
Nintendo’s method of making games [video] - dreampeppers99
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2u6HTG8LuXQ
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rsoto
I just love Game Maker's Toolkit, if you haven't watched it and love
videogames, you should.

Even if you don't like videogames, but you are creating experiences for other
people, you should understand what's behind a videogame.

~~~
vanderZwan
One of the great insights in the _Rules of Play_ [0] (which is a great book
but has some frustratingly fundamental issues because it uses a very naive
interpretation of semiotics as its first principles), is that games have their
own sense "aesthetics" compared to film, photography, or other art-forms
before it.

Like film and photography in the last century, we're still figuring those out.
But what is clear is that the main aesthetic experience revolves around the
_interactive loop_ a player has with a game. This is different from, say, the
interaction with a painting.

In short: the aesthetics of games are fundamentally based on the aesthetics of
interaction. And therefore much more broadly applicable than just a game-
context.

This is why many interaction design studies have a game design course (I gave
a few when was an adjunct IxD teacher at Malmo Uni). Other than being a bit of
self-indulgence of the professors, that is.

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_Play](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_Play)

~~~
hellbanner
I love the book and great summary about aeshetics of interaction. I like how
they separated mechanics, interface & social context.

Curious what fundamental issues you had with the book?

~~~
vanderZwan
Their interpretation of meaningful play and how they interpret the whole
meaning-from-signs thing, which is a ridiculously banal interpretation of
semiotics. I'm not even a philosopher proper but they're really out of their
depth there; I suspect that they were trying to prove a point (that game
design should be taken seriously) and cherry-picked philosophical
interpretations for their needs.

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maxpert
Call me a fan boy or whatever. I was not able to pin point the reason I found
Nintendo games more than any other developer, (the only other game that got me
hooked like Mario did was God of War but that too had it's nuances but I was
hooked). This video really brings out a lot of things that explains me why I
ended up liking something stupid like Kirby more than Gears of War or
Assassins Creed.

~~~
sametmax
It's the attention to non graphical details and the density of the game. In
modern games, you have huge spaces, and little density in the gameplay. In old
games you are doing simple things in a small space, but very regularly with
more steaks: it has way more density.

And old game has the charm and personality of the current indy games, but the
professionalism of the greats. It has a soul, even with no story, few pixels.
It has an identity.

It's very rare to find a game that has that today, and this is what nintendo
is still good at.

Remember the first time you woke up in the kokiri forest ? It was amazing. I
tried it again. It is still amazing. With very few things, it shines, it
lives.

Now the first time I come out of the bunker in Fallout 4 ? The first time I
spawn in Skyrim ? Meh. Not bad, it was fun. But it was not unforgettable.

Now I know it is possible to make a great game, with a lot of space, fantastic
graphism, and density, and a soul. But it's very rare.

That and the fact we are getting older, and we are partial to games we loved
when we were younger :)

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coolandsmartrr
When I interviewed Shigeru Miyamoto, he stressed his emphasis on gameplay, to
provide the environments for the player to be creative. He added that story,
background, etc. came afterwards to justify the gameplay.

"Inside the Mind of “Mario” Creator Shigeru Miyamoto"
[http://rickyreports.com/archives/miyamotoshigeru/](http://rickyreports.com/archives/miyamotoshigeru/)

------
Kenji
I think the key here is

 _Form follows function_

Many gamedevs don't get this. The underlying mechanics form the core gameplay.
You can always make the story, looks and characters fit, but if your game
mechanics are boring and broken, only major rework or starting over helps. In
fact, the form being restricted by function may even be beneficial for the
creative process and make the form more original.

~~~
anbotero
But if most customers buy all those games anyways, why should they change
their methods? I mean, I’m all for Nintendo, and I have their current gaming
systems, but I only have like two other friends who have Wii U, and all the
others have PS4 and mostly love shooters or FIFA. Nintendo has kept afloat
because, most of the time, they keep the same prices through the life of their
systems, so they sell enough to keep going. Anyways, I hope they never really
go bankrupt, or go the other companies’ way.

~~~
Kenji
_But if most customers buy all those games anyways, why should they change
their methods?_

If Windows sells, why should you make Linux?

If iPhones sell, why should you make Android phones?

If gasoline cars sell, why should you make electric cars?

Because we can do better. Because we should do better. And even if we do not -
we force the orignal versions to be improved or lose their market share. We
push boundaries by improving upon existing products. Frankly, I cannot enjoy
games that put form before function.

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CoolGuySteve
Here's another video that focuses on the mechanical side of a Donkey Kong
Country level:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wIIwBL784](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5wIIwBL784)

It combines well with this video because it answers the question in detail of
'What do you do' and 'How do you communicate it', once you have your
character's actions and mechanics nailed down.

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orblivion
My favorite example of this sort of game mechanic innovation outside of
Nintendo itself is Katamari Damacy. Maybe even outdoes Nintendo.

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bane
There are tons of things to learn here for application developers of all
sorts. I've found that working out the interaction model before polishing up
the visuals usually results in a much better thought out and more usable
application.

Too many designs start with how it looks and now how it works, but Nintendo's
genius is to pick one interaction model, teach the user that model, and then
just run with it.

~~~
mark_kalvelage
Yes, Nintendo games and games from a few other developers are probably the
most pleasant pieces of software that I've ever used: well-designed
interfaces, low-latency interaction, very few bugs, and tons of attention to
detail.

I wish there was more information out there about Nintendo's software
development process.

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andrewvijay
Anyone else got goose bumps? Not a fan boy but those are genius things that
only come out of love and desire.

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alekratz
If anyone is interested in the subtle background music, it's Resonance by
HOME.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GW6sLrK40k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GW6sLrK40k)

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nikofeyn
it's interesting to note how really good games take a simple concept and
explore it to its ends rather than taking a bunch of loose fitting concepts
and throwing them together. probably the best examples i can come up with,
even better than the nintendo ones in my opinion, are the team ico games
designed by fumito ueda.

ico: escape while escorting

shadow of the colossus: the boss battles are the levels

the last guardian: mix the previous two

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hacker_9
> _Nintendo is quite different_

> _Nintendo always starts with the same goal, coming up with a new way to
> play_

As a game developer this comes across as quite the Nintendo propaganda video.
Nintendo games are the least innovative things I have ever played, as they
simply recreate their popular IPs over and over again (mario, zelda, pokemon
etc) with somewhat better/different graphics. The only reason they are where
they are today is the original games were released at the right time (timing +
luck), and people continue to buy the sequels today out of nostalgia.

~~~
toast0
If they're trying to innovate on gameplay, it makes sense that they reuse
existing characters as much as possible.

Super Mario 64 was an exploration of platform games in 3d: it doesn't require
Mario, but he's a very good fit.

On the other hand, some of their games have new characters, Splatoon is pretty
much new characters (except maybe the squid guy from Mario Brothers?)

~~~
joezydeco
_Splatoon_ was briefly considered as a Mario game:

[http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-considered-
making-...](http://www.gamespot.com/articles/nintendo-considered-making-
splatoon-a-mario-game/1100-6422026/)

~~~
AdmiralAsshat
Not too surprising. I mean if you think about it, Super Mario Sunshine was
basically a single-player Splatoon prototype.

