Horrible! Actually playing this kind of game!

Chapter 143 47. What? Make "Princess Mononoke" into a game? !

Tokyo.

Ghibli Co., Ltd.

The company just moved to its new location in Higashikoganei in August this year, and it has only been 3 months since then.

The new environment is good, but everyone seems to have not fully adapted yet.

The current number of people at Studio Ghibli is not very large, with less than 50 people, which is still a long way from the 300 people at its peak in its previous life.

From its establishment in 1985 to now, Studio Ghibli has only been around for more than 7 years. In a country like Neon, it can be regarded as a "baby".

After all, Kyoto Animation was founded around the same time.

However, in terms of strength and fame, it is in the sky and the earth. The 51-year-old Hayao Miyazaki can be said to be a leading figure in the neon animation industry, and is known as the first person after Osamu Tezuka.

Studio Ghibli is a little busy today.

In the small room of less than 40 square meters where Hayao Miyazaki paints, executive Toshio Suzuki is happily installing a TV on the table, and then moving a Sega MD game console next to it.

In fact, there is a little knowledge and misunderstanding here.

Because Hayao Miyazaki is very famous and is one of the co-founders of Studio Ghibli, many people subconsciously think that Hayao Miyazaki is the president.

But this is not the case.

Studio Ghibli was founded through an investment from Tokuma Shoten.

With investment from Tokuma Shoten, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata and Toshio Suzuki co-founded Studio Ghibli.

The name Ghibli comes from an Italian reconnaissance aircraft during World War II, which means "hot wind of the Sahara Desert".

Since Hayao Miyazaki's father once worked in an aircraft manufacturer, Hayao Miyazaki has been full of yearning for flying and the sky since he was a child, so he thought of naming his studio "Ghibli".

The first president of Ghibli was the famous Tokuma Yasukai. Later, Tokuma Yasukai transferred the position of president to the former TOPCRAFT president Toru Hara.

Due to different opinions on business policies, Toru Hara resigned as managing director at this time last year and was replaced by Toshio Suzuki.

The current president of Ghibli Co., Ltd. is Suzuki.

…

Such an organizational structure and combination is actually more conducive to the development of Ghibli. Suzuki is responsible for all company internal affairs, personnel management and coordination, external publicity and operations, and then releases all the time and energy of Miyazaki Hayao and Takahata Isao , so that they can concentrate on doing their own things without being disturbed by trivial matters.

However, this actually brought about some [small problems]

For example, middle-aged men like Hayao Miyazaki are always well protected and always immersed in their own world. It is difficult for them to make changes and changes, and they rarely think of learning about the latest world.

This may result in not keeping up with the times and information lagging behind.

Often at this time, Toshio Suzuki will act as the person who opens the door to Hayao Miyazaki's new world.

For example, some time ago, when Studio Ghibli began to introduce computers as tools, it was in order to let this guy [play with computers].

Suzuki thought of a way to trick the ancient Miyazaki into using a computer.

He knew that Hayao Miyazaki liked shogi very much, so he deliberately opened the shogi software when Miyazaki was approaching.

Hayao Miyazaki couldn't help but be surprised that this big guy could actually play shogi. He couldn't help but feel itchy. Once he started playing, he repeatedly praised the computer's high level.

So Suzuki bought a computer for Miyazaki on the grounds that it could play shogi.

For the next few days, I saw Hayao Miyazaki and the computer having a great time.

Suzuki was secretly happy.

Unexpectedly, soon after Suzuki went to work, he saw the computer placed on his desk again, with a souvenir from Hayao Miyazaki beside it, which read, "I will not be fooled."

It turned out that the computer's level of shogi was too high and it killed Miyazaki to the point where he was stunned, which broke this guy's heart.

In short, for Suzuki, Miyazaki lives like a child even though he is over 50 years old.

No, to be precise, it looks like a little hamster.

He is very timid and extremely afraid of frustration. If there is any trouble, he will retreat into his comfort zone.

This time Suzuki has no intention of letting Miyazaki's hamster return to his comfort zone.

…

Some time ago, I accidentally saw an advertisement for the game "Your Name" on TV, which led Hayao Miyazaki to say "I want to play the game" for the first time.

Even Suzuki Toshio was stunned.

You must know that this guy used to regard games as his enemy.

In the previous life, Studio Ghibli produced many animated films, and most of them were very classic and internationally renowned works. There were even many game manufacturers who wanted to obtain the game development rights for related films.

Especially for early works like "Steam Boy", which have a distinct oriental cyberpunk style, many people think it would be so cool if it could be developed into a game.

But Hayao Miyazaki, an old man, no.

Life or death is a game.

That's why there are rumors that Hayao Miyazaki doesn't accept games at all, and even regards him as his enemy, saying that he is stubborn and conservative and does not accept new things.

In fact, it is only partially correct.

There are several important reasons for this.

It’s not that Ghibli has never tried gamification, it’s just that Hayao Miyazaki, the earliest gamifier, was heartbroken.

In 1984, Studio Ghibli had not yet been established, but "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" was already famous at home and abroad. At that time, Tokuma Shoten produced three adaptations of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" through its subsidiary brand "Technopolis Soft".

Corresponding to MSX, PC8801, and PC6001, three home computers that were popular in Japan at the time.

This may seem incredible today, but they did not port it directly, but developed three different games for three platforms!

