GDC 2014 – “How to Turn a New Leaf at the Animal Crossing” photos and details

Animal Crossing: New Leaf director Aya Kyogoku and producer Katsuya Eguchi just wrapped up a postmortem for the game at GDC 2014 a short while ago. You can find photos from the event above, and some information shared during the session below.

– Ms Ayogoku was the first female game designer at Nintendo EAD when she started just a few years ago
– She emphasizes that we need more female developers in the industry
– Nearly 50% of the Animal Crossing: New Leaf team was female – co-director Aya Kyogoku
– Big success on New Leaf – it saw shortages in Japan
– Suggests development was “smooth sailing” but it wasn’t without challenges
– After the Wii version, New Leaf had to address series fatigue
– Therefore the team remembered its core: “Animal Crossing is a communication tool”
– Like the Zelda team, Animal Crossing: New Leaf rethought the series’ conventions
– Communication was the common thread. It’s its core
– New Leaf didn’t have 11th hour stress at the end of development due to subdued pace
– In-game events helped team mood
– Aya Kyogoku recommends New Leaf to other developers if working on their games becomes too stressful
– The team communicated and celebrated with each other during development using themes from the game
– No matter your role, #ACNL team members were free to contribute new ideas for characters, furniture, etc
– 7.38 million units sold worldwide to date

Source 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4