I read this interview recently from “Tetsuya Mizuguchi” on eurogamer site and I find really interesting and inspiring as he has an out of the box view on video games. Give it a read: http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=149982If you haven’t heard of him, he’s guy that had made titles like “Rez” “Lummies” “Space channel 5” and owns “Q entertainment”. He is a real innovator when it comes to music themed games or as he calls them “"music interactives" giving himself such an unique identify within the games industry. Here I’ve taken a quote from my favorite part of this interview:
“Eurogamer: So you feel like technology is keeping pace with what people actually want from media? Some people certainly seem to feel like technology is ahead of our desires.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi: I'd like to think that human desire is always walking ahead of technology. I hope so, anyway. I think that every product - including games, entertainment, every piece of content or media - is always designed by human desire. Whether it's invisible or visible, with shape or with no shape... Artificial products, created by human beings, are always designed by our desire and our basic instincts. If we don't feel like, "I want to do this" or "I need this" - if there's no trigger like that, then people won't bother. They'll pass it by and say, I don't care about that - this isn't what I'm interested in. It's a really simple point, but all things, all products, are like that.”
He has a really interesting perspective on gaming with how technology and interactivity through technology is developed and created via our own human desire which is something I’ve never thought of this in this way before. I’ve always thought that the latest current technology inspires new ideals for gaming like “Half life 2” for an example using Havoc physics or “Quake” using internet making it one of the first FPS online multiplayer experiences. Modern technology reflects what can be created within computer games medium, but it is of course its human desire/determination for discovery that creates technology and uses this technology in different ways catering for different needs.
My previous mentality regarding games technology was brought across from game developer’s attitudes to their game development process and the type of games they produce, for example say “Epic games” are known for their hard focus towards producing advanced technology/engines such as “Unreal 3 engine” for their games whereas if you look at company like “Square Enix” they focused towards making more artistically creativity titles with the art and story being their main focus. Both of these companies produce high level of visual quality to their games via though different approaches; they are two opposite ends of the same Spectrum, art on one end and tech on the other end. I always used to dislike PC gaming for their heavy use of technology and lacking methods of creativity like Japanese console developers who seem more advanced in their art skills
(Now I think I was quite naïve to think that).
This has got me thinking about how it's all just a balancing act between the art and technology for the creation of a game but what really makes a game beautiful is fulfillment of your desire as gamer, remember the first time you got the sword in “Zelda: Ocarina of Time” or your first online deathmatch on “Quake 3” or when you figured out how to kill Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid, these are moments of fulfillment, joy and pure escapism that I will treasure in my heart. This is what I call good game designer thinking of the next thing we desire as gamers and people as it doesn’t matter what approach is used for creation of the game but belong the designer allows his/her creative ideals push through into the product fulfilling people’s desires. Like he says “It's a really simple point, but all things, all products, are like that”.
The key to design is thinking out of the box, out of your field of expertise I believe and seems like he knows what he’s talking about. Thinking about this topic has changed my thinking process towards games design as you have to think what people want next through the evolution of technology and surrounding pop culture but also have an understanding why they desire that, then you can truly capture people’s hearts.
My previous mentality regarding games technology was brought across from game developer’s attitudes to their game development process and the type of games they produce, for example say “Epic games” are known for their hard focus towards producing advanced technology/engines such as “Unreal 3 engine” for their games whereas if you look at company like “Square Enix” they focused towards making more artistically creativity titles with the art and story being their main focus. Both of these companies produce high level of visual quality to their games via though different approaches; they are two opposite ends of the same Spectrum, art on one end and tech on the other end. I always used to dislike PC gaming for their heavy use of technology and lacking methods of creativity like Japanese console developers who seem more advanced in their art skills
(Now I think I was quite naïve to think that).
This has got me thinking about how it's all just a balancing act between the art and technology for the creation of a game but what really makes a game beautiful is fulfillment of your desire as gamer, remember the first time you got the sword in “Zelda: Ocarina of Time” or your first online deathmatch on “Quake 3” or when you figured out how to kill Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid, these are moments of fulfillment, joy and pure escapism that I will treasure in my heart. This is what I call good game designer thinking of the next thing we desire as gamers and people as it doesn’t matter what approach is used for creation of the game but belong the designer allows his/her creative ideals push through into the product fulfilling people’s desires. Like he says “It's a really simple point, but all things, all products, are like that”.
The key to design is thinking out of the box, out of your field of expertise I believe and seems like he knows what he’s talking about. Thinking about this topic has changed my thinking process towards games design as you have to think what people want next through the evolution of technology and surrounding pop culture but also have an understanding why they desire that, then you can truly capture people’s hearts.
Written by: Jonesy
2 comments:
i have to say, i actually agree on some of things, you said, but again, how do you really defined a good game and bad game!? the reason i said that is cuz, people like us, who are hardcore gamers, and obviously, we are going to have a lot of opinions on the games, and then say "oh...that is a good game" or "oh...that is a bad game" just like you said, "what really makes a game beautiful is fulfillment of your desire as gamer", but again, what will happen the same games, but this time, it's a none gamer play the same game, and then they are going to have a huge different opinion from what we said. For example, my sister, she thinks MGS4 is a load of crap game, but she think Soul calibur on Wii is far more better then the MGS4. like i said what the hell.....
again, i have to say that, i still believe that the technology is still far ahead of us, (i think, it should said possibility technology, will be better, cuz i guess, it closes to the truth and i think it just an idea of saying technology is there, but we just have get our head around it.) even we made the technology. onece we made the technology, i guess that, there will be more possibility for us to create something even better or something we haven't done it before. anyway that is my opinions
I agree with the quote you have used from Tetsuya Mizuguchi , if you look at all the creative industries, the people who are pushing the industry forward are the ones who look to external influences, both consciously and unconsciously, for their ideas. This allows them to ‘think outside the box’ and create truly original concepts.
It’s so easy to borrow from other games, 99% of them do that. But thankful we will always have people with a desire to do things differently. If it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be playing games anymore.
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