Diana, the android girl from Pragmata who single-handedly stole the web's heart with her adorable demeanor, wasn't created by your everyday Capcom developers – in fact, the studio had a special team dedicated to her development.
Producer Naoto Oyama reveals as much during a recent Father's Day-themed livestream on YouTube – because what better theme could a Pragmata stream adopt in June, honestly (as translated by Automaton).
It's no secret that protagonist Hugh and Diana, his little android companion, have a father-daughter-like relationship, after all… but ensuring that Diana came across as a realistic girl was no easy feat for Capcom.
Capcom had what Oyama nicknames "Diana Police," who oversaw her development, making sure she had a natural, childlike innocence to her without becoming too "annoying" to players in Pragmata.
This special team included voice acting and motion capture direction, which game director Cho Yonghee describes in greater detail in an interview with Game*Spark. It was comprised entirely of women, apparently, as he says.
"It's easier for women to detect the 'cunning' kind of cuteness in female characters, whereas men would probably go, 'What's the difference?' So I'm pretty sure all of the Diana Police members were women," describes the lead.
Diana's Japanese voice actor, Nao Toyama, adds in the stream that she was told "not to make it too cute, but speak like a child would naturally speak" while recording her lines. I'd say Capcom might've failed there.
Diana's too cute (albeit not in any sort of negative way), if anything, sparking countless memes and discussions online about her character and relationship with Hugh – but not in any sort of unrealistic way. The devs still aced the whole "realistic child" thing, in my opinion, perhaps making the Diana Police worthwhile.
It's reminiscent of Resident Evil Requiem's own "strict" women designing Leon Kennedy… albeit more wholesome.
I'm so here for unique teams of devs working to perfect characters, personally – and hey, it clearly works out for the best when studios give it a go, if Pragmata and Resident Evil offer anything to go by.
