5. A Life-changing Game

Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to the fans? Sugioka-san?

Earlier, Hatakeyama-san mentioned how he used to really be into Mario Paint.

Even if he played until late at night, his parents didn’t get mad.

When I asked staff members around me about this, a lot of them said that Mario Paint was the game that taught them the joy of making games. Especially people in their early twenties.

Everyone around me had it. (laughs)

(laughs)

Did Mario Paint make you who you are today?

Without a doubt. I remember that time very clearly.

WarioWare D.I.Y. may be like that, too.

I think so.

With Mario Paint, you could only create animation, but this time you can make video games.

Of a maximum length of eight seconds. (laughs)

But being able to make a game is important. If that results in some new game developers…

Right, right. WarioWare D.I.Y. could change someone’s life. That’s how big my expectations are for it.

It’s a life-changing game. That’s quite a grand statement! (laughs)

(laughs)

Before Mario Paint, there was Family BASIC.¹⁰ The staff member in charge of sound this time says that was what awakened him to game music. ¹⁰Family BASIC: A peripheral product for the Famicom. A special keyboard could be used to create video games. Released in 1984 and was not sold outside Japan.

Family BASIC was released about 25 years ago for the Famicom and had its own keyboard. I suppose a lot of people also became aware of game development because of that.

One of the members of the sound team for WarioWare D.I.Y. said he input a sample Chopin song with that and put the same song into this game. I’d be happy if this tool awakens latent talent within its users.

Wake up, talent! Okay, Hatakeyama-san?

I hope it’s the kind of software that sticks with players for years to come. It was originally conceived as software for making games, but there’s a lot to play in WarioWare D.I.Y., so even if someone doesn’t make microgames, there’s plenty there to enjoy just playing.

Even if you’re not interested in making games, if there are people around you who do make games, you can reap the benefits. And through contest distribution you may experience fun games you never imagined before.

That’s right. It would be nice if you enjoy it as a new WarioWare game. But even if you’re not interested in making games, I hope you’ll at least give making one a bit of a shot.

And then, hopefully, you’ll wake up one day and find that you’re someone who can make video games.

That’s absolutely right. Then it’ll be software that you can play for years into the future.

All right, Abe-san?

If I were a primary school pupil today, this is what I would want more than anything.

You made what you would want for yourself.

With games until now, the games I’ve worked on, I’ve played them exhaustively during development. I buy them when they go on sale, but then I don’t play them that much.

To you, you worked on them, so you’ll buy them, but they’re more of a keepsake than something to play.

I show them to people, but that’s about all. This time I really want it for myself.

So you’re looking forward to the release. (laughs)

Absolutely! (laughs) But while this game allows you to make games, some people may not know how to get started. When that happens, they should think about showing what they make to people close to them.

They should imagine who will see it. Friends and family, for example.

Speaking from my own experience, I got a game on my birthday.

A microgame for a birthday present! (laughs)

The staff made it for me. When you touch the candle on the screen with the stylus, a cake appears and the message “Congratulations! ” appears.

There was sound, too.

Yeah! It sang “Happy birthday” to me! (laughs)

I bet you liked that.

I was moved. (laughs) I think it could be fun to create a microgame for a particular person like that. Or maybe there’s a cup of tea sitting in front of you, so you make a game about drinking tea. Or you could use your own experiences for something like a diary. If you try turning that into a game, you’ll be able to make all kinds of stuff. Then you can unabashedly have lots of people try what you’ve made.

It seems like your lives making video games began with Family BASIC or Mario Paint or some other kind of software, but I began making video games with a programmable calculator. It could only display numbers, but I worked hard to finally get one, used it to make games, and enjoyed playing them together with my friends in high school. As someone with that kind of experience, I’m very jealous of people today. I mean, something like D.I.Y. will be on the shelves and people will be able to make as much as they want. Of course, even if you don’t make any games you can enjoy it, but I myself feel quite strongly that the joy of making games is deeper than the joy of playing them, so I hope WarioWare D.I.Y. will increase the number of people who awaken to that idea, even if only by one person.

I’m hoping for that, too. So I think it would be great if video game technical schools and educational institutions use it for their classes.

(laughs)

Shall we use D.I.Y. at the Nintendo Game Seminar ? (laughs)

Maybe we can use it to judge.

Oh, you’re going to judge, huh?

You can see people’s talents.

Yeah, you’ll be able to see them well. (laughs)

Oh, then maybe with hiring next year…

You’re joking, right?

Yes. (bluntly)

(laughs)