NieR: Automata director Yoko Taro isn’t always relatable—he almost always appears in public wearing a mask, after all—but a recent Tweet has revealed that the lauded game director may indeed be one of us.
Twitter account @OfficialV tweeted at Taro with a screencap of an article claiming that NieR: Automata was nearly cancelled due to Taro hating having to wake up early, asking him if that was indeed the case. A simple response of “True” from Taro set Twitter on fire, and understandably so, as it’s not every day a preeminent video game genius reveals himself to be deeply flawed and unapologetically human.
This information first came to light in an interview (he even wears the mask during interviews due to his dislike of having to deal with the public—hey, maybe he’s always been relatable) conducted by USgamer earlier this year in which Taro first revealed that he’s not a morning person.
Previously, Taro had directed the original Drakengard game as well as the previous game in the NieR series, among a few others for which he had become known in the industry. NieR: Automata was to be his first collaboration with PlatinumGames.
Taro was essentially working for PlatinumGames as a freelancer, since despite his large and essential role in the game’s development, he is not an employee of PlatinumGames. The company’s policy was to start the work day at 9:30 in the morning, and working on a freelancer’s schedule—again, relatable—Taro felt himself incapable of starting work so early in the morning. According to Taro’s account, this was the start of a one month-long argument between him and the company, which is what led to the game almost being cancelled.
Fortunately, both parties were able to reach a reasonable solution: PlatinumGames implemented a new policy allowing for a larger window during which employees could come in and work on their own schedule, rather than requiring everyone to be working at the same time.
Now we’re left to imagine a what-if scenario in which Taro or PlatinumGames were a little bit more stubborn over their sleeping and/or working habits, and NieR: Automata never saw the light of day; we probably wouldn’t have seen Astral Chain, due to the major renaissance NieR: Automata brought to PlatinumGames. The success of an entire video game development company riding on the shoulders of a single project may not be relatable, but at least the guy’s still human… I think?
