Yudo's Yonaga: Game Creators Can Learn From Nintendo's Focus

Author: by Staff, Brandon Sheffield

Yudo (Aero Guitar) iPhone game exec Reo Yonaga has told Gamasutra that Nintendo games and titles like Demon's Souls have pinpointed the key to game design success in "a sound, valid sense of direction". Talking as part of a larger Gamasutra feature interview posted today, Yonaga commented on what he believed was key to making successful games in today's competitive, increasingly crowded market: "I think Nintendo's titles are really thought out well from the ground up; they're all really wonderful games. If everything was totally realistic, it'd be no fun at all. I think Nintendo's creators understand that; they pinpoint what makes a game fun from the beginning, or else they abandon the project. I'm not saying that all companies should be like Nintendo. Instead, they need more of a sense of direction. For example, if we made a game that did nothing but perfectly simulate this room we're in, it'd be pretty boring, right? But if we took out this glass table and used the space for some kind of game, that'd be more fun." Yonaga, who was a key personnel member at Lumines creator Q Entertainment before going to iPhone game and app developer Yudo alongside Beatmania co-creator Reo Naguro, went on to comment: "You know Demon's Souls? I love that game, and I really think it was made well. And if you look into the process behind it, the producer of it is a really big fan of King's Field and the original idea was to create a modern edition of King's Field. That pretty strictly defines the game right there, and I think that's just what the game needed -- a sound, valid sense of direction. If a less talented director was on that job, he'd take that idea and be like "Well, I don't really get this, but I guess we'll make a really hard game where you die a lot, and it'll be sort of fantasy or sci-fi or something; I'll have the designer come up with a document and take what I like from that." And it would just be a waste of time." Yonaga's comments came as part of an extensive Gamasutra interview with the two senior Yudo staffers, including lots more specifics on the company's iPhone games and hopes for console and Natal development.