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[Tripon]

With the success of the Switch, Nintendo is back—and, coincidence or not, so is the rest of the Japanese games industry. If anything marks the year in games so far, it’s the abundance of exceptional Japanese games, starting with Nintendo’s own The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

And Nintendo’s Jordan Amaro worked on two of them. A game designer at Nintendo’s flagship studio in Kyoto (known as Entertainment Planning and Development, the division that makes Zelda and Mario, for starters), Amaro was one of the designers of 2017’s Splatoon 2. Before coming to Nintendo, he was a level designer for Capcom’s Resident Evil 7, also released in 2017. Amaro, who is originally from Paris, trained at Ubisoft, Crytek, and 2K before becoming the only non-Asian designer on Hideo Kojima’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

I think what every video game player wants to know is, “How do I get a job at Nintendo?”
The thing to keep in mind is that, while I’m technically a foreigner, I’ve spent more time making games in Japan than in the West. I’m into my fifth year now in Japan. And I spent three years making games in the West. So as a designer, I’m a lot more Japanese than foreigner.

People who want to try it: Start with the language. Although when I started, I barely spoke Japanese. It was a different time. Hideo Kojima is the type of guy who likes taking chances on people.

Tell me more about that. How does the Japanese approach to game design differ from the Western approach?
There are several Japanese approaches. Every company has its own culture. It seems to me, when I look at the way game design was done at Kojima Productions, the way it’s done at Capcom and Nintendo, the way I feel it’s being done at Platinum Games or From Software, I feel there’s a lot more importance and focus given to game mechanics over world, setting, story, message, all that stuff.

I’m stereotyping, but in the West, scope, visuals, and features are the main attraction. For example, when we used to have Kojima Productions L.A.—we had an office in Los Angeles—we would get proposals for new games, pitches. It always started with: “This is the world you’re in. This is the experience I’m going to give you.” And gameplay was relegated to page 5 or 6 or 10. It was always about who you’re playing, who is the character, what’s going on, but not the “how,” how am I playing this?

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don’t care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn’t really matter.

Would you like to see more collaboration between Western developers and Japanese developers?
I don’t see why I would say no. But I’m not thrilled if I say yes.

Why?
Look what happened 10 years ago when Capcom tried to make games with the West. It didn’t work out so well. And now they seem to be doing everything here, in Osaka.

Then again, Nintendo worked with Ubisoft Milan, and we got Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, which is getting amazing reviews. Nintendo has been working really well with Western developers. So I guess I could say yes. But I’ve seen so many cases that went poorly.

Look at what happened between Microsoft and Platinum Games. You have Platinum Games, one of the best developers ever, under Hideki Kamiya, one of the top game designers that we’ve ever seen. The man cannot make a bad game. He wouldn’t know how. And it still didn’t work out. Kamiya-san is in my top five, definitely. And I think that my top five is all Japanese.

http://www.rollingstone.com/glixel/features/splatoon-2-hideo-kojima-nintendo-japanese-games-w501322

More in the link.

 

[Skittzo0413]

I missed the "on" in the title and thought Nintendo was about to start working with Kojima on a game. That would've been interesting.

Cool interview though. The bit about how game pitches differ between Japanese and western developers is quite interesting too.

 

[DonF]

the capcom situation is strictly that, a capcom situation, not a west and japan thing.
Look at SE and Crystal dynamics for example.
Nice interview. Cool guy.

 

[Diprosalic]

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don’t care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn’t really matter.

i just shed a single tear reading this.

 

[Dark Cloud]

Damn this dude has the insight and spitting the truth between western devs and Japanese devs.

Look at what happened between Microsoft and Platinum Games. You have Platinum Games, one of the best developers ever, under Hideki Kamiya, one of the top game designers that we’ve ever seen. The man cannot make a bad game. He wouldn’t know how. And it still didn’t work out. Kamiya-san is in my top five, definitely.And I think that my top five is all Japanese.

 

[UnemployedVillain]

the capcom situation is strictly that, a capcom situation, not a west and japan thing.
Look at SE and Crystal dynamics for example.
Nice interview. Cool guy.

I don't think that's the same situation though. Tomb Raider was always a western developed franchise

 

[Scrawnton]

i just shed a single tear reading this.

