Shigeru Miyamoto: Game Design Legend
My parents tell me when I was born, I was holding a video game controller. As long as I can remember I have played video games. They allowed me to escape reality. I could take on the roles that young children only dream about. One day I could be a superhero and perform feats that are not humanly possible; the next I was fighting aliens in the far away galaxies. Games were like books to me, each a new adventure where mystery and challenge await. Some of the fondest memories in my childhood were created by Shigeru Miyamoto. From the Legend of Zelda to Super Mario, he opened my eyes to how experiencing video games should be.
Like all great things in life, hard work and sacrifice are needed to succeed in anything we do. Even the best in the industry had to overcome trials and tribulations to reach were they are today. No one in the gaming industry has shown this more than Miyamoto. For example, Miyamoto had many brilliant ideas for the gaming industry at the start of his career. Things that others had never thought possible or explored. He was an introvert and did not know how to express all of the ideas that were in his head. He was afraid others would not approve or believe in his ideas like he did. Once Miyamoto’s colleagues and superiors caught on to what he was working on, they talked him into speaking at the yearly gaming conference. The first time Miyamoto spoke at the conference he froze and almost
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broke down into tears. (Keri, 2002). He knew this was his only chance to share his ideas on a grand scale. He took a deep breath and emptied what seemed like a never ending stream of ideas to the crowd. When Miyamoto finished, the crowd roared with excitement and thus, Zelda, Mario, Donkey Kong and many other beloved titles from Nintendo were born. Miyamoto shows that even when we doubt ourselves, others can see the light at the end of the tunnel. If we only get one chance in life, we must take it when it presents itself. In 2012 with the help of Miyamoto, Nintendo released the Wii U. Nintendo’s reputation with previous consoles like the Nintendo DS and Wii sold very well and outsold its competition on major holidays. This time it was different. The Wii U was Nintendo and Miyamoto’s lowest selling console in history. Sony and Microsoft continued to dominate the market even though the Wii U released a year before the others. Miyamoto, who had a large part in making this console blames its sales on the price. Tablets and other handhelds are more affordable and the market grows at a rapid pace. He felt the Wii U came out at the wrong time and was brought down by the tablet market. Miyamoto claims that it is the times that you fail, you can learn the most and overcome your failures (Porter, 2015). This showed me that even great titans of industry can be brought to their knees if the planning and preparation is not perfect. No one can predict the future, but you can research and prepare for it. In 2014 the Wii U sales skyrocketed with the release of the most anticipated titles from Miyamoto’s past. Zelda, Mario and Donkey Kong were among the new titles released in 2014. By the holiday season the Wii U outsold the competition by lowering the price and bundling the titles that everyone knows and loves. This also showed me that once you have created a legacy, people will be fans for life and follow you into the future. You can have a rough start, but with dedication you can persevere. Miyamoto yet again succeeded when others failed. If at first you don’t succeed, try something else? Miyamoto wanted nothing to do with video games originally. His first love was Manga, a style of Japanese comic books and graphic novels. Shigeru Miyamoto graduated College of Industrial Arts and Crafts and because his father knew Hiroshi Yamauchi, a head at Nintendo, he was offered a job after graduating. But Miyamoto had very little interest in video games and decides to pursue his chosen path as a manga artist. Yamauchi asked Miyamoto to work on some art for some of his games and he agreed. While working with Yamauchi, the two together created Donkey Kong. While working on his side project with Yamauchi, Miyamoto is struggling finding work as a Manga artist. After many months he is finally picked up to work on a weekly paper. This is where he created Zelda. For 10 years Miyamoto creates artwork for games until that moment he decided to change his mind. This was the start of Miyamoto’s transition into the gaming industry. From there the rest is history. Even if we per sue our passion, we truly never know where we will end up. Miyamoto taught me to take chances and try new things. For better or worse, this is how we grow as individuals and in our careers. “Removing Miyamoto from the course of normal events is a bit like removing Walt Disney from western animation. His imprint on Nintendo is so strong that in many ways it’s hard to imagine the company without him.” (Bailey 2012). Since the age of 10, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.
