Suda51 Breaks Down His Iconic Career

Thus far in Audio Logs we’ve explored the creation of specific games, shining a light on some of the interesting and creative design and development methods employed to bring our favorite gaming experiences to life.

However, in this episode, we’re doing something a little different, and it’s because the guest warrants it. That guest is Gochi “Suda51” Suda, the Japanese designer and director known for his work on Fire Pro Wrestling, Killer7, Shadows of the Damned, and No More Heroes, among other titles.

Suda is loved for bringing a carefree, punk rock attitude to his video games. They are very much a reflection of himself and his tastes and, unsurprisingly, he’s lived an interesting life, starting his career as a hearse driver before jumping into the world of video game development.

In this episode, Suda discusses his early motivations to get into making games, landing a gig writing Super Fire Pro Wrestling’s infamous ending scenario, working with Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami and Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn, and establishing his own studio, where he went on to create a number of other iconic games.

Each of his career milestones comes with a fascinating, insightful, or hilarious anecdote that not only provides insight into the inner workings of Suda’s mind, but also highlights the unique, charming personality he imbues his games with. It’s a fun time.

Audio Logs is a weekly show where the people behind the games we love tell us the stories of how they’re made. You can watch more episodes of Audio Logs on YouTube. We’ve got God of War director Cory Barlog breaking down one of the game’s most impactful scenes; Cuphead’s lead game designer, Jared Moldenhauer, talking about the inspirations for King Dice’s Dice Palace; Dead Cells’ game designer Sebastian Benard revealing the amazing design tricks they used to make the game super satisfying to play, and Overwatch designer Geoff Goodman exploring how Baptiste was created.

Be sure to subscribe to GameSpot on YouTube to see more episodes as they’re released. You won’t want to miss it!