–90s, world under impression japan going take on superior technology. such, game set in parallel universe japan did conquer world through technology, leading game s strong japanese influences. blade runner, neuromancer, ghost in shell, , bubblegum crisis sources of inspiration. anime influence has resulted in game s female protagonist , female character list. ortiz says focus games on anime fans rather mainstream appeal, bigger audience more creative troubles have. many opinions , s hard see 1 creative process.

va-11 hall-a partly inspired snatcher , policenauts. game s music has vaporwave influences, influences kenji kawai s work. ortiz described va-11 hall-a s composer michael kelly big, big shin megami tensei fan. game s developers grew playing playstation , super famicom games watching anime; va-11 hall-a tries make players feel felt when playing our favourite titles , says ortiz. fernando damas, writer , programmer of va-11 hall-a, added in interview game tries make player feel small , , rather guiding them through basics of plotline, player instead thrown middle of , given means of piecing going on. remarked how game set in ever-moving world things not wait player happen, characters existing long before player meeting them , lives happen off-screen. such, developers hoped create world in player compelled, rather obligated, understand. details of world not given directly player, , instead revealed through intimate exchanges , conversations characters. thus, according ortiz , damas, va-11 halla s setting therefore seeks humaniz[e] cyberpunk/sci-fi .

va-11 hall-a s developers come venezuela. such, according ortiz, visions of dystopian bar scene based on own experiences of living in third world country, leading them create cast of characters that, in middle of depressing society , try go on lives , happy can have. tenacity in face of difficulty can found in every character player interacts in game, despite each 1 surviving through varying degrees of hardship, describe problems not bitterness undertone of perseverance , burning desire happy notwithstanding deteriorating surroundings. damas describes sukeban games titles dramedies , or fusion of drama , comedy, feel game industry lacks , laughter in middle of despair sums experiences of living in venezuela. ortiz , damas noted that, compared these real-life experiences, such when friend had jump rooftop rooftop escape protests in san cristóbal, va-11 hall-a kind of tame in comparison . 2 in-game apps, danger/u/ textboard , augmented eye news site, mirrors of venezuela s problems game s world. damas explained how wished create more optimistic kind of dystopia , player normal person living in interesting future . additionally, since va-11 hall-a interaction characters, objective of game not save world rather become part of it.