Kamiya here. Lately I’ve been listening to the Bayonetta soundtrack while working, but whenever I listen to the music from the latter half of the game, I have some sort of conditioned response to remember being in a nice warm bath, staring back at downtown Osaka (Umeda). It doesn’t leave me in a good mood. Ahhh… The last part of Bayonetta’s development was really brutal, and since I couldn’t go home, using the spa here at our offices in the Umeda Sky Building to wash away the days fatigue was the only thing I really had to look forward to; however, it seems like that left an indelible impression on my psyche. The spa on the 22^nd floor has an unbroken view of Umeda, so during the day I would escape the development floor and head up to soak my messed up body in the bath. While soaking, looking out at skyscrapers under the expansive blue sky, it felt so great, like I was in heaven… When I hear the track that plays before you enter Balder’s Room, “Paradiso – Sea of Stars,” or the final track, “The Greatest Jubilee,” I feel completely opposite to the track names themselves; it’s delusional, like I’m getting sucked into hell. Both of the tracks were composed for us by Mr. Rei Kondo… Sorry… They really are good tracks… (LOL)

Speaking of the soundtrack, it isn’t just songs created by PlatinumGames staff. We had the opportunity to work with lots of people outside of the company, which I am really grateful for. From Rei Kondo, to all the staff at GEM Impact, to Hiro-san at SEGA, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I’d love to work together again!

On to the next… A while back Wizard Magazine held an art contest entitled Bayonetta Re-Envisioned, and lots of great works were selected as prize winners. Of course, we had a say in who won, and the staff all looked at all of the entries! The Grand Prize winner was one that I selected personally.

The idea of taking Bayonetta’s design and using that as a starting point for a brand new concept was a rather unusual experiment for a contest, and all of the entries obviously showed a lot of passion, each one amazing in its own right. Because of this, there were works that we weren’t able to include in the contest, but were so good that we just couldn’t get them out of our heads. That is why we would like to point them out and recognize them here on the blog.

First up is a work by Michael Hiscott. Our concept designer Ikumi Nakamura picked this one. The cherry blossom trees in the background mesh well with Bayonetta.

Shimazaki picked a work by Chuan Ju Lee. Bayonetta started with the idea that witches had to be black, but this image boldly threw black right out the window.

Shimazaki also picked another work, this one by Alexander Gordon. It’s fancy, like it could be an illustration in a fairy tale collection.

Next is a work by Brent Patrick Wilson. This one is incredible… It was a design contest for Bayonetta, but Rodin and Jeanne are so prominent that they are the only thing we really noticed.

Actually, this work by Joshua Meeks was the most popular among the team. It looks like it was created with colored pencil on drawing paper (?), but posing Bayonetta in such a dynamic drop kick is the work of no mere amateur.

Finally, we have a work by Randall Louis. The design, expression, and pose got stuck in our heads and we just couldn’t forget it. If there were a CD with this image as its cover, I would buy it without question.

So what do you think? For all the works that we picked up in this post, we are going to send the artists a copy of the Bayonetta soundtrack, which is currently on sale only in Japan! Because of the differences in markets and the such, we aren’t sure if the Bayonetta soundtrack will be released officially overseas; however, this 5 disc set is a gem, filled with what we feel is only the best content, so I think that you will find it enjoyable.

Well, that wraps it up. Until next time!

Picture: A promotional item that will be given out in Germany. Here is a picture of the back…

Picture: It has a Gates of Hell logo. What could be inside?

Picture: A lollipop! Cherry flavored, I think? But it’s got a kick to it. Definitely not that kind of flavor you would encounter in Japan. (LOL)

Hello all! I’m Ikumi Nakamura, concept designer on Bayonetta. It has been three weeks since Bayonetta was released in Japan… I bet there are many of you who have completed the game, and one of the things I’ve seen quite a bit of are comments referring to Bayonetta as “middle aged.” (LOL) Considering she is a witch who has been living for hundreds and hundreds of years, I think she has transcended middle age; however, these days I’m just happy that it seems people are into an attractive older woman like Bayonetta.

