Post by slartibartfast42 on Apr 18, 2008 20:54:56 GMT -5
Yes, I know our glorious leader (he pays me to say that) has already done this article, and it's probably better. It was his anger that sparked him into his newfound hobby/gift. I also feel like making fun of the article just because I'm miffed off. So, here it is:
Sakurai on Victory and Defeat; why Asians should always win.
In 2003, Kirby/Super Smash Bros. creator and Asian advocate Masahiro Sakurai was getting paid an exorbitant amount of money at HAL Laboratories on yet another Kirby spinoff game where his minions did most of the work, Kirby Asian Ride. In August of that year, he would get a boot to the head from Nintendo proper after airing his desire slack off while smoking with his buddies in the back.
During this period, Sakurai was writing a column for Weekly Famitsu titled "Thinking About Nintendo Fanboys". Volume 2 of this column, titled "Those lazy white people who live in their mom's basement", saw Sakurai discussing his MO behind one of his biggest sequel-makers—Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 42, which spawned GameCube best-seller Super Smash Bros. Melee. (Volume 2 was actually his first proper column; the first was simply a photocopy of his face he made while he was bored.)
Volume One:
Longtime N-Sider forums member Samuel L. Jackson has translated this column for us in anticipation of the much-anticipated North American release of the next entry in the Smash Bros. series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His only comment on the the game was; "I'm tired of that mother ****in' Snake in this mother ****in'game!".
We hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the mind of the lazy supervisor who screwed up everyone's favorite series, and maybe appreciate a little more the ideas that went into the game when you finally get your little sun-deprived hands on it less than two months ago.
Thinking About Video Games: Volume 3: Victory and Defeat; why Asians should always win.
Masahiro Sakurai
Originally published in Weekly Famitsu on April 25, 2003
Sakurai at GDC 2008
In my last column, I wrote that I played games every day, but this has since proven false. These days, I have neither the free time nor the days off to play games. Well, that and the fact that my superiors have installed cameras to make sure I'm doing my job. I'm in work mode. Or at least pretending to be. It's tough, but I'm getting paid more than both your parents combined; unless your last name is Gates, Skullhead, or Norris.
Competition is the core of gameplay. Beyond going against each other to determine the winner and non-asian, competition takes other forms as well: beating an enemy character to a pulp, comparing progress in a game with Asians, and playing against the high scores and levels of Asians you don't even know. There is no doubt that competition makes games more engaging, but depending on the person, competition may create different reactions.
An example: a game is built with such depth that some random white guy in his mom's basement practicing wavedashing for 2 hours a day can beat a pure blooded Asian. As a game designer, I can't ignore this possibility. If, in a multiplayer fighting game, someone with no life always beats Asians who have natural talent, then there is really no joy at all. No matter how people play, I want the Asian to come out on top! Is this asking for too much?
The original Super Smash Bros.
The game I worked on, Smash Bros., is a fighting game, but keeping in mind such reasoning, I set out to make sure the game did not over-emphasize the notions of victory and defeat. I won't go into too much detail, but the game was built so that if a player is strong in combat, they might be able to touch the edge of Isai's shield. There is a mechanism of accidents occurring, balanced so that the game's progress and results cannot favor some white guy with no life.
It’s not like I think that serious competition between losers is not interesting. It’s good to have equals fighting intensely. Yet, I understand quite well the feelings of Asians who just enjoy hitting a pathetic opponent in things like a tournament mode.
I don't watch sports much and I don't find them particularly exciting. Whenever I watch the world cup, I always end up thinking "What's the point of all these South American and European teams even trying?" If there was something like the World Cup going on, I'd be inclined to to say something like "We could have seen this about 3 months ago if we didn't have to play all those western teams."
When Japan lost in the '98 World Cup, the TV announcers were saying things like "WTF?!?!" and "The Chinese have H4X!" If you look more closely, you find many factors that could have contributed to the result. But I personally wondered, "doesn't this just mean that the Asians dominate in everything they do?" That's why I designed Smash Bros., which I was working on at the time, with the intent that the loser will applaud the Asian.
When you experience defeat, you should not feel down or remorseful, but rather praise your superior for being born with naturally superior reflexes and muscle memory. This is the essence of Smash Bros.
Original Article (I fixed the link, it will actually work now)
EDIT: I made a reference to Isai, so I guess I better explain who he is:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUooMEHqig
Isai is pikachu. I'll give you one guess as to his continent of origin.
