Added: 19.02.2015 16:30 | 0 views | 0 comments

If you're anything like me, you probably took one look at for the Wii, where Kirby's stringy identity did dictate mechanics to a degree, it would make sense that the same relationship would exist in Rainbow Curse.

Art director Teruhiko Suzuki gets it, too, but to him, clay was a means of expression and not intended as a source of gameplay inspiration. "We just wanted to find a way to bring some of the expressiveness of that clay animation and that stop motion animation style, not necessarily referencing the actual material," Suzuki said. "So you won't, for that reason, find Kirby mixing with other bits of clay in the game for various gameplay mechanics."

The clay-like visuals are a great way to express imagination and playfulness, but how could it not spur creative minds to come up with suitable mechanics? Apparently it did, but according to director Kazushige Masuda, this inspiration only materialized in the form of vehicle transformations. "When we were thinking about how to use clay as an art style for this game, the way that we were connecting it to ideas for gameplay was from the direction of clay being soft and mutable, something that you could shape into a lot of different forms, and so we had these ideas for Kirby molding himself into the shape of a tank or a submarine, and that these kinds of animations would be easy for him because he's made out of clay."

"The corollary to that is we have to be careful to avoid things that made the game less fun because we had chosen clay as this expressive form," said Masuda. "For us, the driving principle was: clay is a visual style and we're trying to draw from it ideas that can make an action game with Kirby more fun."

What Masuda says makes sense, but hasn't Kirby always been mutable? His identifying trait is the ability to absorb powers from his enemies, which causes him to transform into a wide variety of forms depending on the game in question. By the sound of it, the idea they drew from clay is one that's existed in the series since its inception, but what happened to the copy ability at large in Rainbow Curse? If it plays to the strengths of Kirby's character, especially in clay form, why is it limited to only three transformations?

While it's clear that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory had a vision for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, the formula it went with is surprising. The team took the beloved Canvas Curse concept, put it on a larger screen, stripped away some of the transformations in the name of speed, and left inspirational opportunities on the table. The game still has moments that are interesting and creative, but it never really capitalizes on the concept of a world made of clay.

Added: 19.02.2015 16:30 | 0 views | 0 comments

If you're anything like me, you probably took one look at for the Wii, where Kirby's stringy identity did dictate mechanics to a degree, it would make sense that the same relationship would exist in Rainbow Curse.

Art director Teruhiko Suzuki gets it, too, but to him, clay was a means of expression and not intended as a source of gameplay inspiration. "We just wanted to find a way to bring some of the expressiveness of that clay animation and that stop motion animation style, not necessarily referencing the actual material," Suzuki said. "So you won't, for that reason, find Kirby mixing with other bits of clay in the game for various gameplay mechanics."

The clay-like visuals are a great way to express imagination and playfulness, but how could it not spur creative minds to come up with suitable mechanics? Apparently it did, but according to director Kazushige Masuda, this inspiration only materialized in the form of vehicle transformations. "When we were thinking about how to use clay as an art style for this game, the way that we were connecting it to ideas for gameplay was from the direction of clay being soft and mutable, something that you could shape into a lot of different forms, and so we had these ideas for Kirby molding himself into the shape of a tank or a submarine, and that these kinds of animations would be easy for him because he's made out of clay."

"The corollary to that is we have to be careful to avoid things that made the game less fun because we had chosen clay as this expressive form," said Masuda. "For us, the driving principle was: clay is a visual style and we're trying to draw from it ideas that can make an action game with Kirby more fun."

What Masuda says makes sense, but hasn't Kirby always been mutable? His identifying trait is the ability to absorb powers from his enemies, which causes him to transform into a wide variety of forms depending on the game in question. By the sound of it, the idea they drew from clay is one that's existed in the series since its inception, but what happened to the copy ability at large in Rainbow Curse? If it plays to the strengths of Kirby's character, especially in clay form, why is it limited to only three transformations?

While it's clear that Nintendo and HAL Laboratory had a vision for Kirby and the Rainbow Curse, the formula it went with is surprising. The team took the beloved Canvas Curse concept, put it on a larger screen, stripped away some of the transformations in the name of speed, and left inspirational opportunities on the table. The game still has moments that are interesting and creative, but it never really capitalizes on the concept of a world made of clay.