SOMEBODY HOLD ME BACK, OR I WILL TALK ABOUT KIRBY AGAIN!
Fanart feita por Dawield [https://i.gifer.com/AOV.mp4]
Well… If you are reading this, it’s because the rest of the GamePlan team only realized that I was going to do this article about Kirby when it was too late and they couldn’t stop me, hehe.
They are probably sick of hearing me talk about Kirby by now, but what can I do? It’s my favorite IP! But this time, I’m talking about Kirby for a good reason. With the release of Kirby and the Forgotten Land, it has become crystal clear how much of an impact the Kirby IP has had on the gaming industry these past 30 years and how important it is to the industry as a whole.
I’ll explain. But in three parts. So stay tuned for the next ones too!
A very common criticism of Kirby games – which probably has crossed your mind as well – is that the game is extremely easy and not worth the time invested when the player could be immersed in the world of I don’t know… An Elden Ring, for example.
There is a certain logic in this kind of criticism from the point of view of someone who is already inserted in this crazy hobby that is playing video games, but it is certainly unfounded because the difficulty of Kirby’s games is, by design philosophy, cured with players who never had contact with games before.
Kirby has always had a design philosophy, ever since Kirby’s Dream Land for Game Boy, released 30 years ago, to be an entry-level game.
But then, the reader might ask the capacious question, “What is an entry game, my brother?” and that requires a DEFINITION MOMENT!
So let’s get to it!
🙶Entry Games, my Brothers, is a definition used most often in analog gaming, describing those games that have Simplified rules and mechanics so that people outside the gaming bubble can understand and enjoy themselves. These games are the main gateway for these people into the hobby, serving as the main gateway that leads these new players into more complex and challenging games.🙷
In an interview for the 1993 Nintendo Guidebook, the development team at HAL – the studio responsible for the Kirby games – talked about various aspects of this new IP they were creating, if you want to read this interview fully translated into English, you can access it by clicking here, courtesy of the phenomenal site Shmuplations, which compiles and translates game development interviews.
I will only highlight the part of the interview where Masahiro Sakurai, creator of Kirby and director of Kirby’s Dream Land, comments on why the game was created and the design philosophy behind this IP.
🙶Sakurai: Kirby was originally created to be a relatively easy game, something so that even very young kids can have fun while playing[…]🙷
And yes, the criticism about the ease of Kirby games has been around for 30 years, since the first game. Even, this criticism specifically was responsible for the creation of Kirby’s ability to copy the power of certain enemies by ingesting them, implemented in the second game in the series, Kirby’s Adventure, for NES.
By presenting this definition and the core of the design of all the Kirby series games involving their design philosophy focused on being an entry-level game for potential new media consumers as a whole, being extremely successful at this for 30 years, makes me have a great deal of respect for IP. Respect and a lot of affection, because achieving this goal requires an extremely polished product and involves a delicate balance of gameplay, content, and presentation.
And to dive deeper into what this means, come join me for part 2 which should be posted soon here on Compass!
