'I'm Retiring,' Nintendo's Miyamoto Tells His Staff
wired.com
wired.com
He's stepping down from major title development (Think mainline Mario, Zelda) and will be downshifting to working on small titles with a small team.
“What I really want to do is be in the forefront of game development once again myself,” Miyamoto said. “Probably working on a smaller project with even younger developers. Or I might be interested in making something that I can make myself, by myself. Something really small.”
I agree, that game was one of the best of the series, and that's a pretty strong statement considering Zelda could be considered the best gaming franchise of all time.
But, honestly, I think his shift to smaller games/teams could be for the best. It's hard to guess how much influence he had anymore when "producing" titles. But working on small games might allow his creativity to flourish like it did when he first started.
- Gameplay is everything. Games are about gameplay, don't turn games into movies. I think the Mario & Zelda series show this rather well.
- Always change something in a sequel. This was one of his strongest points, if you look at Nintendo, all they do is sequels of their existing IPs, but unlike - say Assassins Creed cough - they always make sure it's never just more of the same.
While I love the games and the series, I think there is a decent case for Zelda games being "more of the same" (at least in regards to the 3D versions, not including the latest which I haven't played yet). Aside from Wind Waker, the 3D Zelda games were fairly similar. I guess Majora's Mask had the timer, but by slowing down time it was essentially a non-factor. I mean there were definitely differences, but the game was basically complete several temples while choosing between various forms (each with pros and cons) and using the same basic subset of weapons (arrows, sword, hookshot), building up to a final series of trials at the end where you have to use all the skills you learned to complete it.
Zelda is a series that is established on certain traditions - you go from dungeon to dungeon, and in each one get a new piece of gear that lets you explore the world more. Looking just at that part of the game, every zelda game looks the same. But I think as a series it's generally good at varying a little bit from the formula.
The clock was there to provide a Groundhog Day-like structure and a more genuine "approaching apocalypse" atmosphere. If you don't act, the world really does end. And by the end of the game, you've not just saved the world, but got to know everybody in the game world and made a difference in their lives. It was much more emotional game than other Zeldas, especially in comparison with its predecessor, Ocarina Of Time, which is what it had to measure up to.
This was "the lesson" with regard to sequels that differ too much from the original game. People (in the aggregate) want expansion of something they already like, not radical revision.
Examples of successful sequeling would be the Dragon Warrior series. Dragon Warrior II (the worst of the series; enemies tended to gang up on one character and that made it nearly unplayable, esp. with the princess being ungodly weak and dying constantly) is an example of that. It was an expansion on top of Dragon Warrior I, and that expansion was roughly implemented and painful, but the core game concepts of DW 1 remained and it paved the way for DW 3 and 4 (which were among the best NES games) to be made.
"Video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto's role at Nintendo is not changing. He will continue to be a driving force in Nintendo's development efforts. In discussing his priorities at Nintendo in a media interview, Mr. Miyamoto explained how he is encouraging the younger developers at the company to take more initiative and responsibility for developing software. He attempted to convey his priorities moving forward, inclusive of overseeing all video game development and ensuring the quality of all products. Mr. Miyamoto also discussed his desire to pursue fresh ideas and experiences of the kind that sparked his initial interest in video games."
"This is absolutely not true," said a spokeswoman for Nintendo. "There seems to have been a misunderstanding. He has said all along that he wants to train the younger generation.
"He has no intention of stepping down. Please do not be concerned."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/08/us-nintendo-idUSTR...
I learned user experience from Shigeru Miyamoto via Super Mario Brothers and the Legend of Zelda.
When consoles started to gain more horsepower and graphics became a primary selling point in games, I was never seduced by polygon counts or FMV cut scenes. I wanted better controls. I wanted more immersive level design.
More than anyone that's had influence on me as a developer, Miyamoto has inspired me to make software for people.
As an aside, do you think there's any way we can get him to make an HTML 5 game? Or series of games on some sort of Miyamoto blog?
Forking anything that Miyamoto has made would be the highlight of my professional life.
Assumptions:
* Lower poly models and lower res textures can be produced faster
* Gameplay starts unbalanced/poorly paced/with a mix of good and bad mechanics and is then improved iteratively
* Hiring more artists costs money which results in hiring less devlopers/designers (or vice-versa)
* Art and gameplay do not compete for staff time (artists vs designers/developers) however due to an almost-critical path they do compete for completion time.
For example, Tetris has terrible "graphics" as such - the thing is entirely abstract, and is almost a pure expression of gameplay. But a game like Skyrim is rather the opposite; it's all about immersing yourself in a role via a character you've created and grown. Meanwhile, the actual tension-creating gameplay mechanics of Skyrim, combat and sneaking, the first is fairly poor, while the second ultimately is overpowered. But those things don't stop it from being a highly enjoyable experience.
Why is it a tradeoff? Because building immersion means emulating reality to a greater and greater extent, and that reality gets further and further away from the abstract core of what makes a gameplay mechanic work well, because reality is complicated and has too many details. You have to build the gameplay in such a way that it doesn't break the spell of immersion; instead of being abstract, it has to be made out of simulated reality components.
> He realized then that his playful attitude towards theories and constructions were what had driven his research. [leading to the "spinning plate" observation]
http://books.google.com.au/books?id=g7nWSs5k7V8C&lpg=PA1... --- http://books.google.com.au/books?id=6ofHvL9T-k4C&lpg=PA2... (couldn't find the exact text; probably in one of his copyrighted books and not online)
It is in Surely You're Joking, Mr Feynman.
I still remember that christmas morning in 89 or 90 when I got my first Nintendo. It was snowing outside, which made it feel even more cozy inside. My friend and me had been playing Super Mario Bros almost all morning and had forgotten time in between. Suddenly it was lunchtime and my grandma came for visit. She correctly observed that I hadn't even touched her present yet (I forgot what it was). It was still at the same position where I put it after opening it. Super Mario Bros had me so hooked that I'd forgotten about the rest. After that, Miyamoto's creations always followed me around, be it on the GameBoy, the SNES, or the N64. Godspeed Miyamoto, you shaped my youth and I thank you for it.
Shigeru Miyamoto came to the Angel Studio offices my first day working there (I was hired to do "game AI" but I also did a lot of other fun work.) He is an amazing talent, emphasizing making games fun.
It might cause indie developers to. Miyamoto was a driving force behind saving the entire gaming industry after the Atari crash. If he's working on smaller(and presumably cheaper) games, that has to be the scariest competition ever for an indie dev.
I'm very happy he's not retiring, but not at all happy that he didn't divulge where I could get myself one of those Zelda t-shirts. Damn you Miyamoto!