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Sony's Patapon is one of the landmark critically acclaimed titles on the company's PlayStation Portable handheld thus far. A blend of rhythm and strategy genres,
the game features iconic two-dimensional artwork, creating an unusual,
humorous, and engaging experience on a platform too frequently known for
hand-me-down ports of PlayStation 2 games.
To get to the core of that creative
process, and to learn more about what one of the developers who had created one
of the system's most recognizable games thinks, Gamasutra traveled to Sony's
development offices in Tokyo to talk to Hiroyuki Kotani, creator of the series,
and 10-year Sony Computer Entertainment veteran.
Here, Kotani, joined by associate producer
Junichi Yoshizawa, discusses the inspirational process for Patapon, which has just received a sequel in Japan.
He also touches on his
philosophy on developing games that are simple and deep rather than
complicated, and even what he learned in his previous career as an elementary
school teacher that can apply to developing games for all audiences.
So,
something I wanted to talk about, particularly with Patapon is that -- this is my personal observation, and you may not
agree, but -- many games made by developers for the PSP don't seem to take into
account the PSP hardware very well.
But
Patapon, I think, is a game that you
can easily play portably, that is easy to see what's going on, and it's a game
that's well-suited to the PSP; so I was wondering, you know, how you approached
that issue, and how it informed your development of the game.
Hiroyuki Kotani: Actually, I am very happy
to hear that -- but at the same time, I got a little bit nervous! The most
important thing that I wanted to realize in the game was that I wanted people
to enjoy the game casually; so in that sense I think it really very much
matched the identity of the PSP hardware.
Is
that something that you thought about? I mean, was that just your opinion, or
was that based on research that Sony had done about the audience? Who do you
see as the audience for this game?
HK: Well, the idea came from myself, and I
don't rely on market research. I don't want to take a very passive attitude of
relying on market research. Rather, my attitude is more active; I'm going to
offer something that is interesting to the market. And you asked what would be
audience of this game title? Anybody who wants to have fun!

Sony's Patapon (left) and Loco Roco
Something
that I found interesting -- and I want to know if it's a coincidence -- this
and Loco Roco, the games aren't very
similar, but they both have some similarities. They're both 2D, and they both
have bright colors, sharp lines, and very iconic art direction. Do you think
it's something you both arrived at because it works well on the PSP?
HK: Well it wasn't about how to take
advantage of the PSP hardware, however, I wanted to make the users feel closer
to the characters -- therefore, I used bright colors; I used a funny character
which people might find themselves pretty close to, so that people would feel
that they're in the same world.
Junichi Yoshizawa: That was Mr Kotani's
personal opinion; and actually we've heard that opinion, that Loco Roco and Patapon look similar, but from our opinion, it's just a
coincidence.
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The amount of work these guys invested on making the concept strong sure explain why this game is so f**** amazing. Kudos on Kotani and his team for their vision and for what I consider the defining title of the PSP platform.