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Super Smash Bros. director Masahiro Sakurai launches game dev YouTube series

The Kirby and Smash Bros. creator has started a YouTube series in which he will discuss game design and offer advice on making 'games around the world a little more fun.'
TJ Denzer
TJ Denzer
Image via Masahiro Sakurai
2

There was a lot of speculation on what Masahiro Sakurai might do once he was finished with directing Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. A massive undertaking, Sakurai really didn’t have to give much more of anything, but the Kirby creator and Smash director doesn’t seem content to simply rest. Sakurai is putting his extensive knowledge to use in a new YouTube series aimed at game design. Available now in English and Japanese, Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games aims to “make games around the world a little more fun.”

Sakurai launched his new YouTube channel on the evening of August 23, 2022, adding three videos to the channel immediately, including an introductory video. In said video, Sakurai explained that he wanted to make a channel on game design that was accessible to everyone. He won’t be playing games or streaming on the channel so much as discussing design concepts, analyzing what design decisions make a game “fun,” and more interesting topics that he hopes will appeal to newcomers and experts alike.

Masahiro Sakurai explaining that his channel on game design should be a useful starting point for newcomers.
Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games is meant to be a channel that should be useful to both newcomers and veteran game designers.
Source: Masahiro Sakurai

Masahiro Sakurai admits early that certain factors of game design are very nebulous. He hopes to successful help would-be designers navigate these topics on their way through their own projects.

“‘Good’ game design and ‘fun’ in games are vague concepts, I know,” Sakurai explains. “Different people perceive them in different ways.”

So why a YouTube channel instead of classes or a conference? Sakurai addresses that each of these vehicles felt limited in a way that a YouTube channel did not.

“I’m often asked to give lectures at game development schools,” Sakurai continued. “And while I think it’s a great idea, such presentations can only reach so many people. I’ve also realized that developer conferences like GDC or CEDEC, while good for technical concepts, aren’t always the best forums for discussing game design theory. Still, I feel there’s plenty of game design knowledge worth sharing… Most importantly, those with no game development experience need a good starting point.”

With that, it seems all comers can learn a thing or two from the Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games channel if all goes as planned. If you saw Evening Reading on Tuesday, you may have seen that Sakurai is shutting down his daily Smash Bros. posts to focus on this new project. Not a bad trade in the end. Stay tuned for more on Sakurai’s new YouTube channel as it continues to grow.

Senior News Editor
Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.

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