People We Wish Would Design Games: Hayao Miyazaki

Some see him as the Walt Disney of Japan. To others, he is a god of animation. Just saying the name “Miyazaki” evokes a sense of awe and wonder in some people that can’t really be put into words. Hayao Miyazaki has shown the world how animation can be used for more than just Saturday morning entertainment and proved that incredible films can also be animated. Having him create a video game would be a truly amazing visual experience.

Hayao Miyazaki (aka god of animation)

Founder of Studio Ghibli, Hayao Miyazaki brings two things to the table:  an incredible artistic vision and an amazing sense of story. Films like Spirited Away and My Neighbor Totoro show how Miyazaki can take a fairy tale and make it an epic adventure. His stories also often show characters drawing more on their inner strengths instead of the magic or technology that exists in their world. While magic and technology would likely be in a game he made, the plot would be the driving force.

While most directors favor computer effects and animation, Miyazaki has actually tried not to use them in favor of traditional animation. While this might make for some very nice cut scenes, you can’t draw a video game. However, cel-shading may be a good compromise and allow game programmers to bring Miyazaki’s amazing art-style to a game. While his human characters are often simple by comparison, it’s the non-human characters and even the background scenes that really stand out. So a Miyazaki game would likely feature some amazing backgrounds and incredible creatures as allies and enemies.

We Demands To Has Cheezburger!

While Miyazaki addresses such issues as the fragility and power of nature and the evils of war in many of his films, he also incorporates his fascination with flying. In such films as My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and even Kiki’s Delivery Service, flying was how characters got around, all of which could make for fun ways to travel in a video game. Given these past examples, I’m sure Miyazaki could give gamers one sweet ride.

Probably the most significant thing Miyazaki offers the video game world is the potential for great female protagonists. Miyazaki often creates stories with girls as main characters, or has strong female characters that are usually not the stereotypical damsel in distress.

Don't mess with this princess.

In the case of Spirited Away, the main character (Chihiro) must save herself by becoming a stronger person and less of a crybaby. In Princess Mononoke, the “princess” is raised by wolves, and fights alongside the beasts of the forest. Since female video game characters are sometimes over-sexualized, Miyazaki could bring a welcome change to how women are depicted in video games.

It’s been hard to put into words why Miyazaki would be a great person to design games, since his work really does speak for itself. If you’ve never seen a Miyazaki film, then I highly recommend you check them out. Then decide for yourself if Miyazaki should design a game or not. Once you do, I think you’ll agree with me.