Did you already know that in 2006? Super Smash Bros. Creator Masahiro Sakurai helped create a Tamagotchi-like game where you raise virtual bugs on these little LCD toys and send them off to fight other bugs via infrared connectivity à la Street Pass? That’s new news for me and one of many fun facts shared by the legendary game designer on his new YouTube channel, Masahiro Sakurai on making games. To be honest I think he might be my favorite YouTuber right now.
Masahiro Sakurai is perhaps best known as the creative genius behind the kirby and Super Smash Bros. franchises, but he’s worked extensively in the gaming industry since his early days in the ’90s. He refereed his first game, Kirby’s Dreamland, aged 19. He wrote a weekly Famitsu column about gaming for almost two decades. He even went freelance for a while in the mid-2000s, directing the design of the Falling Tile Match puzzle game weather before returning to Nintendo’s HAL Lab for more information Super Smash Bros. games. And up until earlier this week, Sakurai was posting daily screenshots of what may or may not be the final entry of the crossover fighter, only to announce that he’s no longer doing that and is instead focusing on a new project: a YouTube channel where he blabs the ins and outs of game design. YouTuber Sakurai. Has a nice sound.
Continue reading: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate The director stops posting daily screens and ends an era
As YouTuber Sakurai put it the first video on his channel, Masahiro Sakurai’s goal when creating games is “to try to make games around the world a little bit more enjoyable”. Drawing on decades of expertise, he plans to analyze what “good” and “fun” might mean in game design, and teach aspiring developers and curious viewers more about the medium through bite-sized lessons. Although there are currently only four videos on his channel – YouTuber Sakurai moves fast, y’all – the topics he wants to cover seem all-encompassing, ranging from how framerate affects the feel of the game to how distance determines risk in platform games. It sounds technical, but YouTuber Sakurai made sure that game development experience isn’t required to have fun or gain insights from his channel, as “keeping things simple” is best for accessibility.
Look at the second video, Stop for big moments, which is about hit stops. A hit stop is an in-game effect that, as the name suggests, stops the action when you get hit. You see it a lot in action games, where you’ll stagger a little and the screen will shake after a hit, but hit stops are most noticeable in something like this Super Smash Bros. Ultimate when you perform a critical attack that knocks your opponent off the screen. The purpose of shot stops is to make every shot in a game feel impactful and convey the weight of the attack to you, the player. Without them, combat can feel floating and imprecise, with no seriousness or punch to speak of.
What I love about Masahiro Sakurai when making games is YouTuber Sakurai’s demeanor. If you have seen any of the Super Smash Bros. Live streams that he moderated, then you know the mood here. It’s low key and personable, filled with tons of information delivered in an easy to digest format. He speaks loud and clear and doesn’t spend too much time digging through game design jargon to get concepts across. For example, when he was talking about Hit Stops, he demonstrated several times how the effect changes the feel of the game when it’s on and off. What you get is a window into how developers design fights that are both powerful and rewarding. I really feel like I learned something from YouTuber Sakurai. So if you’ve ever wondered what makes combat so “crunchy” in some games, pay attention to the effectiveness of hit stopping.
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Continue reading: smash bros Developers, you did it, it’s done, take a break
While Masahiro Sakurai is now reveling in the life of a YouTuber, Nintendo is experiencing a tumultuous August. earlier this month the The company was accused of firing an employee for asking a question about unions at a meeting. A A fire broke out at Nintendo headquarters also this month in Kyoto, possibly triggered by a faulty device being charged. my box Also spoke to several sources who claimed these are Nintendo of America contractors, they experienced a “fraternity house” culture fraught with sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior. said Doug Bowser, President of Nintendo of America the company is “actively investigating” the claims. that have appeared in recent media coverage.
