Miyamoto interview by NOE
- Thread starter wazoo
- Start date
Panajev2001a
GAF's Pleasant Genius
wazoo said:
Well, where was Mario at the GCN launch
?
"Jetzt ist Super Mario 64 DS fertig und wir experimentieren mit verschiedenen Ideen für zukünftige Mario-Spiele, zu denen auch Mario 128 gehört. Ich nehme an, ihr werdet das Spiel in Zukunft zu Gesicht bekommen. "
In German. "Blablabla we're experimenting with several ideas for several new mario games to which mario 128 belongs. I suppose, you'll get to see this game in the future."
In German. "Blablabla we're experimenting with several ideas for several new mario games to which mario 128 belongs. I suppose, you'll get to see this game in the future."
Cold Shadow
Member
The interview is multi-langual. Someone from NintendoVIP UK post the english version, I only have acces to the dutch version.
Nintendo of Europe: How do you think Mario has influenced the games industry, both in terms of game design and also as an iconic figure?
Shigeru Miyamoto: At the risk of sounding presumptuous as the man who created him, Mario has established both 2D and 3D platform games and set the guideline for what the future direction of these games should be. Also, the fact that a character called Mario has become so well known by so many people around the world, whether they play videogames or not, has contributed to the increased recognition of the video game industry, I suspect.
NoE: Can you tell us about the inspiration for Mario, and what he means to you?
Miyamoto: I would say that Mario was a character which was born purely from rational reasoning. He debuted on the arcade game Donkey Kong in 1980, when even the most expensive arcade machine had limited graphical capabilities, and it was extremely difficult to describe personalities of game characters. Yet, I really wanted to design a noticeable character so much that I made his nose big, gave him a moustache so players would understand he had a mouth, gave him a jumpsuit so the movements of his arms would be more visible in contrast with the colour of his clothes, and gave him a cap so that players would not feel strange that his hairs were not moving when he was jumping up and down, etc., etc.
Mario was born as the result of my trials to do whatever I could in order to give him a unique personality under the heavy graphical restrictions. He did not even have the name Mario when he was born, but as soon as I designed him, I thought that I should use him either as a main or sub character for many of my future games. Some cartoon characters in Japanese comics were used that way. But I had not thought that he would become such a popular character, loved by so many people around the world. He is a very important being who has decided an important part of my career, whether I really like it or not, and I love this middle-aged guy!
NoE: Mario is quite an unlikely looking hero. Do you think its that ordinariness that has struck a chord with gamers and played a part in his success? How would you describe his appeal?
Miyamoto: He IS the unlikely looking hero, and that was exactly what I intended him to be when I first designed him. Since I was intending to use him for a number of different games after Donkey Kong, I just gave him the minimum set of characteristics, and that was the clown-like middle-aged man who has a strong sense of justice but kind of lacks smartness so that he could be fit into many different settings. The reason why he has become so popular, I believe, was because the games he appeared in were capturing peoples hearts. Even though Mario appeared in so-called sequels of the Super Mario series, I was trying to make each one of them a very different new game, each of which could let players have completely different experiences from the preceding games.
NoE: Weve already seen Mario in so many different types of games: Tennis, Golf, Pinball, Kart Racing, etc.*What kind of escapades are you considering*for him in the future?
Miyamoto: I am assigning Mario the duty of becoming the technology showcase whenever we introduce new hardware. As it is his mission as an actor to dare to challenge the tasks which were technically impossible before, I know Mario is determined to say OK to whatever offer we will make.
NoE: Mario is sometimes described as a character who appeals to a younger age group. As far as youre concerned, who is the target audience for Mario games?
Miyamoto: When Mario debuted in Donkey Kong in 1980, the main game players were 15 years old or older, and I have never intended to make Mario games which were dedicated to children. I am always hoping that Mario games would be played by a wide range of age groups, from very small children to elderly people. I want Mario to be always the character which can appeal to the widest possible demographic among the infinite number of game characters.
