While Stellar Blade has achieved global success, the game’s launch wasn’t free of scrutiny. Fans of the Korean action game praised the gameplay and visual direction, while others questioned the provocative character design in Stellar Blade. In a recent interview, SHIFT UP CEO and character designer Hyung-tae Kim defends his bold design choices. He opened up about his creative approach and the balance he strives to achieve between visual appeal and narrative depth.
When asked by Japanese media Game Watch about the raunchy character designs for Stellar Blade and NIKKE, Kim said they ‘came out naturally.’ In both games, characters’ body lines are often emphasized, but Kim insists this isn’t a conscious focus.
“It’s not something that we are conscious of. It’s just that players like and demand [characters] like that,” explained Kim. “But I like making things like that myself, so I think it’s the result of me just following my instincts, and it came out naturally.”
The designer of the MMORPG series MagnaCarta and Soul and Blade believes that characters’ looks should always reflect and complement the story.
“The most important thing for me when designing a character is to make sure that it is firmly linked to the story and narrative of the game,” Kim added. “It’s important that characters’s appearance mustn’t be just cute, but their personality is also expressed well depending on the situation. Therefore, making a visually enticing design is the next step.”
He was also surprised how the girls in NIKKE gained such a positive reception from the player base. “I remember thinking, ‘Is this okay? Isn’t this too much?’ Fortunately, it was well received, so everything was all right.”
While both Stellar Blade and NIKKE are predominantly aimed at male audiences, Kim defends that his character design team is staffed with many female employees. He felt relieved that the team was always onboard with his design direction.
“By the way, in the case of NIKKE, the ratio of female creators is high. Despite that, the fact that such designs are considered essential means that the staff has already been imbued with my DNA,” he added.
Kim’s design philosophy may stir debates, but it’s clear he stands by his creative instincts. With more than a million fans backing Stellar Blade, gamers just need to wait until SHIFT UP finally releases the long-awaited PC port and sequel.
