Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary creator of blockbuster Nintendo franchises like Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda, feels that video games rely too much on uncreative shooting mechanics and other violent hooks. This should come as no surprise to anyone who's followed the man's career, as Nintendo's output has reliably been among the most creative and outside the box in the industry. While their games tend to be considered childish by some, digging a little deeper reveals a sharp focus on pleasing both young and old that's only found in a handful of signature creative voices throughout the years. For his entire career at Nintendo, Miyamoto has provided that voice.
The occasion of his statement provides another comparison point between Miyamoto and the visionaries of the past. Earlier this week, the father of Mario took fans worldwide on a video tour of Super Nintendo Land, a theme park that solidifies the Mushroom Kingdom in the real world, formed from his own envisioning of the Super Mario franchise decades ago. Like Walt Disney before him, the designer can now walk amongst his creation, inviting the public to take one step further into his mind's eye. In the same interview, Miyamoto commented that the comparisons between himself and Disney came early on in his creative endeavors, but it's only in 2020 that he sees his characters have the longevity to validate those claims.
In a New Yorker interview, the famed creator also shared his thoughts on the lack of creativity in certain parts of the gaming industry. When asked what he would change in the world if he could tackle it from the perspective of a game designer, he talked about more compassion in the general populace being essential. Calling shooting mechanics "simplistic," he gives a similar example about how sinking a boat in a war game is generally considered a victory on the player's part. To Miyamoto, he sees a boat full of people meeting their demise, and he wishes that games would try to see things from both perspectives. Expanding on his doctrine regarding shooters, he said:
"I think humans are wired to experience joy when we throw a ball and hit a target, for example. That’s human nature. But, when it comes to video games, I have some resistance to focussing on this single source of pleasure. As human beings, we have many ways to experience fun. Ideally, game designers would explore those other ways."
This transitioned into the famous story where Miyamoto asked during the testing phase of Nintendo 64 FPS Goldeneye 007 if the player could visit the hospital beds of those that James Bond shot down. From his response in the magazine, it's clear that he still feels the same way.
Even as a fan of the "simplistic" arcade action that Miyamoto seems to disregard in his comments, it's clear to see that the Nintendo legend does have a point. Games have expanded vastly beyond the glut of FPSes that dominated the industry in decades past, and the result has been a huge surge of new players picking up the hobby for the first time. Games have much untapped potential as a medium, particularly when it comes to storytelling that truly takes advantage of gaming's interactivity. When a tiny game like Undertale can still blow blockbuster productions out of the water in a handful of hours, it's clear that most companies have a lot of room to grow.
Source: The New Yorker