Sakurai on Victory and Defeat; why Asians should always win.
In 2003, Kirby/Super Smash Bros. creator and Asian advocate Masahiro Sakurai was getting paid an exorbitant amount of money at HAL Laboratories on yet another Kirby spinoff game where his minions did most of the work, Kirby Asian Ride. In August of that year, he would get a boot to the head from Nintendo proper after airing his desire slack off while smoking with his buddies in the back.
During this period, Sakurai was writing a column for Weekly Famitsu titled "Thinking About Nintendo Fanboys". Volume 2 of this column, titled "Those lazy white people who live in their mom's basement", saw Sakurai discussing his MO behind one of his biggest sequel-makers—Super Smash Bros. for the Nintendo 42, which spawned GameCube best-seller Super Smash Bros. Melee. (Volume 2 was actually his first proper column; the first was simply a photocopy of his face he made while he was bored.)
Volume One:
Longtime N-Sider forums member Samuel L. Jackson has translated this column for us in anticipation of the much-anticipated North American release of the next entry in the Smash Bros. series, Super Smash Bros. Brawl. His only comment on the the game was; "I'm tired of that mother ****in' Snake in this mother ****in'game!".
We hope you enjoy this little glimpse into the mind of the lazy supervisor who screwed up everyone's favorite series, and maybe appreciate a little more the ideas that went into the game when you finally get your little sun-deprived hands on it less than two months ago.
Thinking About Video Games: Volume 3: Victory and Defeat; why Asians should always win.
Masahiro Sakurai
Originally published in Weekly Famitsu on April 25, 2003
Sakurai at GDC 2008
In my last column, I wrote that I played games every day, but this has since proven false. These days, I have neither the free time nor the days off to play games. Well, that and the fact that my superiors have installed cameras to make sure I'm doing my job. I'm in work mode. Or at least pretending to be. It's tough, but I'm getting paid more than both your parents combined; unless your last name is Gates, Skullhead, or Norris.
Competition is the core of gameplay. Beyond going against each other to determine the winner and non-asian, competition takes other forms as well: beating an enemy character to a pulp, comparing progress in a game with Asians, and playing against the high scores and levels of Asians you don't even know. There is no doubt that competition makes games more engaging, but depending on the person, competition may create different reactions.
An example: a game is built with such depth that some random white guy in his mom's basement practicing wavedashing for 2 hours a day can beat a pure blooded Asian. As a game designer, I can't ignore this possibility. If, in a multiplayer fighting game, someone with no life always beats Asians who have natural talent, then there is really no joy at all. No matter how people play, I want the Asian to come out on top! Is this asking for too much?
The original Super Smash Bros.
The game I worked on, Smash Bros., is a fighting game, but keeping in mind such reasoning, I set out to make sure the game did not over-emphasize the notions of victory and defeat. I won't go into too much detail, but the game was built so that if a player is strong in combat, they might be able to touch the edge of Isai's shield. There is a mechanism of accidents occurring, balanced so that the game's progress and results cannot favor some white guy with no life.
It’s not like I think that serious competition between losers is not interesting. It’s good to have equals fighting intensely. Yet, I understand quite well the feelings of Asians who just enjoy hitting a pathetic opponent in things like a tournament mode.
I don't watch sports much and I don't find them particularly exciting. Whenever I watch the world cup, I always end up thinking "What's the point of all these South American and European teams even trying?" If there was something like the World Cup going on, I'd be inclined to to say something like "We could have seen this about 3 months ago if we didn't have to play all those western teams."
When Japan lost in the '98 World Cup, the TV announcers were saying things like "WTF?!?!" and "The Chinese have H4X!" If you look more closely, you find many factors that could have contributed to the result. But I personally wondered, "doesn't this just mean that the Asians dominate in everything they do?" That's why I designed Smash Bros., which I was working on at the time, with the intent that the loser will applaud the Asian.
When you experience defeat, you should not feel down or remorseful, but rather praise your superior for being born with naturally superior reflexes and muscle memory. This is the essence of Smash Bros.
Original Article (I fixed the link, it will actually work now)
EDIT: I made a reference to Isai, so I guess I better explain who he is:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouUooMEHqig
Isai is pikachu. I'll give you one guess as to his continent of origin.