NoE: How does real life influence your approach to game design? What past experiences have you drawn upon in Mario games, and would you say that past experiences are as important to you as your own imagination when coming up with ideas?
Miyamoto: One of the reasons why Mario is appealing to many people, regardless of their race, culture or language, appears to be the fact that it is directly appealing to the emotions and feelings that all human beings have in common. The facts that I myself like sports and that I was raised surrounded by nature, and that I am a sort of timid and rather cautious person, appear to be influencing what I make.
I do not say that I created Pikmin because I like gardening, but when I was making Pikmin, my gardening experiences were influential.
You cannot make an interesting game if you just make a photo-realistic version of our daily lives. But if we make a point of seeing our everyday lives from a bit of a different perspective, I believe the ideas to make games are hidden in many places.
Now, I am making a Nintendo DS game in which you play with dogs. Come to think about it, I have had a dog at our house for about 3 years...
NoE: Super Mario 64 marked the biggest jump in the Mario series, since the user enjoyed for the first time a real 3D Mario world. Without any other dimensions to add to games today, what new elements can be implemented to keep gamers surprised?
Miyamoto: Actually, the dimensional shift from 2D to 3D was the noticeable change for anyone. Pursuing how much of a photo-realistic world you may be able to create in 3D or 2D may be one of the paths the game creators head along, but what we are required to do is to endeavour every day to create brand new ideas that no one else can think of, not adhering to the same direction that anyone can imagine.
The challenge I am tackling most recently is to create gameplay which can be played by anyone easily and which makes players happy instantaneously. For example on Nintendo DS, I am creating unprecedented play by making use of the touch screen. I believe Nintendo DS has showcased a different type of evolution from the ones dependent upon technological advancements or increasing power.
NoE: Can you tell us anything new about the forthcoming Mario 128, give us an idea of when we can hope to play it, or even hint at some of the innovations we can expect from this title? Basically, ANYTHING you can tell us
Miyamoto: I am sorry but I had to devote myself to the making of DS games so I could not take care of Mario 128 for a while. Now that Super Mario 64 DS is completed, we are experimenting with a number of different ideas for future Mario games, which include Mario 128. Someday, the game will be introduced to you, I believe.
NoE: Mr Miyamoto, thank you for your time.
-SB
Shigeru Miyamoto: At the risk of sounding presumptuous as the man who created him, Mario has established both 2D and 3D platform games and set the guideline for what the future direction of these games should be. Also, the fact that a character called Mario has become so well known by so many people around the world, whether they play videogames or not, has contributed to the increased recognition of the video game industry, I suspect.
NoE: Can you tell us about the inspiration for Mario, and what he means to you?
Miyamoto: I would say that Mario was a character which was born purely from rational reasoning. He debuted on the arcade game Donkey Kong in 1980, when even the most expensive arcade machine had limited graphical capabilities, and it was extremely difficult to describe personalities of game characters. Yet, I really wanted to design a noticeable character so much that I made his nose big, gave him a moustache so players would understand he had a mouth, gave him a jumpsuit so the movements of his arms would be more visible in contrast with the colour of his clothes, and gave him a cap so that players would not feel strange that his hairs were not moving when he was jumping up and down, etc., etc.
Mario was born as the result of my trials to do whatever I could in order to give him a unique personality under the heavy graphical restrictions. He did not even have the name Mario when he was born, but as soon as I designed him, I thought that I should use him either as a main or sub character for many of my future games. Some cartoon characters in Japanese comics were used that way. But I had not thought that he would become such a popular character, loved by so many people around the world. He is a very important being who has decided an important part of my career, whether I really like it or not, and I love this middle-aged guy!
NoE: Mario is quite an unlikely looking hero. Do you think its that ordinariness that has struck a chord with gamers and played a part in his success? How would you describe his appeal?
