Game honouring Satoru Iwata

mrnewtool

Member
Dear Game Maker Community,

I would like to discuss philosophical/scientific design issues relating to my current proposal: A game honouring Satoru Iwata.

The game would be a tool or a sort of simulation, and it would deal with three things:

1. Time Travel

2. Honouring Iwata San

3. The collective unconscious.

Basically, the plan so far goes a bit like this: I have hypothesised a new "collective unconscious" element to society: The prison unconscious. What this is, is an element of the unconscious mind where we project onto others our feelings of being imprisoned, such that it could manifest in many ways, including vindictive behaviour or trying to isolate others, or uneven social hierarchies etc. Each member of a community has an unconscious feeling or conception. of what a prison is like, and it is transferred to others in social behaviour.

The idea of the tool/game is that to remember Iwata San, we realise through the game that his presence would reduce the feeling of the collective unconscious prison, and we can change the past or elements of the past in order to suit a different collective unconscious setup.

My current personal research suggests that different imaged patterns and variations could represent a scope into analysing existing games, music, art etc. So you would refer to different patterns and gain knowledge of the data required for analysis.

It could be thought of as being similar to psychedelic patterns related to brain imaging scans or looking down a microscope.

However, the rest of the game/tool would be different. It would be linked with human resource management simulation where you imagine Iwata San's presence and organise research/productivity efficiency. So it would involve a symbolic user interface and etc.

My concept for the interface is that we can monitor everyday events and real research with this tool, and apply the logic that if someone important passes from this existence, we can honour this passing by increasing efficiency in the scientific disciplines, and improve the well being of the collective unconscious through interfaces, patterns and images used analytically.

I could have posted this on a philosophy forum, but I decided that it would be more constructive to post it in this game design forum. It has been a long while since I have used game maker, so maybe if it is permitted, in this topic or another topic, I might want to assemble a team.

The other thing is, I don't think there would be legal issues with this, as clearly Iwata San did not belong to Nintendo in the same way as intellectual property does. I see no harm in remembering a person in a good willed fashion.

So hopefully we can discuss the ins and outs of my concept and create a meaningful tool.

Thank you for your time.
 

AnotherHero

Member
I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, but I read over this a few times and I'm not really sure what this is. I understand that this post is more about your idea of a "prison unconscious" than a game (I think?) but I am not versed in philosophy or the human psyche... I could very well be alone here. I want this to be available for discussion, because it sounds like you've had this on your mind, but I think you have to dumb it down a little for me. Sorry.
 

mrnewtool

Member
I'm sorry if I sound insensitive, but I read over this a few times and I'm not really sure what this is. I understand that this post is more about your idea of a "prison unconscious" than a game (I think?) but I am not versed in philosophy or the human psyche... I could very well be alone here. I want this to be available for discussion, because it sounds like you've had this on your mind, but I think you have to dumb it down a little for me. Sorry.
Thanks for your response.

The closest thing that I can think of, though still totally different from my concept, would be the type of game where you play as a person living through their childhood, progressing to adulthood and learning lessons about life, so that the player reflects upon the art and the psychology of the game.

The difference is that I am trying to generate discussion for more complex subjects such as afterlife, honouring someone's productivity and efficiency, and aiding someone's lifestyle with a simulation game.

One thing to look into might be Satoru Iwata's last plans about QOL (quality of life.) If we could improve people's quality of life through psychology and philosophy, how could we do this through the art of game design? His goal was to make games accessible and fun for everyone, while I am trying to push the boundaries of science/psychology in design.

If people could help me bend and shape and transform the idea of collective unconscious, time travel and etc into a meaningful simulation, then I'm happy to listen to design ideas and suggestions.

Honouring Satoru Iwata is about extracting meaning from his life and applying it to a tool for improving our lives. My concept could be considered cutting edge psychology.

Finally, there is an article on the internet entitled: "Someone should make a game about the collective unconscious."


I didn't get my idea from that article, but it might be useful reading material.

More generally related to design:
What makes a successful simulation game when dealing with more complicated subjects, hypothetically?

Thanks again!
 
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Zizka

Member
I’m also confused, even with the extra information. I might misunderstand but the scope seems very ambitious, something Kojima might have the resources to tackle.

I don’t know if this something you would like to develop or just talk about it. The #1 trap of indie developer is to bite more than they can chew. If you have the resources, I encourage you to go for it of course! You seem very motivated and inspired. Keeping things small and manageable in scope is something I would go honestly encourage.
 

mrnewtool

Member
Thanks for your kind words.

I do intend to make the game as useful or as complex as possible, as a simulation tool. I also know that it might, if it ever comes into circulation, gain cult appreciation.

It's not that people can't understand if they try, it's simply that some ideas require special mention to gain appreciation, like Einstein's theories of relativity. It is a complex problem made mainstream.

But anyway, if for the time being it's necessary to forget my complex idea inspired by Carl Jung, we can instead focus on a couple of simple questions which might bring some results:

1. What would you like to see, or feel would be beneficial for a simulation tool that honours people who have passed away?

2. If there could exist a game that helps people overcome the loss of someone important or someone near, what would the game likely consist of?

I agree that it seems ambitious, but I have plans to make it as feasible as possible. I mentioned psychedelic images, which may be tricky to produce, but for reference, the kind of simplicity that I might go for, if I have to scale down the project, would be, for certain sections of the product, instead of psychedelic images, more of a Piet Mondrian styled interface, https://www.tate.org.uk/kids/explore/who-is/who-piet-mondrian

That doesn't mean that the idea is simply to have lots of squares though.

So if you could try and answer those two questions and forget about my other complex ideas for now, that might help.

Thanks.
 

Yal

🐧 *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
There's been a similarly ambitious project before, and it didn't turn out well...


(the relevant part is the Wind Town graveyard, but you should watch the entire video for context and a lot of good examples of what not to do with a large project)
 

mrnewtool

Member
Thanks.

My simulation tool would have very little in common with that particular RPG production, but I can see from the video that the game might be deliberately trying too hard to have an edge or be different.

As far as my game is concerned, it is simply trying to provide a service to a limited audience who may or may not understand the scientific/social premises behind it.

I think that the game you referred to might be deliberately using Iwata to stand out and be edgy, and if it is a genuine attempt to honour him, then it isn't well thought out.

I am still formulating ideas, but I don't think that my ideas say anything controversial about Iwata San. Rather, my ideas try and offer a service to improve the world, based on his good traits.

My current idea, so that it can tick the box of saying that it refers to popular concepts, is that part of my product could use the Chinese I Ching to aid the simulation.

The I Ching is a fortune telling system commonly using coin tossing to create binary hexagrams that can reveal truths about a person's existence. There are plenty of articles available about the I Ching, and it is said that it gained favour in Japan for a period when cultural influence was greater from the Chinese.

Since the I Ching is a system to be consulted, I decided that the number of consultations that society makes, determines social/productive harmony.

So my formula is: Efficiency divided by number of consultations, equals social harmony. However, this would be inversely proportional in nature, either for a higher number or a lower number result.

Based on this, people could consult different hexagrams and study games, art, music etc, including this system.

I can't really make my ideas clear, because it is simply the nature of the work. It does not permit necessarily a clear understanding.

But people are welcome to post their thoughts either about this, or the other points presented.

Thanks again.
 
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