You can't always force a good game into a good story if the foundation is the story and gameplay is secondary. But if you start with a good gameplay base you can add a good story later. That's how I think of it.

I think the Japanese approach to it makes sense from that angle. I don't like when games sacrifice gameplay mechanics for the sake of cutscenes and story.

I look at it like this: entering the divine beasts in BotW had some fantastic gameplay elements that were never repeated in the game again and I feel like some studios would've taken the easy way out by making that whole sequence just a five minute long cut scene.

 

[sleazefrenzy]

How I read the headline:

"Rolling Stone: Nintendo Devs Working With Kojima on 'Splatoon 2: Rise of Japanese G'"

 

[Cymbal Head]

Suffer like Japanese G did?

 

[Skittzo0413]

This is a very interesting quote too:

But in Japan, everything is tailored. You’ve probably heard Sheena Iyengar’s TED talk, in which she went to a restaurant in Japan and tried to order sugar in her green tea. The people at the cafe said, “One does not put sugar in green tea,” and then, “We don’t have sugar.” But when she ordered coffee instead, it did come with sugar! In Japan, there’s a sense of, “We’re making this thing for you, and this is how we think this thing is better enjoyed.” This is why, in Splatoon, the maps rotate every couple of hours. And the modes change. “I bought this game. Why can’t I just enjoy this game the way I want?” That’s not how we think here. Yes, you did buy the game. But we made this game. And we’re pretty confident about how this game should be enjoyed. If you stick with us, and if you get past your initial resistance, you’re going to have the time of your life with this game. You’re really going to love it.

You think you know what we want better than we know what we want?
We think we know what you don’t know you want.

You think you know what you want. But we know what you will want once you understand it. There has to be some effort from the player to play ball with the developer, just like in a restaurant where there is a course menu. You enter the restaurant, and this is the course today. It’s displayed outside the restaurant. When you enter the restaurant, you know what you’re going to eat. Once you’re inside, if you want to eat something different, that’s not how it works.

That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

 

[Glass Rebel]

That part about knowing what people don't know what they want is hilarious.

I guess the people who think that the developer's intent must be preserved at all times should have no problem with this mindset. 🌞

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

I really like this guy. His whole section where he discussed and dismissed the idea of Japanese open-world games taking inspiration from western games, and then transitioning into how Japanese design examines games from a structural, point of view almost as an object the player can find cause and effect with, really stood out to me. Extremely insightful interview.

the capcom situation is strictly that, a capcom situation, not a west and japan thing.
Look at SE and Crystal dynamics for example.
Nice interview. Cool guy.

I don't think the Japanese and western sides of Square Enix mess with each other's stuff too much. Obviously it's Matsuda etc. in charge of the whole company, but for the most part from what I've read they're pretty independent. Square Enix Europe has been described as basically still being Eidos under a different name. I could be wrong but basically it's not like a total full-on collaboration situation in most cases.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

Yeah, it's a good quote. In a product or game context I'd say the developer is trying to make a game the player doesn't even know they wanted yet. And it's why you tend to have idiosyncratic controls or mechanics which are designed around what experience the game wants to create, rather than what experience the player may have in mind through their own preconceptions (be it genre, or the setting etc). It's why in Metal Gear Solid 3 you shoot after releasing the button, for example.

I don't think the Splatoon map rotation analogy is a good one in this instance, since it's pretty obvious it was actually done to increase player engagement. Maybe I'm too cynical.

 

[Zalman]

Interesting stuff. A lot of what he's saying about Japanese vs. Western development lines up with how I personally perceive things.

 

[mentallyinept]

"We think we know what you don't know you want"

Reminds me of the Spaghetti Sauce Ted Talk by Malcolm Gladwell.

tl;dw: Sometimes, we don't know what we want because it's not even considered to be a possibility until someone makes it a reality and gives it to you.

 

[Opa-Pa]

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don’t care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn’t really matter.

God bless japanese game design.

 

[Makonero]

I like the comparison between game developers and chefs. Food, like games, can be art, or it can be purely utilitarian. And you have restaurants like buffets where you customize your meal from start to finish, and others where the chef dictates every little detail. Sometimes you're in the mood for a buffet, but sometimes you want to let a master decide what they're making and just go along for the ride.