Miyamoto: He IS the unlikely looking hero, and that was exactly what I intended him to be when I first designed him. Since I was intending to use him for a number of different games after Donkey Kong, I just gave him the minimum set of characteristics, and that was the clown-like middle-aged man who has a strong sense of justice but kind of lacks smartness so that he could be fit into many different settings. The reason why he has become so popular, I believe, was because the games he appeared in were capturing peoples hearts. Even though Mario appeared in so-called sequels of the Super Mario series, I was trying to make each one of them a very different new game, each of which could let players have completely different experiences from the preceding games.
NoE: Weve already seen Mario in so many different types of games: Tennis, Golf, Pinball, Kart Racing, etc.*What kind of escapades are you considering*for him in the future?
Miyamoto: I am assigning Mario the duty of becoming the technology showcase whenever we introduce new hardware. As it is his mission as an actor to dare to challenge the tasks which were technically impossible before, I know Mario is determined to say OK to whatever offer we will make.
NoE: Mario is sometimes described as a character who appeals to a younger age group. As far as youre concerned, who is the target audience for Mario games?
Miyamoto: When Mario debuted in Donkey Kong in 1980, the main game players were 15 years old or older, and I have never intended to make Mario games which were dedicated to children. I am always hoping that Mario games would be played by a wide range of age groups, from very small children to elderly people. I want Mario to be always the character which can appeal to the widest possible demographic among the infinite number of game characters.
NoE: How does real life influence your approach to game design? What past experiences have you drawn upon in Mario games, and would you say that past experiences are as important to you as your own imagination when coming up with ideas?
Miyamoto: One of the reasons why Mario is appealing to many people, regardless of their race, culture or language, appears to be the fact that it is directly appealing to the emotions and feelings that all human beings have in common. The facts that I myself like sports and that I was raised surrounded by nature, and that I am a sort of timid and rather cautious person, appear to be influencing what I make.
I do not say that I created Pikmin because I like gardening, but when I was making Pikmin, my gardening experiences were influential.
You cannot make an interesting game if you just make a photo-realistic version of our daily lives. But if we make a point of seeing our everyday lives from a bit of a different perspective, I believe the ideas to make games are hidden in many places.
Now, I am making a Nintendo DS game in which you play with dogs. Come to think about it, I have had a dog at our house for about 3 years...
NoE: Super Mario 64 marked the biggest jump in the Mario series, since the user enjoyed for the first time a real 3D Mario world. Without any other dimensions to add to games today, what new elements can be implemented to keep gamers surprised?
Miyamoto: Actually, the dimensional shift from 2D to 3D was the noticeable change for anyone. Pursuing how much of a photo-realistic world you may be able to create in 3D or 2D may be one of the paths the game creators head along, but what we are required to do is to endeavour every day to create brand new ideas that no one else can think of, not adhering to the same direction that anyone can imagine.
The challenge I am tackling most recently is to create gameplay which can be played by anyone easily and which makes players happy instantaneously. For example on Nintendo DS, I am creating unprecedented play by making use of the touch screen. I believe Nintendo DS has showcased a different type of evolution from the ones dependent upon technological advancements or increasing power.
NoE: Can you tell us anything new about the forthcoming Mario 128, give us an idea of when we can hope to play it, or even hint at some of the innovations we can expect from this title? Basically, ANYTHING you can tell us
Miyamoto: I am sorry but I had to devote myself to the making of DS games so I could not take care of Mario 128 for a while. Now that Super Mario 64 DS is completed, we are experimenting with a number of different ideas for future Mario games, which include Mario 128. Someday, the game will be introduced to you, I believe.
NoE: Mr Miyamoto, thank you for your time.
-SB
Zerodoppler
Member
Now, can we FINALLY put speculation about this game to rest for a couple of years? I bet he regrets ever talking about it now that people are bugging him about it in every interview.
KyotoMecca
Member
What is the link for this piece? Anyone?
And why on earth is NOE "interviewing" Miyamoto in such a grilling fashion... or at all for that matter?
And why on earth is NOE "interviewing" Miyamoto in such a grilling fashion... or at all for that matter?
