The following below is an interview with a fellow player of Chuhou Joutai and our gaming experiences.
Warning: This interview contains spoilers to the game. If you have not played the game yet or haven’t beaten Arcade Mode at least once, we do not recommend you read this until you’ve done so. Otherwise, continue at your own risk.
Driller: Part One. What was your first impression on the game?
Interviewee: Oh. First impression? Well, I suppose the art style really got my attention.
Driller: What was your first impression of the gameplay?
Interviewee: It was actually pretty exciting.
Driller: If you had a friend you wanted to play two-player mode with, who would you pick?
Interviewee: I don’t know. Probably you.
Driller: On top of that, let’s go over every individual stage. What did you think of the tutorial?
Interviewee: I don’t remember the game really having a tutorial, but then again, my memory isn’t really the best. But yeah.
Driller: What about stage 1?
Interviewee: My opinion on stage 1?
Driller: Yeah.
Interviewee: It was pretty good.
Driller: I will ask you what your favorite part of each stage was. What was your favorite part of stage 1?
Interviewee: I don’t know, just going through the various waves of enemies.
Driller: Opinion on stage 2 and favorite part?
Interviewee: Probably the same thing as stage 1. As a matter of fact, I think I’ve gotten up to stage 2.
Driller: I saw you got there in your last playthrough I saw on Twitch. Have you played through the game in its entirety?
Interviewee: Have I played through the game in its entirety?
Driller: Yeah.
Interviewee: Not yet, but I think I’ll do so sooner or later.
Driller: We can just keep talking about the game. And if you go on YouTube you can find playthroughs of this game and such. I’ve known multiple big-name YouTubers who’ve done it. Stage 3 has you going through a forest; stage 4 has you going to where I am right now (Mercyhurst University). But I don’t think you go inside this building (Mercy Apartments 200).
Interviewee: Of course.
Driller: I don’t want to spoil the game’s plot. Speaking of customization features, what is your favorite out of the selectable sound formats?
Interviewee: Probably the default?
Driller: The NES one?
Interviewee: Maybe, I guess? Like I said, my memory isn’t the best.
Driller: How do you feel about Chuhou Joutai set in Erie?
Interviewee: Pretty cool, pretty cool.
Driller: How about one of the stage set where I am right now?
Interviewee: That’s also a pretty good place.
Driller: Although it lasts for only one stage, one stage has you traversing downtown, while the last one is set on Presque Isle, like I said I don’t want to spoil what you actually do at the end of the game.
Interviewee: Okay.
Driller: When I was putting the game together, I was looking for places to put into Chuhou Joutai, multiple stages can take place in one location and such. One player from Singapore was looking for bugs I may have left into the game and I fixed those along the way. Once I get to work on a sequel, I will have it playable at SmashErie once their tournaments start back up again.
Interviewee: A sequel, eh?
Driller: Yep.
Interviewee: Well, I wish you the best of luck with that.
Driller: I’m about ready to release another game I’m making; it’s a remake of an existing game I’m making that I’m porting to Windows.
Interviewee: It’s a port, eh?
Driller: Yeah.
Interviewee: That sounds pretty cool.
Driller: When you first played the game at SmashErie a couple months ago way back in January, you obviously like Driller Type A. Is that your favorite character and weapon type?
Interviewee: I think I picked, like, weapon Type A.
Driller: I think that’s the one you chose.
Interviewee: And I think I tried like both weapon types and so far I think I like weapon Type B. Or I suppose?
Driller: Yeah, because it deals more damage to enemies and such. And in order to unlock the secret stage, you have to have beaten the game with both characters and shot types.
Interviewee: There are four characters in this game?
Driller: No, there are two characters with two shot types each.
Interviewee: Oh, okay. I misunderstood you. Sorry.
Driller: Part of the reason why I made Chuhou Joutai was because I wanted to bring the danmaku genre to newer players and such. And especially younger players because we didn’t want to frustrate players with one-hit deaths and such.
Interviewee: Yeah, frustration isn’t good.
Driller: And this game I’m releasing the beta for will include the classic mode and the same mode Chuhou Joutai generally has; it just says Chuhou Joutai in the menu. I thought this interview would take shorter than I expected; the previous interview I had took twenty minutes and it took me an hour and a half to transcribe it all, and I guess this concludes our interview.
Interviewee: Yeah.
Driller: Have a good day.
Interviewee: Yep, and it was good talking to you too. And good luck with your future projects. I’m working on one myself.
Driller: You’re a developer too?
Interviewee: Huh?
Driller: I’m asking if you’re a developer like me.
Interviewee: I’m getting there. Of course, I actually have to put out a game.
Driller: Alright.
Drillimation Systems 