 

[LeleSocho]

We have to try to understand what the unique nature of games is, what the strengths are, what the weaknesses are, and not be confusing or mixing the form with other forms, especially with movies

This quote makes it clear why this guy works in Japan and especially in Nintendo.

 

[BigEmil]

That's true about what he said the West focuses more on world, scope, visuals etc first while Japanese Devs focus on gameplay first which is the best since it's video games after all it's main attraction is its gameplay first and foremost

Otherwise it's not a videogame it's a movie or like a interactive movie with not much gameplay input required from you and that's the last focus

 

[BareKnuckle]

Could never put in to words why I always prefer Japanese games over others until I read this interview.

Good stuff.

 

[stanislavskov]

I'm stereotyping, but in the West, scope, visuals, and features are the main attraction.

Yet GTAV and Minecraft, arguably two of the biggest success the western gaming industry ever produced, are purely gameplay based.

Spoiler

I know GTAV has a sprawling map, great graphics and a finely tailored story mode, but it is the gameplay and the way they've kept expanded on it that has kept the game selling so well and for so long.

That's true about what he said the West focuses more on world, scope, visuals etc first while Japanese Devs focus on gameplay first which is the best since it's video games after all it's main attraction is its gameplay first and foremost

Otherwise it's not a videogame it's a movie or like a interactive movie with not much gameplay input required from you and that's the last focus

The japanese game industry has produced some great visual novels and adventure games (VLR, ZTD, Danganronpa, Ace Attorney), and the same goes for the west (Myst, Full Throttle, Heavy Rain, The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us). These titles are all great video games.

There was also the whole issue of "going for the lowest bidder" at capcom during that time and thinking they'd rise above highly.

DmC is a great game and was very well received, so at least one of the games ended up rising above.

 

[Jawmuncher]

There's still room for East and West game dev. He sticks out at Capcom. But the issue there was

1. Capcom was forcing restrictions on what the western teams could do. A lot of the interviews coming out now basically went "we wanted to do this but Capcom forced us into this and basically wanted us to make it completely western. Which is why you had ORC, LP3, and DmC the way the came out.

2. There was also the whole issue of "going for the lowest bidder" at capcom during that time and thinking they'd rise above highly.

Capcom in general just fucked themseves over due to how they handled West and East development.

At least the interviewe kinda recognizes that with theater examples. Crossover dev needs to a compromise while also a unique vision. Much like we saw with Mario and Rabbids.

 

[Doc Holliday]

Awesome interview!

Thanks for posting OP!

 

[NotLiquid]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

The biggest challenge of being a creator is having to decide between giving people what they want and giving people what they didn't know they wanted. The latter is always the hardest one to pull off and the one that will be met with the most resistance, but like any high risk gamble, if successful, will always pay off better.

This is a really good interview.

 

[zelas]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

Splatoon has had two releases. I think its clear that people dont want those maps rotations and voice chat limitations. What that quote says to me is that Nintendo is going to take a heads down approach towards everything until they have no other options. That they care more about what they want to do far more than understanding why things are that way to begin with.

 

[NinjaCoachZ]

Yet GTAV and Minecraft, arguably two of the biggest success the western gaming industry ever produced, are purely gameplay based.

Spoiler

I know GTAV has a sprawling map, great graphics and a finely tailored story mode, but it is the gameplay and the way they've kept expanded on it that has kept the game selling so well and for so long.

Those games prove his point. A big part of what makes GTAV and Minecraft exciting is the scope of the game world and the sheer variety of things you can do in or with them. If they had the same base mechanics with fewer options and a smaller scope, would they be on the same stratosphere they are now?

In any case, he's not saying "all Japanese games are like this, and all western games are like this". He's simply commenting on the overarching trends that tend to be more common in each area. He even notes that sometimes when Japanese games seem to be thought of as aping western trends, it's more that they wound up doing similar things by coincidence. They were each led to similar results from a different angle, and the difference in that angle is the main takeaway here.

 

[The God]

That's true about what he said the West focuses more on world, scope, visuals etc first while Japanese Devs focus on gameplay first which is the best since it's video games after all it's main attraction is its gameplay first and foremost

Otherwise it's not a videogame it's a movie or like a interactive movie with not much gameplay input required from you and that's the last focus

A game having less of an arbitrary amount of "gameplay" doesn't make it less of a videogame

 

[Skittzo0413]

Splatoon has had two releases. I think its clear that people dont want those maps rotations and voice chat limitations. What that quote says to me is that Nintendo is going to take a heads down approach towards everything until they have no other options. That they care more about what they want to do far more than understanding why things are that way to begin with.

