#itoiquote

[hyruleinterviews]

Itoi, Miyamoto, and Itou on the "caricature" of realism, 1989.

Source: Shmuplations

https://shmuplations.com/itoimiyamoto/

PEOPLE:

Shigesato Itoi, age 40. Creator of Earthbound Zero (Mother). Later: editor of the Ishinomori A Link to the Past manga.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 36. Creator of Zelda & Mario. Producer of Nintendo EAD’s Software Development Department.

Seikou Itou. Author of the novel No Life King.

QUOTE: Itoi: Graphics becoming realistic [is], when you think about it, a ridiculous thing. If we go down that path it will eventually lead to caricature. A self-imposed bondage.

Miyamoto: … Rather than going for realism, you want changes like stereo sound. People aren't pining after perfection anymore. I totally agree.

Itou: It's about how weird you can get. Realistic sounds are just boring, you know?

Itoi: On CD-ROM, the games use actual human voices, but it's really lame.

Itou: It ruins the immersion. You lose the ability to project yourself into the character because you're forced to hear this other distinct voice.

Itoi: Imagine if the Flying Men's lines in MOTHER were read by a human voice… wouldn't that be awful?

[hyruleinterviews]

Itoi on tapping into raw artistic instinct, 1989.

Source: Shmuplations

https://www.hyruleinterviews.com/31d41fe961fd80eba4aec71e4f38c257

PEOPLE:

Shigesato Itoi, age 40. Creator of MOTHER (Earthbound Zero). Later: Editor of the Ishinomori A Link to the Past manga.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 36. Creator of Zelda & Mario. Producer of Nintendo’s R&D4 Team.

QUOTE: Itoi: I'm sitting like this because my body has an actual necessity to be in this posture. It's the result of a struggle between two things: the fact that I'm being watched by others, and my own internal necessity. I believe the future of "creative work" lies in how much we can tap into and breathe life into that kind of raw instinct.

So, if you tell someone, "No, do it this way," about something they love, it's like forcing them to roll over against their will. They'll get sick. And it's not enjoyable for the viewer either.

Miyamoto: … Whether it's music or art, a game with a distinct worldview is just more fun. When you go that route, the individual creator's touch becomes everything.

[hyruleinterviews]

Itoi & Iwata on contagious high spirits and what they can mask, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

https://www.notion.so/8f65dbbe83ce4562a94c9abc575ba8ea

PEOPLE:

Shigesato Itoi, age 62. Creator of Earthbound. Editor of Ishinomori’s A Link to the Past manga.

Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.

QUOTE: Itoi: I know a company where everyone pulled together and overcame a crisis. Everyone was positive and energetic. Later when they underwent counseling during their check-up, it turns out they were all on the edge—one step away from emotional breakdown.

Iwata: Oh.

Itoi: Not a one of them was truly healthy. According to the mental specialist, they were able to stay so energetic because they were working so hard to persevere. Another reason was because they were all together. …

Iwata: High spirits are contagious.

Itoi: That's right. That's why it helps to have peers. But around the same time, you can lose sight of yourself.

[hyruleinterviews]

Miyamoto, Iwata, & Itoi on what drives the creation of ideas, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

https://www.notion.so/8f65dbbe83ce4562a94c9abc575ba8ea

PEOPLE:

Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario.

Shigesato Itoi, age 62. Creator of Earthbound (Mother).

QUOTE: Iwata: I don't think that anyone would be able to come up with any ideas if there were no restrictions for developing games.

Miyamoto: Oh, that's very true.

Itoi: That's true with any type of expression.

Miyamoto: It's all about restrictions. History is really just a battle against restrictions. I think that we get our energy from being able to take a restriction and make it work for us.

Iwata: There's no better feeling than the moment when you finally solve a problem.

Miyamoto: There's something so enjoyable about being able to think, "I bet no one's thought of this!" On the other hand, if someone says, "I know everyone's doing this, but we need you to do it, too," that feels horrible.

[hyruleinterviews]

On parallels between Majora's Mask and Earthbound

Via GlitterBerri's Game Translations (2000) and Ask Iwata (Hobonichi, 2019)

Quote #1:

PEOPLE:

Eiji Aonuma, age 37. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

Yoshiaki Koizumi, age 32. Majora’s Mask Co-Director.