For this entry, I thought I’d bring you up to speed on some of the prop design in the game. First of all, in Bayonetta, there are certain treasure boxes that can show up at certain points in the game. However, one of Kamiya-san’s hallmarks is to make these treasure boxes engaging by giving them a sense of a bit more backstory and relevance… I think.

This treasure box was designed to actually have been a witch’s grave, but as they were persecuted by the Sages, the Sages placed a blessed counterweight on top of the grave to seal them. Over time, the remains of the witch inside actually became an item. By destroying the counterweight, Bayonetta is able to release the soul of witch within, and gain her strength in the form of the item. Pretty engaging, huh?

These small items get destroyed immediately, or are only on screen for a split-second, but they are still satisfying to design, and I get excited designing them.

This troop transport shows up in one of the cutscenes where Luka gets the scare of his life. It’s kind of a bold design, and I really like it, but I think it is only on screen for like less than 10 seconds. I also remember another part of the world that I was really particular about – the chapter start screen.

The idea here is that it is a certain child’s room, and the kid is playing with a board-game-piece-like Bayonetta doll on top of a map. As you clear each chapter, objects appear on the map. These are based on the same models that actually appear in the stages, but one of our cute, bespectacled background designers, Sata, turned the models into toys for me, so when they show up on the map, they have a really good feel to them. So the question then remains, whose hand is it playing with these toys!?

This is a “tumbler doll” designed to look like Bayonetta.

I really hope they make it into a real toy…

I think that, starting with the design of the map and extending to things like the background on the menus, designing with “old cartooon” style gives the World of Bayonetta an extra bit of depth. When I made these designs, it was towards the end of development and I didn’t really have much time, so I combined the various parts that I would busily draw by hand together in Photoshop. I also drew Rodin’s Trinity of Realities in the same manner.

I think that I removed the nipples in the one that actually appears in the game. One of the big wigs here told me to lose the nipples.

“It’s art!” I replied incoherently.

The whole sad affair came to be known as the “Nipple Rebellion.”

This about wraps it up, but there is still more Bayonetta news to report soon. There is some Bayonetta content for Xbox Live, wallpapers, and a comprehensive art book, etc. on their way to Japan that we are working hard on, so look forward to more news soon.

Now to answer a few questions that came in for me:

Storm! asks:

Is there a sexy, cute angel like the one in the ‘Team Little Angels’ logo within the game itself?

That would be Joy’s role in the game, wouldn’t it? Hehe.

When I saw the designs for the Moon of Mahaa-Kalaa, it was so cool I just couldn’t get enough.

When I see a gas mask, a balaclava, or an RPG-7, they are so cool I can’t get enough.

Osakajin asks:

There is a SWAT team in Bayonetta? LOL

They aren’t a SWAT team, but there are Ithavoll military forces in the game.

Mikami Fan asks:

Is there any way I can get that Little Angels T-Shirt?

If you can use a time machine back to San Diego Comic Con 2009 you should be able to get your hands on one.

Well, that it for now! Until next time!

(NOTE: Higher resolution versions of the concept art in this post can be found on the PlatinumGames Inc. Flickr Page)

Hello everyone. I’m Bayonetta concept designer Ikumi Nakamura.

I was wondering if you had heard about the Rodin’s Selection soundtrack you get with Bayonetta? What you didn’t know, and I am here to tell you about, is the strange set of circumstances that occurred as we set off to produce this bonus item.

Years ago… There was a phone. In front of me.

RODIN
Hey. Ikumi. I’ve got a job for you.

IKUMI
Huh? Who is this!? No solicitors!!

RODIN
I’m a bartender… In a wretched hive of
scum and villainy. I heard you got some
skills, and I want you to design my menu.
You gotta make it… Dangerous. And Hot.

*click* *beep beep beep*

And then phone call ended.

A few days later, I found myself in one of America’s grimiest cities. Searching around, I found a witch’s seal on the floor in front of me. I stood on it, then collapsed, as it felt as though my entire body was being dragged away.

That is when I realized where I was…

More…