You're certainly right about the vocal people not wanting that, but that doesn't stop the games from selling gangbusters. Nintendo does listen to the fans sometimes, but in this case they may be a bit wary of changing an extremely successful formula in the future. It's a question of how much they value vocal opinions of game features versus actual tangible sales of a game.

So it has nothing to do with taking a heads down approach, and everything to do with figuring out how best to sell the product.

 

[Deku89]

I liked the different perspective. I'm wondering if Japanese developers will hire more westerns who are willing to adopt their way of doing things.

A lot of the restrictions in Splatoon 2 doesn't seem to bother me as much as it did in the beginning. Not to say I agree with them, but I can see the mentality.

 

[Renna Hazel]

The type of approach described for Western games is probably why I usually don't like them. I just don't find them fun to play and feel the story and cutscenes get in the way of having fun far too often. It doesn't help that the stories usually aren't anything special to me, but if they are, it ends up being worth it.

I think I prefer how he described the Japanese approach, though most Japanese games aren't nearly as limiting as Splatoon. I find Nintendo to be a bit too restrictive with options. It's kind of killed Mario Kart for me to not allow me to play the way I want. Still, Nintendo games tend to have the best gameplay, so I'll keep playing most of them.

 

[Raven117]

Tell me more about that. How does the Japanese approach to game design differ from the Western approach?
There are several Japanese approaches. Every company has its own culture. It seems to me, when I look at the way game design was done at Kojima Productions, the way it's done at Capcom and Nintendo, the way I feel it's being done at Platinum Games or From Software, I feel there's a lot more importance and focus given to game mechanics over world, setting, story, message, all that stuff.

I'm stereotyping, but in the West, scope, visuals, and features are the main attraction. For example, when we used to have Kojima Productions L.A.—we had an office in Los Angeles—we would get proposals for new games, pitches. It always started with: ”This is the world you're in. This is the experience I'm going to give you." And gameplay was relegated to page 5 or 6 or 10. It was always about who you're playing, who is the character, what's going on, but not the ”how," how am I playing this?

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don't care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn't really matter.

This is obvious to anyone that picks up a controller and even pays one iota of attention to how the game is made. The only except to this rule is FPS. An area where Japan has really not embraced.

I thought Capcom got really close with Dragon's Dogma. The gameplay was sublime for an open world game (still best in class IMO), but the world was lacking a little bit.

Another go at it (with some better open world design), and that game may be a masterpiece if it all comes together the right way.

Zelda BotW is an interesting change. The world was the feature, not the gameplay (especially the combat, its not particularly good IMO). I am curious to see where Zelda goes from here.

There is no secret that Japanese game design struggled in the Ps3/360 generation. It seemed collectively, they couldn't quite get a handle on the scope of the games in HD. FromSoftware being a huge exception, but they pretty much forged a new sub-genre.

This year, we saw Japan finally catch its stride again in the West. Nier Automata, Nioh, Zelda, Persona 5, all were just fantastic titles and all for different reasons without losing the "Japanese" part of them. I hope they continue on this trajectory as the games they produce that do indeed "make it" tend to complex and interesting affairs in which the whole industry benefits (and us as players).

For me, I can't wait to see what they do with Monster Hunter World. While the game is niche in its own way, comsumers have shown that they like challenges when presented in specific ways. If Capcom can keep their forcasts in check (seems all Japanese companies tend to over sales), this could be a home run for Capcom.

 

[True Fire]

How I read the headline:

"Rolling Stone: Nintendo Devs Working With Kojima on 'Splatoon 2: Rise of Japanese G'"

Same. I was so ready for a Splatoon 2 collab

 

[Neptonic]

This guy is great, and definitely understands the Nintendo game design philosophy

Quick! Somebody send this article to Jonathan Blow

Lmao

 

[FuturusX]

Great stuff.