QUOTE: Aonuma: I was responsible for the fairy-tale sections [of Majora’s Mask], and Koizumi was responsible for creating realistic depictions of the lives of the townspeople. I tried to emulate the fantasy atmosphere we had in Ocarina of Time…

Koizumi: And I created realistic lives for the characters.

Aonuma: You could say that Koizumi slapped his worldview on the whole thing. [Laughs]

Koizumi: I put in everything I’ve seen in my 30-something years on this earth.

Quote #2:

PEOPLE:

Satoru Iwata. EarthBound Program Director, President of Nintendo from 2002-2015.

Shigesato Itoi. Producer, Director, & Writer for Mother 1, 2 & 3. Founder of Ape, Inc., which later became Creatures, Inc. Founder of Hobonichi. My Neighbor Totoro voice actor. Iron Chef judge..

QUOTE: Iwata: What makes the Mother [EarthBound] series so special? I think it has to do with the role that Shigesato Itoi played. Nobody making games today is quite like him, and Mother remains without parallel. …

There was a time when Shigesato Itoi was totally obsessed with games, and in that sense he’s truly a gamer at heart. At the same time, he had a variety of experiences that the average game designer hadn’t, and I think these two aspects combined to form a unique individual.

… The overall effect is a game unlike almost any other. I think this is the cumulative effect of all the aspects of the gaming experience—the fun parts, sad parts, outlandish parts, and goofy parts.

[hyruleinterviews]

Itoi, Iwata, & Miyamoto on burnt yakisoba, 2011.

Source: Iwata Asks

https://www.notion.so/8f65dbbe83ce4562a94c9abc575ba8ea

PEOPLE:

Shigesato Itoi, age 62. Creator of Earthbound (Mother).

Satoru Iwata, age 51. President of Nintendo.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 58. Creator of Zelda & Mario.

QUOTE: Itoi: Like yakisoba that's got burnt bits in it. If a big company were to bring out yakisoba, they would talk about how it mustn't be burnt.

A rigid conversation ends with the conclusion that yakisoba must never be burnt. But when you keep the conversation rolling, someone says, "It's inexplicable, but that burntness is fragrant and tasty."

… But when you follow strict product guidelines in a meeting, you just lop off every imperfection.

Miyamoto: Yes, that's how it goes.

Itoi: If you don't get past "Yes, that's right," that's what happens.

Iwata: Because something without flaws is without character. It doesn't bear its creator's imprint or have any personality.

[hyruleinterviews]

Itoi on the Butoh-like vision for Giygas, 1989.

Source: Shmuplations

https://shmuplations.com/itoimiyamoto/

PEOPLE:

Shigesato Itoi, age 40. Creator of Earthbound Zero (Mother). Later: editor of Zelda manga and guides.

Shigeru Miyamoto, age 36. Creator of Zelda & Mario.

Seikou Itou. Author of the novel No Life King.

QUOTE: Itoi: With Giygas in Mother… I feel like we could have refined him so much more, but… well, it's out there now.

Miyamoto: I know. I really wanted to give it one more shot, right at the very end.

Itoi: For that final form, I'd actually given instructions for it to be like Butoh, that "dance of darkness." Something incredibly frail… like if they were right there in front of you, you'd feel like they'd collapse if you barely touched them. Eerie and beautiful… but that's easier said than done, right? [laughs]

Itou: That sounds… hard. [laughs]

Itoi: I wanted to depict the terror of the weak. But man, it was tough.

[hyruleinterviews]

Endo & Itoi on the asceticism of game developers, 1985.

Source: Shmuplations

PEOPLE:

Masanobu Endo, age 32. Creator of Tower of Druaga (1984), which likely influenced The Legend of Zelda (1986).

Shigesato Itoi, age 37. Author. Later: Creator of Earthbound (1989) and editor for the Ishinorimori A Link to the Past manga.

QUOTE: Endo: When you talk to game developers, they'll often say, "working at the foot of Mt. Fuji would be perfect."

Itoi: … [laughs] That kind of asceticism isn't limited to the digital field. … There was even an era when "suppressing consciousness" was considered beautiful. … Those who suppressed something until it burst out and killed them were called "those who died young." Those who persevered until death were called "those who stubbornly stuck to their principles their whole lives." It's a kind of stoicism.

But that kind of repressive power cannot create things that appeal to people. It's very handy for leading people in the wrong direction though. It's incredibly useful for steering people down dangerous paths.