PixelJunk Eden Designer Baiyon and Katamari Creator Takahashi Discuss Creative Videogame Design
GameSetWatch setup a discussion/interview between the creative forces behind three games known for their imaginative approach. Baiyon, who co-created PixelJunk Eden with the Q-Games team, sat down with Noby Noby Boy and Katamari maker Keita Takahashi to tackle a few set questions and discuss what drives their designs.
While their works are often thought of as examples of artsy games, both expressed very down to earth sensibilities. Inspiring the player's imagination came up right away but Takahashi was quick to add," I can totally understand when people are wary of pretentiousness. I'm always careful about it and I don't feel out of touch with what people are actually interested in playing."
When the talk turned to the growing internationalization of game design and development more pointed opinions came out. While Baiyon expressed enthusiasm for the collaborative spirit of the Game Developers Conference (GDC), Takahashi said, "GDC has grown too big to be what it once was. I honestly cannot stand those sessions that are all about the keys to sales success, the keys to not making a game that fails in the marketplace." He also called out the Experimental Games Workshop there saying, "every year the games in that booth just get worse and worse...This year it was particularly painful. I didn't think it was experimental at all."
In the rest of the article the two also discuss whether or not having their game tagged as "Western" is a compliment, if Japan has developed an inferiority complex in game design, and the value of technical effects such as HDR. It's well worth a read.