Quick! Somebody send this article to Jonathan Blow

 

[Nirolak]

Tell me more about that. How does the Japanese approach to game design differ from the Western approach?
There are several Japanese approaches. Every company has its own culture. It seems to me, when I look at the way game design was done at Kojima Productions, the way it’s done at Capcom and Nintendo, the way I feel it’s being done at Platinum Games or From Software, I feel there’s a lot more importance and focus given to game mechanics over world, setting, story, message, all that stuff.

I’m stereotyping, but in the West, scope, visuals, and features are the main attraction. For example, when we used to have Kojima Productions L.A.—we had an office in Los Angeles—we would get proposals for new games, pitches. It always started with: “This is the world you’re in. This is the experience I’m going to give you.” And gameplay was relegated to page 5 or 6 or 10. It was always about who you’re playing, who is the character, what’s going on, but not the “how,” how am I playing this?

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration. We don’t care about who, or what the story is, what the game world is, all of this doesn’t really matter.

So I would get this sentiment if we were talking about AAA Western games from 2008-2012, but it's hard to imagine many major studios going about things this way in 2017.

Like we can just look at all the same vendors this guy worked at to see this in practice.

Ubisoft:

Last Gen: Their flagship products were games like Assassin's Creed that tried to build an experience for the player more than focusing on the individual game mechanics. Story was a huge push with these, and they would often highlight things like Far Cry's villains or Assassin's Creed's setting.

Current Gen: Their flagship products are games like Rainbow Six Siege, The Division, and For Honor which focused basically entirely on multiplayer gameplay and the related mechanics. Siege didn't even have a campaign, people never seem to mention For Honor's campaign, and I can't remember anyone saying anything positive about The Division's plotline, which felt incredibly secondary to the rest of the game. Even Rainbow Six Siege came from Ubisoft cancelling Rainbow Six Patriots, which was a singleplayer focused, cinematic linear shooter with Heavy Rain-esque gameplay segments thrown in. What did they show at E3 this year? Mario + Rabbids, a Far Cry built around co-op, an online pirate ship battle game, an online racing game, and an online Beyond Good & Evil game.

Crytek:

Last Gen*: They made Crysis, and then made a more cinematic version of Crysis with Crysis 2 and 3, and then made Ryse: Son of Rome, which is basically a parody of the direction the industry was headed with cinematic games.

* I'm aware that Ryse got delayed to be an Xbox One launch title, but it was clearly designed last generation.

This Gen: Their newest title is an all in on gameplay, multiplayer oriented, competiting survival monster hunting game.

2K:

Last Gen: BioShock, The Darkness, Mafia, Borderlands, sports titles, and Firaxis games. They were about half and half on gameplay versus experience design.

This Gen: Mafia 3 is their only remaining experience game, and the started development in 2010. Both of their new IPs were gameplay and multiplayer oriented. I'm sticking to the 2K half of Take-Two, but we could also bring up GTA Online and Red Dead Online here versus what Rockstar used to do.

 

[zelas]

You're certainly right about the vocal people not wanting that, but that doesn't stop the games from selling gangbusters. Nintendo does listen to the fans sometimes, but in this case they may be a bit wary of changing an extremely successful formula in the future. It's a question of how much they value vocal opinions of game features versus actual tangible sales of a game.

So it has nothing to do with taking a heads down approach, and everything to do with figuring out how best to sell the product.

I wouldn't apply the term gangbusters equally to both its success in the west and its success in japan.

They also didn't have a successful formula with Splatoon starting out. They could have had better implementations, at least more akin to what was already successful for over a decade, instead of choosing to design the game the way they wanted to. There are interviews where they explicitly state they didn't want to present voice chat and map rotations in the traditional way. To me that's representative of heads downs just as much as their decisions regarding most industry trends they were lauded for rejecting right before they eventually embraced them (dlc, MTs, retailer exclusives, season passes, F2P, mobile).

Just as the change in heart didn't kill series that implemented those practices, I'm pretty certain a normal map rotation or a voice chat implementation that's not tied to a smartphone app isn't going to doom Splatoon. There is no reason to believe that's a likely outcome given the success of countless games across the industry.

 

[Chû Totoro]

Good article.

...in the West, scope, visuals, and features are the main attraction.

vs.

In Japan, a pitch is a page, maybe two. The first page you write what the game is about and how you play it. And the second page, maybe you need an illustration.