My purpose is to create video games and immerse people in an experience like no other. I know it is one of the most competitive industries today, but with the lessons I learned from Shigeru Miyamoto and many others like him, I will follow their example and apply them to my life’s work. With dedication and discipline I will persevere like those before me. I know there will be times I fail, but it’s what I learn from the experience that is going to allow me to
succeed.
Inquiry Question: Why were the passengers on the Komagata Maru rejected to stay in Canada?
“Most reported effects of videogames – particularly in the popular press – appear to centre upon the alleged negative consequences… Research has consistently shown that playing computer games (irrespective of genre) produces reductions in reaction times, improved hand-eye co-ordination and raises players’ self-esteem,” (Griffiths p. 47), states Mark Griffiths in his article, “The educational benefits of videogames”. When people think of video games, they often tend to think about the negative side effects that video games can have on a person. Will Wright in his article, “Dream Machines” also defends video games by providing positive effects that video games have on those who play them. Wright presents
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Fukuyo is an A.I. who doesn't age like humans whatsoever and somewhat dislike men for some reason as she accidentally bumps into Hajime Ichijou while not paying attention where she's walking. She can express emotions like a human being, however, she can't feel emotions. Fukuyo looks skinny and fragile, but she really isn't and can take severe blows the only disadvantage is that she is physically weak in strength as she can't lift heavy things. She has long white hair with small twin-tails tied and eyes are odd colored, the right eye being red and the left eye yellow. The right eye's purpose is to physically injure the enemy's vital spot, however, it can only be used once as it requires a large amount of magic to use. The left eye's purpose
There is no doubt that video games have become a major entertainment as important as cinema, literary and theatre for modern people. Nowadays, people tend towards spending more time on playing games than ever before. According to Nielsen’s report, gamers age 13 and older spent 6.3 hours a week on any gaming platform in 2013 around the United States, and the time people spent in 2012 was just 5.6 hours per week (The Nielsen Company, 2014). 12 percent, rising is a clear message to remind people that video games should be taken seriously. Because, as an emerging mode of entertainment, it is being a part of our culture and has a tremendous influence in our daily life. An increasing number of people are beginning to realize that games should and
Video games have come a long way. They have evolved from the simple game of Pong into a complex, multi-platform, multi-genre, multi-billion dollar industry.
Video games are no longer the uprising form of media that ill informed parents and scientists used to fear; video games are now an established form of entertainment that is just as universally accepted as film or literature. The difference between videogames and mediums like film and literature is that they do not have the higher value that books have in exercising the mind and communicating information, nor do they have the value that films have to intellectually challenge an audience and to make people think. This is the general argument that can be heard voiced by leading intellectuals in various field as well as parents who are rising young children; both claim that videogames
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In society’s current era of technological advancement, video games have gone a long way since they were first created. Video games in the twenty-first century are no longer just toys or junk in the lifestyles of the youth. They have become innovative inventions that not only entertain its users, but also help aid the people in both the academic field and in jobs. The influences that video games bring about in the culture of the youth today are, in fact, not the negative influences that most people think. Video games are actually this generation’s new medium for educating the youth. The information they learn are also mostly positive and useful things that they may apply in their future lives (Prensky 4). In a generation that revolves around technology and connectivity, developers and educators have already been able to produce fun and interesting games that can teach and train people. Video game developers and educators should continue to collaborate in order to create more positive, educational, and appealing games.
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...e dealing with technology everywhere and their whole lives. Video games help make kids feel comfortable with technology. Video games now provide a fun and social form of entertainment and are used all over the world for positive effects. Gaming has had positive effects on aiding weight loss, improving the efficiency of visual skills, controlling anger, creating fun interactive learning environments, and has become a new way of therapy to help rehabilitate patients. The new Wii programs will certainly develop and continue to perform more incredible effects on different people.
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