a.Context
In 2023, Nintendo released had sold 100 million switches around the globe. Holding one of the biggest IP-Pokemon, Nintendo had became one of the most successful gaming company in the world(McDonald, 2023). This Japanese technological giant created another miracle in gaming field. While, it is interesting to find that Nintendo designed made a difference even among thousands of released video games in present. Factors which make Nintendo’s games such successful are creating a collective memory through series, having innovative game mechanics, and having the core design theme of bringing fun.
b.Main Research Question(s):
A)Nintendo’s games evolve in series. How do Nintendo’s games evolve in series and creating a collective central theme at the same time?
B)Nintendo’s games created unique gameplays. Where do these game’s mechanics inspired from?
C)Nintendo has its own philosophy in designing video games. How does the elements of its game serve for the central theme of ‘fun’ and ‘evoking happiness’?
C.Tentative Answer:
A) Nintendo will establish a core theme while creating its first game in one series, then establish gameplay and several stories according to the central theme. Its game mechanics will evolve through generations of play, keeping its original core of gameplay found in the first generation. This created a collective memory for the players, especially for those fans of one specific series of games. For example, Nintendo’s most famous game, Pokemon, has nine generations: Red&Green, Gold&Silver, Emerald&Ruby, Black&White, Pearl&Diamond, X&Y, Sun&Moon, Shield&Sword, and Red& purple. From the very beginning of the series, it had already formed a core theme of human interaction with nature, and when it came to the gameplay, it became the training system of Pokemon, which illustrated the relationship between these fantastic creatures and the avatar players controlled-the trainer(Laato, 2021). The game itself did refine and expand the mechanics through twenty-eight years since it added a new battle system like Mega Evolution in its X&Y series, allowing specific Pokemon to evolve into a more potent form, and the Z-Moves, which created stronger attacks(IGN.com). However, the core gameplay of training Pokemon and making these pals stronger remains the same, and the players can still see familiar Pokemon like Pikachu or Charmander even in the new series. This will let their fans remember their past of battling with more robust trainers and leveling up their virtual partners, thus forming a collective memory between players and the game.
B) Nintendo's games often evoke a sense of nostalgia in players' minds, which establishes links to the players' life experiences in their early ages(MacDonald, 2023). The childhood experiences of the game designers inspire the game's mechanics. Legend of Zelda was one of the most famous and most significant series in gaming history, having one game, Breath of the Wild, as the Annual Game in the 2017 TGA award and another game, Tears of the Kingdom as the 2023 Annual Game in IGN(world's most prominent media for reviewing video games), while its creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, created these masterpieces from his memories in childhood times(www.NPR.org). 'I grew up in the countryside of Japan. And that meant I spent much of my time playing in the rice paddies, exploring the hillsides, and having fun outdoors. When I got into the upper elementary school ages, I got into hiking and mountain climbing. I drew on that inspiration when we were working on the Legend of Zelda game, and we were creating this grand outdoor adventure where you go through these narrowed confined spaces and come upon this great lake.' said Miyamoto in his interview with NPR(www.NPR.org). Zooming into the specific game mechanics of the Zelda series, it could be seen that the Ultrahand is when players fuse a branch and a stone like they had played with Lego bricks; the exploration in the vast open world of Hyrule was like exploring the natural world since youthful times, and the whole storytelling of Hero-saving-Princess was one of the most familiar fairy tales in the world(zelda.nintendo.org). Childhood created sparks in the game designers' hearts, triggering them to finish these excellent mechanics; then, through these impressive gameplays, Nintendo seemed to reverse time and transport players back into their childhood's carefree and joyous days.
C)Nintendo’s game design philosophy is to evoke happiness and create joy for players. To achieve this, Nintendo first created colorful, adorable characters in terms of game aesthetics. The image on the left was a character called Bulbasaur(pokemon.com). The animal frog inspired this Pokemon. However, the pale green color, the big eyes, and the smiling expression made it much cuter than its original form. As the player captures Bulbasaur as their Pokemon, a sense of happiness might be evoked as they watch these lovely creatures enter a battle or level up successfully. Mario from Super Mario is another example(mario.nintendo.com); its exaggerated huge nose, beards, and the combination of red, white, and blue expressed a comical image that was funny, ridiculous, and clownish, which was another way to evoke the player’s laughter. These colorful characters spark playfulness and imagination, no matter how old the players are(Macdonald,2023).
Its surprises in the gameplay are another key to evoking joy. Besides the traditional jumping mechanics, Super Mario added props like mushrooms to enhance the character’s skills or Tanooki suits, which could make the avatar, Mario, disguise itself as a statue for five seconds. In the Pokemon series, there were ‘Shiny Pokemon’ and “Mythical Pokemon” hidden inside the game, awaiting the players to find them surprisingly in a cave; in Zelda, the exploration of the open world itself is already a process of finding countless surprises in every corner of the world. Players could gain universal joy from these little surprises, which fit Nintendo’s design philosophy.
D)Connected Research Question(s):
A)How does Nintendo create its universe through comics, games and movies, which lead to the popularity of its IPs?
B)Why does most games in the present apply the key position settings that was originally established on Nintendo Switches and Gameboys in the past ?
C) Nintendo has a strong sense of copyrights, and its ministry of law has an interesting nickname called ‘the strongest ministry of law in Eastern Hemisphere”, how does this help Nintendo on its path of ‘ruling the world’?
E.Value of Research:
This research aimed to analyze why Nintendo became successful in the gaming field from the aspect of game design, aesthetics, and theme-establishing. The author who conducted the research is an ardent gamer and a student who would major in game design and wanted to discover the core of game design-evoking joy. Thus, this research also provides a broader perspective from a gamer to find the critical secret of being successful in creating video games. It will represent the view of Nintendo’s fans and introduce the game mechanics to other players who read this research, recommending the advantages of Nintendo’s games and unique design philosophy. This research not only benefits readers of this article, allowing them to download the games of Nintendo and find the happiness of gaming, but also offers Nintendo potential consumers who would like to play Pokemon, Zelda, and Mario series and buy a switch, creating possible profits for this corporation, according to the YouTuber AVGN, to make a closer step of ‘ruling the world.’ Overall, this research had commercial value for the company itself and was also beneficial for players, creating emotional value for the fans of Nintendos and academic value for other game designers. Therefore, it is a research that is mutually beneficial for everyone.
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