Like he's saying, he's stereotyping but I can't agree more on the approach that most of western vs. Japanese devs are having. That's one of the reasons that makes me being more skeptical when seeing a western game trailer vs. a Japanese one.

Spoiler

Most means not all, stereotyping means that it's exaggerated to illustrate a point so don't bring like 2 examples and say "blah blah but..."

 

[Lumination]

I would agree that Western technology is very impressive. You look at the Unreal Engine, you look at Naughty Dog games, you look at DICE’s Frostbite engine, and Unity. But technology is only a support component for design. Sometimes technology can create new mechanics and new avenues for game design. But if you don’t nail your game design, whatever your tech is, you have a bad game. You know that there are countless very beautiful, very boring games out there.

Yep, all this.

 

[Storm Kyleis]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

This is a very interesting approach, and probably the key to making innovative games and hardware. That said, it's also very risky.

I absolutely love Nintendo for trying out different things, but sometimes it doesn't work out and what you think people want is simply not what people really want. Sometimes we... just really don't like green tea without sugar. You have to be receptive and change it. I don't think this idea for the Salmon Run worked out very well.

I would agree that Western technology is very impressive. You look at the Unreal Engine, you look at Naughty Dog games, you look at DICE�s Frostbite engine, and Unity. But technology is only a support component for design. Sometimes technology can create new mechanics and new avenues for game design. But if you don�t nail your game design, whatever your tech is, you have a bad game. You know that there are countless very beautiful, very boring games out there.

Yep, all this.

Agreed.

 

[hemo memo]

This is why, in Splatoon, the maps rotate every couple of hours. And the modes change. “I bought this game. Why can’t I just enjoy this game the way I want?” That’s not how we think here.

The root of the problem.

 

[Takat]

Insightful interview. Very interesting for sure.

 

[Peltz]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

Shigeru Miyamoto is especially into this type of thing. Masahiro Sakurai stated it's why Miyamoto doesn't offer custom control options in most of his games and it's what makes them both very different as developers.

 

[GokouD]

This is a very interesting quote too:



That's basically an explanation for why there are some of the strange restrictions in Splatoon, and probably other Nintendo games, but I think in a more broad sense this describes how Nintendo makes hardware too. The Switch was basically something that a lot of people didn't know they wanted. Many people thought they'd leave it docked 100% of the time but now play handheld a lot more.

It's an interesting theme I've seen with Nintendo and I wasn't aware it was reflective of Japanese society like that.

I've always thought this when people winge about Splatoon or not being able to customize things in Mario Kart. You wouldn't go in a Gordon Ramsey restaurant and ask for a bottle of ketchup with your lobster.

 

[KooopaKid]

Very interesting interview. It matches my opinion on game design.

 

[Makonero]

The root of the problem.

Japanese game developers (and Nintendo in particular) are very wary about their games being played wrong. Hence the over-tutorializing throughout the last decade. They feel they know that the most fun is achieved in the game a certain way, in this case by getting a chance to play all the maps instead of just the most popular, or learning all the modes instead of just the most popular.

I would love to have at least one more map in rotation. But I definitely understand their intention is to provide the most fair and balanced experience to everyone playing.

 

[Aizo]

Paging Mik for an educated opinion.

 

[deadscreensky]

Would you like to see more collaboration between Western developers and Japanese developers?
I don't see why I would say no. But I'm not thrilled if I say yes.

Why?
Look what happened 10 years ago when Capcom tried to make games with the West. It didn't work out so well. And now they seem to be doing everything here, in Osaka.

And now Capcom's new, less Western games are well-loved and doing great? (Rhetorical question, the answer is absolutely a no.)

This seems like a severely disingenuous example.

 

[Timeaisis]

Jordan Amaro is living my dream life. Very interesting interview, thanks for sharing.

 

[Finale Fireworker]

I know that lots of people will post in this thread talking about why they strongly prefer one design theory over the other, but reading this article, I mostly come away being extremely grateful that so many of both these types of games are being made.

Such a varied landscape is precious.

 

[DriftingSpirit]

I know that lots of people will post in this thread talking about why they strongly prefer one design theory over the other, but reading this article, I mostly come away being extremely grateful that so many of both these types of games are being made.

Such a varied landscape is precious.

Yep, this is where I stand too. Let more and more design philosophies proliferate the medium.