Dress Up, Jump Up: Developer Kentaro Tominaga Shares Gameplay Design of Infinity Nikki

ign.com:

With over 100 million players, the Nikki series is a beloved dress-up RPG developed by Infold Games, the overseas label of China’s Papergames.

An action game with a focus on dressing up may sound like a game for casual players. However, Infinity Nikki – the series’ newest installment, coming to PC, PlayStation 5 and mobile – is an open-world game in which platforming action is a key feature. The debut trailer in which main character Nikki traverses a vast open world in a myriad of different outfits surprised fans of the series and newcomers alike.

In May, IGN published our impressions after playing a three-hour demo. We were impressed by how fun and unique Infinity Nikki’s open world is. From its approachable controls and satisfying action and combat to its rewarding exploration and crafting systems, it feels great to play. Needless to say, changing into your favorite outfit and visiting interesting locations is an essential part of the experience. This makes Infinity Nikki more than just an exciting adventure in an epic world. It combines a sense of the everyday with the freedom and immersion only a video game can deliver.

Infinity Nikki has Kentaro Tominaga – who worked on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as a game designer – on board as sub-director. We interviewed Tominaga in Kyoto, Japan, where Infold Games recently opened an office, to learn more about his vision for Infinity Nikki.

“I worked together with the development team in Shanghai for about half a year,” explains Tominaga. “By doing so, I was able to get to know them. Now, I am working from our new office in Kyoto while communicating with the team back in Shanghai.”

Tominaga himself was the first employee of Infold Games' Kyoto office. Now, roughly 10 people work at the office, while Infinity Nikki’s development team as a whole has over 700 members.

Upon translating this beloved dress-up game series into an open-world format, Tominaga saw it as his first task to make sure the gameplay would be