Splatoon – devs wanted to make something new and fun, amiibo, appealing to everyone, more
Nintendo Life has an extensive interview up with Hisashi Nogami, the producer of Splatoon. Nogami commented on a variety of topics, including the single-player campaign, amiibo, the game’s ability to appeal to different age groups, and more.
Excerpts from the interview are posted after the break. The full discussion can be read here.
On what makes Splatoon stand out from other shooters…
We didn’t set out to create a game that simply improved on something already out there. We wanted to create something from scratch with an entirely new form of gameplay; something that we felt was truly fun.
The prototype for Splatoon was a demo made by our Program Director Shintaro Sato. Two teams of four players would shoot ink at each other to paint the ground and compete over turf. The game really works because of the following elements included in this demo: a third person view and overview map shown on the TV and Wii U GamePad; having your progress instantly reflected on the map as you spray ink around to edge yourself closer to victory, allowing other players to know what you were doing; not having your position revealed to the enemy team so long as you remain in your team’s coloured areas.
While there were also shooter elements already there from the start, it was by adding in the kind of playability you find in Nintendo action games that turned the game into what it is now.
If Splatoon looks unique as a shooter, I’d say it’s because we didn’t set out to make a unique shooter in the first place.
On making a new IP rather than integrating an old Nintendo franchise…
One option we had was to use an existing IP, but our biggest focus was on a character design that best communicated the gameplay. As our objective here was to create something with gameplay the likes of which hadn’t been seen before, we felt new characters would be best to represent this as opposed to an existing IP, hence why we went in that direction.
In finding the right balance with weapons and abilities…
Providing a rapid, three-dimensional moveset for the squid, while also enabling players to accurately aim at opponents was something we were only able to achieve thanks to the Motion Controls.
This control style is often mistaken as being similar to that used in Wii U Panorama View, but it’s actually very different. Tilting the Wii U GamePad just a little moves the camera (field of view) a lot. If I were to make an analogy, it’s like your wrists become a third analogue stick; they’re perfectly suited for smoothly and fluidly changing the direction you are facing.
This control scheme allows for rapid and intuitive execution of complex moves; it’s a cinch to make a lane by painting a wall in ink, swim up it as a squid, and aim at an opponent from high up before splatting them.
Players already familiar with controlling cameras using sticks can also use this style instead.
On the single-player campaign…
Completing the single-player campaign isn’t a must, and users can just play however they want, even if it’s just the online multiplayer and Battle Dojo sections.
However, we’re confident that the single-player mode has something to offer too. Players not confident with the controls for the squid can hone their skills here, while users who are already familiar with them from online multiplayer will find this mode still has a lot to offer them too. We hope you don’t skip it! There’s also a small reward waiting for you once you complete it!
On the Splatoon amiibo…
The Splatoon characters – the Inklings – were designed based on their abilities, but we’re also fairly confident that we managed to make them visually appealing too. When we learned they would be made into amiibo, our first thought was that it would give users already interested in the game one more reason to like it.
We also wanted to get our hands on them before anyone else too!
We prioritized having the characters appear in game exactly as they do on the figurine. After that, we decided on what they should do for the player by looking at the other elements that already make up the structure of the game.
On appealing to all ages of gamers…
As children, we all dreamed of being able to coat a town in ink (although of course we were never allowed), so being able to do this in a game is something we feel a lot of people are going to be interested in, regardless of age or gender.
We’ve also filled the game with things we loved when we were teenagers, including fashion and music and hope that users who can relate to this will find the graphics and audio of the game appealing too.
Having said that though, to really 100% understand what we’re talking about you need to see and experience it for yourself as opposed to just imagining it in your head.
We hope that the parents of younger gamers, watching the screen from behind will feel compelled to jump in and play Splatoon too.
