Interview:Iwata Asks: Twilight Princess (Part 3): Difference between revisions

<b>Iwata:</b> Miyamoto-san, how did you feel when you became fully involved in the development process?<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> That's a difficult one. I hope it's okay to speak frankly?<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> By all means.<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Well, I've been involved in developing several prototypes throughout the course of the project, so there weren't any serious problems, but... Firstly, the leaders hadn't been checking the progress of the staff. Many staff members weren't able to properly execute the most fundamental parts of their assignments. They weren't able to play catch yet; in fact, they hadn't even got the gist, such as catching the ball in the middle of the glove... Sloppy work, you might say. That's why I've mostly been helping by explaining to them clearly so they could better understand what they are supposed to do in order to correctly execute their assignments. There's one thing I've been grateful for, and that is the level of motivation these people have. The cause of the sloppiness wasn't due to people's lack of motivation, but more that they were stuck in a rut due to the huge amount of work they had.<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> I see. You could say they didn't know where to direct their focus?<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Yes, that's it. Because they were already highly motivated, simply by pointing out what task they should be doing, they were able to make significant progress. And so we've managed to finish in around four months what would have taken around half a year. I was a little concerned at first, but the level of motivation within the development team has really helped.<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> When you have a lot of individual issues to deal with, it becomes difficult to visualise the whole picture. That's when Miyamoto-san comes in with a clear idea of how things should be, and points us in a certain direction. Then, whether we fully understand what he's doing or not, we become able to move forward. When we do this, we catch a glimpse of the bigger picture. We feel a very real sense that if we are just able to continue like this, we'll get to the end of the project. The problem is that before we reach that point, there are far too many choices to be made, and things become easily confused while we are trying out various ideas.<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Everyone was feeling rather anxious and knew this situation wasn't good, so the main staff members got together to try to sort it out. Although there were some good results, there were some negative ones too. For instance, people lost their sense of individual responsibility. There were a huge amount of decisions which they said had "been made by all of them" and that therefore shouldn't be changed. My answer to this was: "You couldn't all have decided, somebody must've made the decision! Who was it?" When I asked why something wasn't completed, I was often told that it was being adjusted. I would say "the adjustments should've been done by now. Shouldn't you start by saying sorry?" (laughs) I suppose in that sense, I have been a little on the strict side. You have to start by getting people to take responsibility and be able to say: "It isn't done yet, I'm sorry. I take the responsibility." I just think that if we could all understand this, we could work together on solving the problems. Once we fix them, it's finished. It's as simple as that and then we can all relax. Then when we give it to focus testing groups we get a more positive response.<br><br>  

<b>Iwata:</b> They have said that the changes you instigated really improved the game.<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Once we've got all of that straightened out, the rest of the project becomes a process of simply making one small change after the other, carefully editing sound effects or fine-tuning things.<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> Some refer to it as "Miyamoto Magic", but as far as you're concerned, you're just carefully working through everything that obviously needs to be done. <br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Exactly, there is no other way. One other thing that I've noticed is that the younger members of staff, who've yet to work on that many projects, don't have a very clear idea of what it takes to bring a project to completion. With video games, the people who truly bring a project to completion are the senior staff such as the director, not the entire team. Those people involved in the project just seem to rush towards the end and cross the finish line without having a clear idea of what's happening. With time, those people develop a clearer idea of what is required to finish off a game properly. I think the company has gained a significant amount through the development of Zelda, as the number of staff we have with these skills has grown.<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> Yes, we've learned a great deal about the process of completing a project.<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> I believe there is a certain way to finish a project, just like there's a way to win in sport.<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> Like getting used to completing them?<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Bringing something to completion becomes really fun. Before you reach the final stage, you can get obsessive and feel like you've got to add more and more. This desire to expand the game is overwhelming, so you find yourself unable to grasp that sense of achievement that you get from completing a project.<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> It's just that, until you've reached that point it's vital that you are being pointed in the right direction for making the transition from a state of disorder to being able to experience that thrill of completing something. This is what sets the quality of the work apart, and where Miyamoto-san shows such focus. Quite frankly, I still can't see things that clearly. He'll say to me: "How many times have we been through this? And you still get confused?!" But, yes, I still lack that certain clarity. And because I still suffer with this, so in turn do my staff. That's one of the major reasons why we couldn't see the final destination clearly.<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Well, actually, I lose focus too you know. But when it happens, I just try to tell myself to get back on track and move forward. It still happens though.<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> Sometimes thinking about something too deeply can cause you to lose focus. Which is not to say it's a bad thing to think deeply...<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> That's right. It's okay to be uncertain from time to time. But by making a decision and sticking to it, you can keep moving forward.<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> But worrying about something so much that you end up waving the white flag is never good!<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> It certainly isn't! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> Absolutely not! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> If you get to the stage where you're pulling your hair out and feeling "that's it, I can't think anymore", you know the result isn't going to be good. That's a really difficult state to be in. In a manner of speaking, it's a mental battle. With this particular project's development, both physical and mental power have been a necessity. Once you're over forty, you really feel that keenly. There were moments when I felt it was taking its toll on me! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> Miyamoto-san, how do you feel about this?<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> I've really enjoyed this project. I'm not saying I've been able to focus on it without sleep, or that I've got limitless supplies of stamina, but it was a lot of fun!<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> I still can't believe that someone over fifty was staying at work later than me! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> I was going through the project saying: "This is the most fun I've had in ages!" (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> Don't rub it in, by the end I was almost at the stage where I wanted to pull my hair out!<br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> It was that bad? (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> When it got to around eleven or twelve, and I was getting tired and thought Miyamoto-san must've already gone home, I'd hear the sound of an e-mail coming in: "He's still here?" The effect of that single e-mail would have me wide awake in no time! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Yes, towards the end I was firing out e-mails in a pretty rough state. When I can spend more time on them, I'll present everything neatly on a flow chart and explain clearly the best approach to implement new features. But towards the end my e-mails got a bit more rough. It got to the stage where everything was being written in list form. People seeing these e-mails for the first time may well have thought they were just thrown together. (laughs) Sometimes my instructions would become so blunt that members of staff would reply saying that they had put together a skit to show me what they thought I wanted them to do. At times I'd think: "They've missed the point here!" Then I'd just send an e-mail straight back telling them not to waste their time on things like that! (laughs) <br><br>

<b>Iwata:</b> That's pretty harsh! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> When I really couldn't get my point across, I'd send e-mails explaining precisely what the game characters should be saying to each other. To which the person in charge of creating the game dialogue would sarcastically reply: "Okay then, we'll use that in the game just as it is. I guess I'm out of a job!" (laughs) Of course, I only used this approach with the staff I've known for a long time and who can fully appreciate where I'm coming from.<br><br>

<b>Aonuma:</b> But when you sent those kinds of messages, you must have known that some of the younger, less experienced staff members would read them too! (laughs)<br><br>

<b>Miyamoto:</b> Well yes, if someone who didn't understand our relationship read those e-mails, they might think: "Is it okay to say that?". Or they might think: "Shigeru Miyamoto should be careful or someone will slip something into his drink..." (laughs) People such as Aonuma-san who've known me for years have more or less learnt what I'm like, but newcomers might read these messages, misinterpret the meaning, and think: "Uh-oh. We're really in trouble!" (laughs)<br><br>