Drill Dozer - Development

Development

Drill Dozer was originally revealed at E3 2005, originally titled Screw Breaker, a translation of its Japanese title. It would later be released in Japan on September 22, 2005, and in North America on February 6, 2006.

The game was localized by Nintendo of America's Treehouse division, specifically by employee Thomas Connery, who translates all of the Japanese text into English, and fellow Treehouse employee Eric Peterson's job was to rewrite and polish it afterward. Peterson states that much of his time is spent rewriting jokes or lines to make them funny or understandable for English audiences. He was also responsible for naming every character, stage, and room in the game. Eric stated that the developers infused protagonist Jill with a lot of personality and attitude, stating that her actions rather than her dialogue, which is limited, define her character. He describes her as cute as well as tough, having to grow up fast due to her father's injuries in order to fill in for him while he recovers, as well as recovering the Red Diamond that a rival gang stole that was given to her by her now-deceased mother. He also called her a great example of a character who unapologetic in how tough and cute she is. An interviewer described Jill's appearance as eccentric, and asked Peterson if anything had been done to transition from Japan to America. Peterson stated that while things often do change during localization, Jill was already interesting enough that she didn't need to be changed; he also added that the Drill Dozer itself was as much of a character as Jill was, citing the scene where the drill had to go on its own to find her.