– Main city was designed in the motif of New York City
– Black & White director Junichi Masuda said he wanted to make another original Pokemon game for the DS because he always wanted to make a second game for the system, as it’s become very popular
– From the start, Masuda and his staff wanted to make sure the game wasn’t just like Diamond and Pearl
– Masuda explained that because it’s another DS Pokemon, there is a danger that it would be too similar to previous entries on the system
– Team had set images through the series’ development, like go to the Pokemon Center and exchange Pokemon
– They wanted to “destroy” these bits of “common knowledge” in terms of Pokemon game development
– Team would be rethinking the rules that had been formulated over the years
– Masuda regrets that people “graduate” as they go into different levels of education
– Masuda thought about “If it were me, what could be done to make me continue playing” to address this
– Thinking about that resulted in things like being able to view the text using kanji characters instead of strict kana-only policy from past games
– Masuda was thinking about these issues following Diamond/Pearl while Game Freak worked on Platinum
– Masuda didn’t have such issues with Diamond/Pearl because the game was coming to the DS, was the first Pokemon game for the system, and therefore obvious differences like Wi-Fi and touch screen support
– Masuda, Pokemon Co. CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, and Iwata agreed that Black/White has the feeling of a brand new game
– Setting as well as other areas give the feeling of newness
– Hiun City wasn’t designed themed around Japan, unlike previous games
– Masuda wanted a big chance, which is why the city is a motif of New York City
– New York idea came from a 2006 Pokemon concert
– Masuda considered what would be a good location if they could do another concert
– Manhattan came to mind due to its musicals and operas
– Weren’t able to realize this idea to logistical issues in bringing over all the instruments and musicians
– Idea of going to New York lingered in Black/White’s setting
– Masuda went to the New York Museum of Modern Art after deciding on the setting
– He sat down in a garden area and finalized his ideas, coming up with the general setting of the new Isshu region
– Isshu comes from a similar Japanese word which means “single type”
– Isshu region meant to consist of all types of Pokemon/people
– While there are a variety of types, everyone looks to be one
– Masuda gets a similar feeling from New York, which he thinks is an amazing place because of having so many types of people in one place
– First time a game has had new Pokemon since Red/Green
– Previous Pokemon titles have added new Pokemon over their predecessors
– Tricky to make all these Pokemon
– Design staff needed to keep the world balance in mind, making sure they have a proper eco system
– Team debated about Pokemon looking too similar to past titles, creatures not looking like Pokemon, etc.
– Staff went to a zoo to view actual animals, helped to bring a reality to the creatures
– 17 graphic designers involved in creating the designs for all Pokemon
– Mix of veteran and newcomer designers
– 10 designers were used to create the Pokemon in Red/Green
– Sugimori drew all the illustrations
– Sugimori does the preliminary art as well, showing all sides of a Pokemon before making the sprite version
Thanks to Thomas N for the tip!
