Over 30 years ago, Toru Iwatani (not pictured) created Pac-Man. Decades later, it’s a game people still remember and still play. That, Iwatani said, is what game designers must do today. They must create games that stand the test of time.
“When you look at games coming out today, it’s doubtful that any of us will be talking about them in 10 years’ time,” Iwatani told Game Career Guide.
“You’ve had this flood of very simple games on the iPhone and social networks. They’re very ‘easy’ games, and by easy I mean easy to design and to pump out by the dozen.”
“I think more thought needs to go toward how games present themselves to the user, to how they can be made more fun,” Iwatani said.
That’s not exactly fair. Take something like Angry Birds. It is “simple”, but simple in the way Pac-Man is simple. The game’s basic premise is easy to grasp, but complex physics when into creating it, just as advanced programming went into developing Pac-Man.
Now, Angry Birds is only one game. And there is a lot of crap, too! But there are good games being created. Whether any of these iOS or Android games can last three decades, let’s check back on that in 30 years. When I’m in my 60s. Ouch.
Iwatani Interview [Game Career Guide via Eurogamer]
Top photo: Kevin Winter/Getty
Leave a Reply