Sakurai defends Kid Icarus: Uprising controls
With a resume full of games like Super Smash Bros. and Kirby Air Ride, Masahiro Sakurai has a strong history of creating games with innovative new control schemes.
Sakurai's latest game, Kid Icarus: Uprising for 3DS, is no exception, using the circle pad to move Pit and touch screen to aim his weapon and move the camera. The game has been well received by both critics and consumers, but some still struggle to adapt to the new controls.
Sakurai has faith in his decisions, though. "I do have my doubts over whether it'd be that easy to provide support," he told IGN. "I think any game needs to provide new experiences and stimulating things to discover, but if we provided run-of-the-mill controls for it, that cuts down on the game's potential. If a player used to touchscreen-based aiming played against someone used to right-analog control, the first player would probably dominate. The speed is on a whole different level."
He did offer advice to those still having trouble. "If there are players who say that it makes their hand tired, that's because you're applying too much force. Try to relax and work on building a rhythm to your control. Place the pen in the middle of the touchscreen; when you're flicking it, take the pen off the screen as you're sweeping with it, and stop right there. That's the basic idea."
He also compared the situation with Uprising to his biggest hit franchise, Super Smash Bros.. "Smash Bros. led to similar misunderstandings when it first came out," he said. "Some people, including within the company, commented that they couldn't imagine a worse game. The project was really saved by the fact that people 'got' how to play it after it was released. If we had just listened to the complaints and instituted health gauges or command-based special moves, I don't think we would have invented a new style of play that way. The controls here really aren't that difficult, either, so I'm hoping that people will be able to get used to them."
Staff article by Rhody Tobin (May 04, 2012)
Rhody likes to press the keys on his keyboard. Sometimes the resulting letters form strings of words that kind of make sense when you think about them for a moment. Most times they're just random gibberish that should be ignored. Ball-peen wobble glurk. |
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