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After a period of going dark, my subscription to Nintendo Power was finally renewed. Yes, 12 more issues of non-stop Nintendo propaganda, lame jokes, news, previews, and reviews of new interesting games like Radiant Historia, Lost in Shadow, and Ghost Trick (and plenty of non-interesting ones). Oh, and here's an ad for First4Figures' Sonic the Hedgehog sculptures, which are apparently "Seriously cool stuff for serious Nintendo fans." Hey wait a sec...

So Nintendo Power isn't exactly spectacular, but if you see a copy, one of the most interesting parts of this magazine is the developer interviews, and this month is Yosuke Hayashi, director and producer behind Metroid: Other M. Mr. Hayashi talks about his history with Team Ninja and his philosophy on game design, as well as some interesting insights into the development behind Other M and collaboration with Nintendo:

The best part of that experience was the gaining of a better sense of self-awareness through knowing more about others. Working with Sakamoto-san, who has been on the front line of game development for years, really gives you a much deeper insight into the different philosophies and concepts that drive development. This was really the first time I started to understand the depth of this profession, and it was something that gave me the opportunity to get to know myself much better.

While working with his team there were many cultural differences between our studios, but in the end I was pleasantly surprised to find how similar our goals and values were. It might be a bit difficult to explain through a short summary, but all I can say is that we were on the same page regarding what makes the life of a game developer. Beliefs and concepts, flexibility, passion, and enthusiasm, and the ability to keep cool in high-pressure standards.

Cultural differences? Does Hayahsi-san mean having to wear a uniform to work? Or mixing chocolate with peanut butter? He goes on to talk about what he learned from working with Yoshio Sakamoto:

One of the biggest [things that I learned] was to learn how to stir up emotions through your games and not just make those emotions burst out and explode. The games that Team Ninja gave birth to up to now have been all about directly stimulating and "attacking" people's most basic emotions. When you think about it, our daily lives are not just filled with raw emotion. One more thing is that there are so many more varied and complex emotions in people than the four basic ones of happiness, anger, sadness, and joy. Working with Sakamoto-san, I discovered that stirring up those complex emotions in people can lead to a much more visceral form of entertainment.

Now before you start thinking that the next Ninja Gaiden will feature long internal monologues by Ryu Hayabusa, remember that there is a LOT of environmental storytelling in Other M, particularly in the way of evoking emotions through atmosphere and setting (the research center sequences in particular stand out). I think we can expect to see a bit more variety of atmosphere as well as character development in future Ninja Gaiden games, thanks to Project M. Looking forward to it, Mr. Hayashi!

Now I just have to find the back issue with the Yoshio Sakamoto interview...

Until next time...
Captain Commando