Cold Shadow
Member
www.nintendo-europe.com But it isn't accesible unless you live in the NintendoVIP Countries and have a VIP membership
mumu said:
Mr. Miyamoto was also in an over-seeing producer capacity back when GAMECUBE launched...now I think he's back where he belongs and actually making the game.
What I would like is a combination of 2D & 3D. Have a huge 3D overworld containing pipes to like 100+ classic 2D levels. This would bring old players and new players together...as I think alot of older gamers are sorta confussed by the complexity of 3D control while younger players find 2D games too challenging. Imagine a game where a father who played the classic 2D SMBros sits to play the new game with his 3D weened son.
Musashi Wins!
FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
That was a good interview.
What is his family life like? Is he married with kids, etc.?
What is his family life like? Is he married with kids, etc.?
KyotoMecca
Member
You know, I have heard stranger things than entire interviews being made up by a PR person. Sometimes people who work for official sites do it as well for example.
Miyamoto is going senile; he says conflicting things literally every week these days. I for one am rapidly losing interest. What is the point in reporting or reading anything he says any more if he just says something different the next week?
I reckon Mario 128 is Revolution, always have thought this, and it's pretty obvious he was lying about it still being GameCube. Remember how Wind Waker 2 was being unveiled at E3 this year. Lies work sometimes. It's the constant bullshit that doesn't help any part of the industry or the fans, surely! ;-)
Miyamoto is going senile; he says conflicting things literally every week these days. I for one am rapidly losing interest. What is the point in reporting or reading anything he says any more if he just says something different the next week?
I reckon Mario 128 is Revolution, always have thought this, and it's pretty obvious he was lying about it still being GameCube. Remember how Wind Waker 2 was being unveiled at E3 this year. Lies work sometimes. It's the constant bullshit that doesn't help any part of the industry or the fans, surely! ;-)
KyotoMecca said:
He never officially stated it would be for Gamecube. And Wind Waker 2 was unveiled at E3, what do you think the new zelda was(well, not necessarily in succession for the story, but it is Wind Waker 2 as you call it).
As for him mentioning Mario 128, its quite ingenious really. Most people(myself included) are getting hyped over news like "I'm still experimenting, I'm sorry I cant show you anything". I just hope it doesnt turn into another Dolphin where right after it's unveiled people dont care anymore.
KyotoMecca
Member
mCACGj said:
It is not Wind Waker 2 though. In several ways it is nothing close. So Aonuma-san created a phenomenal unveiling by intentionally misleading fans and it worked.
mCACGj said:
Well that is not really ingenious. It is fairly obvious in terms of PR technique. Playing cards close like this is fine, in fact it is probably what his camp does best, but it is not playing cards close that's the problem... it's the bullshit, something which which some Nintendo execs are (sometimes) becoming more and more synonymous.
Of course, they may prove us all wrong.
soundwave05
Member
I'd love to see the DS be a really wacky/crazy kind of console with a regular controller but a whole bunch of other inputs and maybe even a non-traditional console design (ie: no wires).
I think Nintendo should greenlight three projects to launch with the Revolution though ...
1.) Mario 128
2.) Nintendo-Square-Enix joint RPG ala Kingdom Hearts, only with Nintendo/Square-Enix characters. Maybe Square GDS could develop this.
3.) Retro FPS (original) that makes use of whatever new functionality the Revolution brings to the table.
I think Nintendo should greenlight three projects to launch with the Revolution though ...
1.) Mario 128
2.) Nintendo-Square-Enix joint RPG ala Kingdom Hearts, only with Nintendo/Square-Enix characters. Maybe Square GDS could develop this.
3.) Retro FPS (original) that makes use of whatever new functionality the Revolution brings to the table.
I know about this, but the thing is, that in every single word coming from a japanese mouth, and with a bad translator it could end up kinda misleading. First of all it was translated "Graphic Engine", and now there´s "Game Engine".SantaCruZer said:
If you´re realistic to this I would cast my wote on "Game Engine", but you can never tell really. They can use the same "Graphic Engine" due to some major modifications and skip the cel-shading, and end up with the new Zelda game! Sounds weird but...well...