We’ve all heard the stories. Pikmin was inspired by his love of gardening. Nintendogs was inspired by his new family pet. But in one of the more interesting and perhaps outlandish claims he’s made yet, Shigeru Miyamoto has claimed that the design of Super Mario Galaxy was inspired by hamsters.
Speaking at the 13th Annual Japan Media Arts Festival (where he was awarded the “Special Achievement” prize), Miyamoto revealed that his inspiration for Galaxy’s spherical planets came from a hamster he was caring for at his house. When faced with the problems of fluid movement and complex 3D controls, he noticed how the hamster’s wheel pivoted around a central point. This then became the basis of many of Galaxy’s planets – Simply make each planet have a central point of gravity, allowing players to run around aimlessly and still return to their initial starting point.
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What a clever guy, eh?
In fact, reading Andriasang’s article reminds me of a recent Iwata Asks; namely, the volume analysing New Super Mario Bros Wii. Miyamoto’s instinctual grasp of how people like to play games is as evident here as it was in the creation of the original Super Mario Bros. and is truly fascinating to read.
So; dogs, gardening, hamsters… What will he think of next? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Andriasang
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