https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarde ... 4d1b31eb28
When it comes to their most important element of game development, Nishikado responded with a refreshingly focused answer.
“This is especially important for arcade games, but I always strove to design something so simple, you don’t need to read the instructions to understand how to play.”
Whereas Aoki’s approach is a more personal one.
“I always begin by thinking about whether I’d enjoy the concept, then move on to whether someone else would be able to grasp the concept easily or not. It sounds like I’m being smug or complacent, but all the games I’ve developed so far have originated with this process and I still believe it works.”
“It all started with Atari’s Breakout; I wanted to recreate that feeling I got when I destroyed all the blocks and finished a stage, but I wanted to change the blocks for something with actual form and make it into a shooting game; a genre which I liked.
“Although there were several variants released after Space Invaders 3D and even competitive versions, I didn’t think any of them represented a real evolution until Infinity Gene was launched in 2008. The most recent progression I’ve seen was the Space Invaders game shown in Roppongi in January which used a giant projection display. This felt like the starting point for a new game.”
“A lot of different shooting games followed Space Invaders. At first, they were interesting and focused on gameplay and mechanics, but they quickly started getting more and more difficult, increasingly focused on the core players and losing sight of that invigorating feeling coupled with game design which anyone could enjoy. I was greatly disappointed to see the decline in popularity of shooting games.