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Cing : The Final Chapter (ONM interview with Rika Suzuki)

L

L~A

Member
In their 100th issue, ONM had a great piece about Cing, with an interview with Rika Suzuki (vice-president, responsible for the scenario). It talks about Cing going bankrupt, and where some of the former Cing staffer are now working. You can read the full piece here (I strongly suggest you read everything if you loved their games). I believe there was already a thread about this, but the full article is now online, so I thought it deserved a new one.

Here's some excerpts :

Why Cing filed for bankruptcy said:
Even the bankruptcy itself lacked the drama one expects from a Cing game. "The reason [Cing went bankrupt] is that a game went into prolonged development and the costs went up, so we ran into cashflow problems," she says. No ghosts. No gangsters. Just cruel economics.

Cing's taste for mystery bred naturally inquisitive fans, ones who went looking for conspiracy. Ourselves? We've long wondered if Cing's financial struggles were hinted at in their final game, Last Window: The Secret of Cape West. That two months before bankruptcy it should release a story about a condemned apartment building, full of residents packing up their lives and a hero trying to squeeze in one last case, struck us as being too neat. Alas, it's pure romanticism. "That was just a coincidence," states Suzuki. "A very sad coincidence."
Click to expand...

What games can bring to stories said:
As for what games bring to stories that other mediums can't? "I think it is the sense of urgency born from playing the game and the feeling of completing something. That can come from action or a puzzle or a time limit." Also consider what Cing brought to stories that other studios didn't. Another Code and Hotel Dusk boasted high production values, whether it was detailed environmental work or character animation.

Looking back now, does Suzuki feel her games would have worked as well without this polish - perhaps if they'd taken the form of static visual novels? "Visual expression of the story is extremely important," she says. "At Cing, the visual representation was a prerequisite for the progression and story elements of the games. If those games had been made without visuals and as novels, the stories would have unfolded and ended in a different way I think. In a visual novel you can explore the sub-story to your heart's content, which is interesting in its own way."
Click to expand...

Some ideas she had for future games said:
"For example, a story of a quirky woman antique dealer who must solve the mystery surrounding some of the antiques; a story of a 16-year-old boy with impressive powers of perception who forms a combo with a 30-year-old ghost to investigate unsolved cases from the past; a story about a chef who must clear the name of his framed father by tracking down the real culprit using cuisine...." Culinary Detective is something that has to happen.
Click to expand...

Conclusion said:
For a glorious five years, Cing provided us with some of the most sophisticated, mature storytelling going. While western blowhards - your Peter Molyneuxs or David Cages - sound off about revolutionising digital yarn-weaving, this company quietly got on with the task at hand and delivered the goods. The next generation won't be the same without Cing.
Click to expand...

Personally, there isn't one single video game related news that has saddenned more than learing about Cing filing for bankruptcy. A part of the gaming me died that day.
 
D

DMiz

Member
Still bitter that we didn't get Kyle Hyde's second chapter, which, according to the good people here, shed more light on his background. :(
 
P

Poetic.Injustice

Member
Had Cing lived on does Suzuki think Ashley and Hyde would have crossed paths, maybe teamed up for the ultimate Cing adventure? "That's right. The story of Kyle Hyde as an old man meeting Ashley would be extremely interesting I think." With that, a thousand fan fiction authors' word processors around the world whirr into action. As sad as it is to see beloved characters doomed to fictional limbo, do spare a thought for those never born. When we ask Suzuki if she had other stories she wanted to tell at Cing she reels off a list packed with barmy potential.
Click to expand...

vader.jpg
 
B

Bony Manifesto

Member
I appreciated what Cing were trying to do, but I can't help but feel all of their games were sabotaged by having such boring, uneventful stories. I always went into them with high hopes, but after five hours or so of nothing really happening, I tended to lose interest. Also that lack of a narrative thread tended to make it hard to know exactly what you should be doing next - especially in Hotel Dusk where, on multiple occasions, I was systematically knocking on every door in the hotel to find the event that would continue the story.
 
L

L~A

Member
Relaxed Muscle said:
Is a shame we lost Cing.

3DS library would have benefitted so much from more games like Hotel Dusk.
Click to expand...

Yup. The worst thing about the bankruptcy (besides people losing their job) is that it created a real void that probably will never be filled. I'm not necessarily talking about sequels to HD/LW or Another Code, just some nice text-based adventure games with one of the best VG writing I've ever read.
 
U

UrbanRats

Member
I have both Another Code and Hotel Dusk for DS, but never finished either.
Not the game's fault, i just don't enjoy playing on handheld (i've barely finished ANY handheld game i got).
It's a shame they're gone though, their games were very interesting.

I wish they were out on PC, so i would've actually played them.

Also the animation for Hotel Dusk was God-like.
 
N

nullset2

Junior Member
Cing <3

LOVE, love love love love Trace Memory, its sequel, and Hotel Dusk. Haven't gotten to play Last Window, but it looks absolutely fantastic. Was really sad when the news about their bankruptcy broke last year.

They really did have a certain touch for storytelling and world building that you don't see anywhere else. Best case scenario, Nintendo does something half decent with the IPs, farmed out to other devs, in the future, but it still won't be the same, like Ace Attorney without Takumi.

Wonder what their last game was going to be like...
 
L

L~A

Member
Poetic.Injustice said:
Who owns the rights to their games now?
Click to expand...

That's a good question, and I believe Nintendo owns the rights for Hotel Dusk / Last Window and the two Another Code games (not sure about the IP themselves)...

I so wish Nintendo had let them make a Famicom Tantei Club III ;___;
 
M

metsallica

Member
Oh man, reopening that old wound... I loved Trace Memory and Hotel Dusk so much. Bought Last Window (thank you region-free EU release...) but haven't played it yet, kills me that I'll probably never get to play Another Code R. Or anything else they would've done.
 
E

Eternal Gamer

Member
a story about a chef who must clear the name of his framed father by tracking down the real culprit using cuisine...." Culinary Detective is something that has to happen.
Click to expand...

I would love to see that, even if is on smartphones.
 
B

BassForever

Member
Still hurts now, even that crappy fbi game had some value. RIP in peace Cing

I really need to import Another Code R, AC, HD, and LW
 
A

addik

Member
Very sad Cing had to go. I loved Hotel Dusk and the Last Window, and Another Code R had a killer atmosphere. I loved how slow-paced their stories were, and it made each of the game's setpiece really stand out.

Another game that I got to play that is not usually talked about by Cing fans was Glass Rose for the PS2. Man, that game was also awesome, even if it was cheesy. I loved exploring the secrets of that mansion.
 
K

Katori

Member
The fact that their IP may be lost is one of the worst atrocities in gaming history.

If Nintendo really does have the Hotel Dusk and Another Code IP, then please, hire Rika Suzuki and get crankin' on that crossover!
 
T

The Bankslammer

Member
Really liked the comment about what the extra polish and style brought to their games, as I absolutely think that Hotel Dusk's style was one of the most captivating and interesting parts of the game. Seriously super memorable and great and contributed a ton to it as a whole. Clearly a group of talented people, and it's such a shame to see this have happened.

Fortunately for me, I guess, I've only played Hotel Dusk of their games, so I have three others to look forward to.
And I guess I'll keep telling myself that until I've played them all, and then I'll suddenly get very saddened :(
 
I

Interceptor

Banned
Loved Another Code R. It´s a shame so few people actually played it. This reminds me of something i learned in the 2nd semester in economics. You can have have myriads of problems but never, never run into cash flow issues. It kills your company immediately.
 
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