Kazutaka Kodaka has advice for game developers trying to pitch risky ideas: you might need to deceive your company.
The Danganronpa creator shared his blunt take on navigating corporate approval processes during a recent conversation. His point wasn’t about fraud or lying on paper. It’s about strategy.
When pitching unconventional projects, Kodaka suggests framing ideas in ways that sound acceptable to decision-makers. That might mean downplaying the weirdest parts or emphasizing marketable angles. Sometimes it means bypassing middle management entirely.
The specific example he gave shows the approach perfectly. When one layer of approval said no, Kodaka went straight to the company president. The president greenlit the project.
This kind of maneuvering isn’t unique to gaming. Film and TV creators have swapped similar stories for decades. Directors schedule controversial scenes too late in production to cut them. Animation writers deliberately add outrageous jokes they know censors will flag, protecting the jokes they actually want to keep.\
Kodaka built his reputation on high-concept narrative games that mix dark comedy with shock value. The original Danganronpa forced students into a killing game with courtroom-style deductions. His newer work through Too Kyo Games continues pushing tonal extremes.
The Hundred Line and Master Detective Archives: Rain Code both lean into the same bold storytelling that made Danganronpa a hit. Getting projects like these approved requires navigating budget concerns, brand risk, and marketability questions.
When creative vision meets corporate reality
Even acclaimed creators face greenlight battles. Kodaka’s advice reveals the gap between what companies initially approve and what creators actually want to make.
The “deception” he describes is really about protecting creative vision while satisfying approval chains. It’s the gap between what gets a yes in the pitch meeting and what audiences see in the finished product.
