Read from shmuplations:
Endo: I have to say, there's no two ways about it, Super Mario Bros was the most interesting game last year. It's no contest.
Miyamoto: Well, I'm a big fan of Xevious and Tower of Druaga myself. We had them bring an arcade cabinet to our office, and I played Tower of Druaga on it. But I couldn't get past floor 60… I got sent back to floor 14 and couldn't end up finishing it. Still though, the maze programming is excellent, as I've come to expect of Namco. It's impressively well-made.
Endo: Actually, you know, we had originally planned to have 256 floors. But we thought that would be too hard for players, so we decided to make it the same height as the tallest building in Japan, sixty floors.
Miyamoto: I see. How philosophical…!
Endo: Hah, no, my generation, the "Gundam Generation", we love to make up stupid reasons for every choice we make. Even if it's a lie. (laughs) Actually, there's an employee of ours named Akira who's always breaking things, and we gave him the nickname "Bakira".
I named the "Bacula" enemies in Xevious after him! That's my style.
Miyamoto: Another recent game that left a big impression on me is Lode Runner. The first time I saw the Apple version, I thought it was just an American knock-off of Donkey Kong or something. But on closer look, my interest was piqued--it's actually an incredibly fresh, novel game.
Endo: It's kind of old now, but I love Donkey Kong JR Math. I always want to play that.
Endo: Also Wrecking Crew, that game feels great. The graphics are so pretty. And who knew Mario was so strong. I love Mario.
Miyamoto: When we made Donkey Kong, I dubbed Mario "Mister Video", and I told everyone how I want him to be used in Nintendo games for many, many years to come. You know, I struggled a bit with his design. In order to show his nose better I gave him a mustache, and to make his running animation easier to understand, I gave him those overalls…
Endo: I see, that makes sense.
Miyamoto: That's why when Super Mario Bros. came out, I felt like my original wish, that Mario would keep getting used in Nintendo games, had been granted.
Endo: By the way, when I visited America, people asked me "what do you do?", and when I described my work, they said "Oh, so you're a game designer then." It was the first time I'd heard that expression, but when I asked what the words meant, it definitely fit what I do.
Miyamoto: I went to America too, about three years ago, and I introduced myself saying "I'm a game designer." They replied to me, "That's weird, you're way too young!" But then I explained what I'm doing, and they admitted, "Yeah, you are a game designer."
Endo: To me, making video games feels exactly like making a movie.
The rest here:
shmuplations.com
Endo: I have to say, there's no two ways about it, Super Mario Bros was the most interesting game last year. It's no contest.
Miyamoto: Well, I'm a big fan of Xevious and Tower of Druaga myself. We had them bring an arcade cabinet to our office, and I played Tower of Druaga on it. But I couldn't get past floor 60… I got sent back to floor 14 and couldn't end up finishing it. Still though, the maze programming is excellent, as I've come to expect of Namco. It's impressively well-made.
Endo: Actually, you know, we had originally planned to have 256 floors. But we thought that would be too hard for players, so we decided to make it the same height as the tallest building in Japan, sixty floors.
Miyamoto: I see. How philosophical…!
Endo: Hah, no, my generation, the "Gundam Generation", we love to make up stupid reasons for every choice we make. Even if it's a lie. (laughs) Actually, there's an employee of ours named Akira who's always breaking things, and we gave him the nickname "Bakira".
I named the "Bacula" enemies in Xevious after him! That's my style.
Miyamoto: Another recent game that left a big impression on me is Lode Runner. The first time I saw the Apple version, I thought it was just an American knock-off of Donkey Kong or something. But on closer look, my interest was piqued--it's actually an incredibly fresh, novel game.
Endo: It's kind of old now, but I love Donkey Kong JR Math. I always want to play that.
Endo: Also Wrecking Crew, that game feels great. The graphics are so pretty. And who knew Mario was so strong. I love Mario.
Miyamoto: When we made Donkey Kong, I dubbed Mario "Mister Video", and I told everyone how I want him to be used in Nintendo games for many, many years to come. You know, I struggled a bit with his design. In order to show his nose better I gave him a mustache, and to make his running animation easier to understand, I gave him those overalls…
Endo: I see, that makes sense.
Miyamoto: That's why when Super Mario Bros. came out, I felt like my original wish, that Mario would keep getting used in Nintendo games, had been granted.
Endo: By the way, when I visited America, people asked me "what do you do?", and when I described my work, they said "Oh, so you're a game designer then." It was the first time I'd heard that expression, but when I asked what the words meant, it definitely fit what I do.
Miyamoto: I went to America too, about three years ago, and I introduced myself saying "I'm a game designer." They replied to me, "That's weird, you're way too young!" But then I explained what I'm doing, and they admitted, "Yeah, you are a game designer."
Endo: To me, making video games feels exactly like making a movie.
The rest here:
Masanobu Endo x Shigeru Miyamoto – 1986 Interview - shmuplations.com
This delightful interview with legends Shigeru Miyamoto and Masanobu Endo originally appeared in the 2/10/86 issue of Famimaga.
shmuplations.com
