Western and Japanese Game Development
Szczomak 1 Jaeson Szczomak Professor J. H. Davis, Jr Anthropology 418 4 May 2009 Japanese Game Modern Japanese culture is the result of over one thousand years of development and evolution. With such a strong and rooted background, Japanese traditions and values have remained imbued in Japanese society despite rapid modernization and westernization during the last century. As the world has become smaller and entertainment has gone from being confined to its country of origin to being available across the globe, Japan continues to display its unique identity by producing distinct experiences within the same mediums as Western countries.
From movies and books to music and video games, entertainment developed in Japan is different than that of their Western counterparts. To illustrate this point I have chosen to focus solely on the video game industry. Due to the lack of scholarly research on this subject, I will primarily draw my personal knowledge and quotes from respected game designers in this paper. The video game is still a relatively young industry, dating back to the 1972 launch of the first home console created by the American company Magnavox, called the Odyssey.
In just under four decades the industry has blossomed across the globe. It wasn’t an easy road though, as the industry experienced a collapse in 1983, but was given life again thanks to the overwhelming popularity of the Nintendo Entertainment System created by Japan based company Nintendo. Today the video game industry has become a worldwide entertainment Szczomak 2 force, eclipsing the yearly sales of DVD/Blu-ray in 2008 (Magiera).
The majority of games released are developed in either Japan or America, and examining the differences between the two region’s products reveals distinct cultural contrasts and preferences between the two countries. Before the specifics of game design can be discussed, it is important to understand what makes video games different from other forms of entertainment and media. Video games provide a unique medium to create entertainment. Where a movie runs for an average of two hours, a video game can last anywhere from five minutes to over one hundred hours to complete.
Video games incorporate many elements of other media into them, such as music and story lines. The largest, and most significant, difference when comparing video games to other forms of media is interactivity. Video games are hot media, because the consumer interacts with the world created by the game, whereas movies, music, and television are cold media, the consumer does not actively interact with them. This interactivity allows developers in the games industry to dictate what experience the consumer gets from playing their game.
The first thing someone is likely to notice when turning on a video game is how the game world looks. Technological advances in the past two decades have allowed games to go from being two dimensional to being highly detailed, three dimensional worlds. Today a game can take from ten to seventy artists to create the visual style, or graphics, of a game. Japan tends to draw on its rich artistic history to craft incredibly stylized games. Japanese art direction is heavily influenced by cultural mainstays such as Kabuki Theater and manga.
The impact of manga on Japanese games is immense, and as such, realism is a style that is not frequently used. This could also be attributed to realist style never being embraced in Japan as Szczomak 3 much as it has been by Western countries over history. American developed games, on the other hand, employ the use of realism in the majority of their games. America, having a miniscule history when compared to Japan, has inherited the art traditions brought to it by the Europeans who founded it. [pic] (Above) An example of a Japanese developed game, Dragon Quest VI.
The anime influence is clearly visible. (SquareEnix) (Below) An example of an American developed game, Fallout 3. A realist art direction is used. (Bethesda) [pic] Szczomak 4 Japanese developed games frequently employ a structured, linear, and detailed story line. A traditional role playing game (RPG) in Japan is almost always completely linear in its story progression, with the player assuming the role of an established character and advancing the story line being the most important aspect.
Unlike with artistic choices, technology has not been a major factor of change in the way stories have been presented. This makes it all the more intriguing that Japanese games have remained stagnant in this regard while American games have utilized the more powerful technology to bring to life immense worlds where the player can choose how he/she will spend their time in the game and pick multiple paths for the story to take.
Famed Japanese game designer Keiji Inafune offered his insight into why Japanese consumers prefer linear storylines: Japanese want to be able to plan, they want to have guidance, they want to have focus. To put it simply, Japanese people feel uncomfortable with the unknown and not understanding the future. … Japanese enjoy having these clearly-defined goals, and it progresses all the way through to the actual game implementation. Japanese people don’t like just being dropped into a sandbox with no guidance.
If you tell a Japanese person they are free to go anywhere, often times they will choose to go nowhere. (Kalata) Whether this is true for all Japanese consumers or not, it is clear that the types of games that Inafune talks about, mainly RPGs, continue to be the best selling genre of game in Japan, and American made games that are not linear comparatively sell embarrassingly poorly in Japan. There are two distinct approaches to crafting a video game experience take by Japan and America. In the end, it comes down to personal preference in deciding which kind of game is superior.
But recently an increasing number of Japanese developers have begun to express Szczomak 5 opinions that American games are surpassing their own in terms of quality and global appeal. With the video game industry now being a global industry that sells its products all over the world, a lack of interest in Japanese made games outside of Japan itself has become an urgent concern for many developers. Current head of developer Game Republic former Capcom producer Yoshiki Okamoto expressed his feelings on the subject: It’s almost too late.
During the Famicom (NES) era, Japanese video games comprised 70 percent of all video games. And currently, it’s like 15 or 20 percent, isn’t it? Now, Western games are more advanced. … It’s just not possible to catch up in a single lifetime. (Ashcraft) Of course Japanese companies are not going out of business over an inability to appeal to the global market, but they are beginning to change the way they make games. The Japanese are extremely gifted in being able to incorporate and refine foreign technology and ideas, then market the result better than any other people on the globe. Chin-Ning) This is already taking place in the video games industry as famous Japanese game designers such as Hideo Kojima, the creator of one of the most popular worldwide franchises Metal Gear Solid, tour to other development studios outside of Japan to study the approach they take to making games. (Kikizo) Japan puts a unique spin on every entertainment product it makes. Video games are no different as Japanese developers create experiences unlike the American standard in terms of artistic approach and story telling.
Japan’s storied history and general social mindset contribute to the creation of games that have a charming Japanese appeal. But as globalization continues, it’s becoming clear that Japanese developers are going to have to adapt their games for a larger Szczomak 6 audience outside of Japan. As recent history has demonstrated though, Japan is well accustomed to absorbing and adapting technologies and business strategies from outside of its borders and using them to achieve a great deal of success without losing its own cultural identity in the process. Szczomak 7 Works Cited Ashcraft, Brian. Western Games Are More Advanced Than Japanese. ” Kotaku. 30 Apr. 2009. Kotaku. 10 Sep. 2008. Bethesda. “Fallout 3 Screenshots. ” IGN. 30 Apr. 2009. IGN. 30 Sep. 2008 . Chin-Ning, Chu. “Japanese Mind Set. ” All Business. 30 Apr. 2009. D&B. 1 July 1992. Kalata, Kurt. “Clash of the Cultures. ” 1Up. 28 Apr. 2009. UGO. 18 Jan. 2007. Kikizo. “Hideo Kojima. ” Kikizo. 30 Apr. 2009. Kikizo Ltd. 15 Apr. 2009. Magiera, Marcy. “Worldwide packaged media up 6% in 2008. ” Video Business. 28 Apr. 2009. Variety. 21 Jan. 2009. SquareEnix. “Dragon Quest V Pictures. ” IGN. 30 Apr. 2009. IGN. 16 May 2005 .