4. Wilting in 2 Years of Development

Iwata - “Tomodachi Collection” has all these random ideas thought up and thrown together by various different people, right? That being the case, why do you think it managed not to fall apart? Usually if the ideas aren’t cohesive things don’t really come together.

Takahashi - I think one of the things was that we took our time putting it all together.

Iwata - Development certainly did take a long time.

Takahashi - It took two full years. But it’s not just that - we never strayed from that initial concept, and everyone followed that concept when making content.

Iwata - There was one thing I saw when development started to drag on. I went just to see whether everyone was lost, leading to development withering. If it looked like that was the case I was thinking of intervening. But it turns out that rather than being lost, everyone seemed to actually be having some fun, so I decided I would look at this game as they type that would be developed by a small number of people over a long period of time. But Okamoto-san, wasn’t it rough not seeing the end of the tunnel for so long?

Okamoto - I was completely… withered.

Attendees - (laugh)

Okamoto - Near the end of development I was in high spirits, but up until that point I was completely withered.

Iwata - I thought so - it’s tough when there’s no end in sight.

Okamoto - I really felt it was a rough time.

Takahashi - I talked to Okamoto-san about a year after development began on “Tomodachi Collection”. I remember her saying bluntly, “I’ve never once felt this game was interesting.”

Iwata - Whoa, that’s a shocking confession (laughs).

Attendees - (laugh)

Takahashi - I was completely shocked by those words…

Iwata - Basically you were being told, “what on earth could be fun about something that’s meant to appeal to your family”.

Takahashi - Right. Development started with this concept, so there was no time to make the systems, or at least I should say, for a while I wasn’t able to put attention into that portion. That’s why it was probably difficult for, not only Okamoto-san, but the whole team to understand what I wanted to achieve with this software.

Iwata - At what point did the once-withered Okamoto-san begin to perk up?

Okamoto - I had my ups and downs - and after my ups right away I’d go back down, thinking, “that’s it, I’m done”. So it’s hard to point to a specific time. But I think throughout the whole production I had fun, overall.

Takahashi - Okamoto-san is the most dedicated person in the team. So there was a side of her that was always worried about just how this game was really going to turn out.

Iwata - Okamoto-san must have been uneasy.

Okamoto - (quietly nods)

Takahashi - I could sense Okamoto-san’s uneasiness, so I would matter-of-factly explain to her where the appeal was, but perhaps it didn’t really get across.

Iwata - Perhaps just words couldn’t fully convey it. Even while the surrounding staff members were feeling uneasy, Takahashi-san never veered from course in relation to creating “the ultimate viral family/friend game”.

Takahashi - Right.

Iwata - That’s really the main point of this software. If the director had lost his way it wouldn’t have come together as a product, and it’s specifically because Takahashi-san had complete control over decisions and never faltered that even with such an unrestrained idea, everyone put in what they did. Unno-san, when did you start perking up and thinking, “this is starting to get interesting”?

Unno - Honestly, I finally understood what the product was going to be when the monitor was finished.

Iwata - What?! This is another shocking confession (laughs).

Attendees - (laugh)

Unno - The software was completed around February 2009, and the monitor was finished in October of 2008. So about 4 months before completion I finally understood, “ah, this software is this kind of game”.

Iwata - The developer of the game understood just what was fun about the game about 4 months before completion.

Unno - Yes.

Iwata - Hmmmm… Do you (attendees all) think that this is acceptable?… Well, maybe this is what happens when something new is born. Anyhow, up until that point you were never too excited then?

Unno - Come to think of it, right around the time before starting the monitor I was called by Takahashi-san and Sakamoto-san, who were mad at me because my work was so behind.

Iwata - Takahashi-san got mad?

Takahashi - That’s not how I remember it… (laughs).

Unno - Mad? Or maybe admonished? (laughs) He had said, “Look, we’re going to start debugging soon!”

Iwata - So he had told you, “Debugging is going to start soon, so it’s about time you kick it into high gear.”

Unno - And he just dropped this To-Do list in my lap.

Iwata - You cracked the whip, didn’t you - Takahashi-san? (laughs)

Takahashi - Ya (laughs). I think that was all because I didn’t manage the schedule well, but during the latter half Unno-san suddenly had a lot to deal with.

Iwata - There’s a lot of things you can do in the condo rooms, and it’s also the part that took the longest.

Takahashi - Right. But at first that wasn’t my intention. But as development proceeded things got more and more condensed in there.

Unno - At the beginning changing outfits and updating room interiors were scenes in different parts.

Iwata - And all of that fell on you.

Unno - Right, the condo room became a portal kind of thing, and you were able to move to all these different places, so that all got integrated. And then about once a week Takahashi-san would send this mail updating the team on everyone’s progress, and something like “Unno-san is finishing up his work at an incredible pace!” was written at one point (laughs).

Takahashi - I had decided to mail everyone on staff to give an update on each week’s work status, but because Unno-san was so quick with getting his work done I ended up giving him a lot more.

Iwata - There were a lot of items that needed to be handled.

Takahashi - Right. In retrospect I didn’t strike a good balance in allocating programming work.

Iwata - But Unno-san got some great experience, didn’t he?

Unno - Yes. It was only my second year, but I think it’s a rare chance to get that kind of experience so early.