However, these three games have a distinct feature in common - "Calling it garbage is to elevate it."

Think about it, in 1984, Rentendo had not even developed Super Mario. The hardware at that time was a disaster and could not support the game graphics of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" and what Hayao Miyazaki wanted. content.

A large part of the 56k game is used as the game startup screen (the startup screen restores Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind quite well), and it takes 10 minutes just to load the game.

Yes, you read that right, it took 10 minutes to load the game. In 1984, making computer games was not only a miracle but also required a lot of courage.

In the game, it can only be described as horrific.

It's equivalent to painting a Mona Lisa in Hayao Miyazaki's movie, and making the game a red bean paste.

Failure is inevitable, and it also destroys Miyazaki's thoughts on games and computers.

…

In addition to the disastrous failure of the game adaptation of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind", Hayao Miyazaki has another reason to hate games -

That's because he's too bad.

Playing games will make you die quickly, and you will be tortured to death by monsters, so Miyazaki Hamster only gave up on the game after a brief taste, and soon gave up the game and was not prepared to have anything to do with the game again in this life.

Now, all this has been broken because of a TV commercial, which really makes Suzuki Toshio feel incredible.

Hamsters will actually show their heads one day.

When Suzuki was installing the game console, Miyazaki Hamster watched the whole process. He looked at the black box on the table in front of him with some confusion.

"Are all game consoles like this now?"

"Isn't it true? You thought it was still 10 years ago?" Suzuki Toshio laughed.

"No, my son also plays, but I see his machine is red and white."

"That's Rentendo's game console, and this is Sega's MD."

Miyazaki was stunned for a moment, then shook his head.

"So many game consoles?"

"Just like we do animation, there is not just one company making game consoles."

As he spoke, Toshio Suzuki had already installed the game console and tried it to run it. He then handed the controller to Hayao Miyazaki, "Okay, we can start."

What appears on the screen is the start interface of "Your Name".

To be honest, there is still some gap between the picture quality and the one in the promotional video.

After all, the accuracy of hand-drawing can be very high, but the hardware level of game consoles cannot yet reach this point.

However, the picture is considered to be the best of its time and is quite close to the original picture quality.

This alone is far beyond what the little bee pixel style of "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" could match.

Thanks to this being a 16-bit machine and Sony's support and improvements to the CD-ROM of game consoles, the capacity and quality of games have been greatly improved.

Of course, the main reason is that pokeni's own software and hardware level is high enough.

After adding a chip specially used to process images and memory, "Your Name" is now almost catching up with the level of 2004's Fate in terms of graphics.

To be honest, when Hayao Miyazaki saw this game screen, he was stunned for a moment.

Because it was much better than he imagined.

"Is this a game screen?"

Hayao Miyazaki said incredulously.

He hadn't shaved in the past two days, and his beard was all clumps together. He just felt cute.

"if not?"

Suzuki Toshio frowned, "How long has it been since you last played games?"

"I...I thought it should be something like Super Mario." Hayao Miyazaki said.

Because he is still stuck in the era of Super Mario pixel side-scrolling, Hayao Miyazaki still hasn't figured out how to play a game like "Your Name".

However, galgame has only become popular in the past two years due to pokeni.

It’s normal not to understand.

"Come on, try it yourself." Suzuki said with a smile. He couldn't hit Miyazaki too hard, otherwise the hamster would flinch.

Hayao Miyazaki smiled naively, wearing work clothes and an apron around his waist to prevent paint from getting stained, and wiped his hands on the apron.

Just as he was about to take over the handle, he retracted his hand.

Suzuki stared at him, as if saying, What? Backing down again?

Hayao Miyazaki smiled honestly and pointed at the game console, "My hands are dirty, you come and play."

Suzuki Toshio:......

…

Although Miyazaki Hamster flinched, he didn't completely flinch.

Wearing a pair of black-rimmed glasses, he pulled up a wooden chair and sat next to Suzuki, watching him play games.

To be more precise, he [commanded] him to play the game while glaring his eyes wide.

"Not bad. The picture quality in the game is much better than I expected."

"What do you think? Is it "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind" back then?" Suzuki Toshio teased.

As expected, Miyazaki Hamster frowned fiercely, as if he had been hit at a painful point.

At first, Hayao Miyazaki couldn't imagine how to play a [cartoon-style] game, but after experiencing it with Suzuki, he quickly fell in love with it.

Emotions are aroused as the game progresses.

"Nani, is this how you play?"

"Hmm...should I choose [swear the other person]?"

"Ah...this is interesting. The girl's soul lives in the boy's body."

"What do you think now, choose [sewing clothes for seniors]?"

"Didn't you read the clues? Now you have to go to the school to ask about the situation. Find other people to consult."

"..."

Suzuki Toshio frowned fiercely, with a bleak look on his face.

You only do the work of directing people, Miyazaki Hamster, why don't you come and play by yourself?

…

Before I knew it, more than 3 hours had passed.

In a blink of an eye, it's time to get off work.

Today is definitely not the end. Hayao Miyazaki still has some unfinished thoughts, but due to time constraints, he can only say goodbye to Suzuki.

Early the next morning, he urged Suzuki to continue playing.

Suzuki Toshio is funny and angry. This guy is obviously immersed in the game, but——

Why don't you play it yourself?

"The game is not difficult, it's just about making choices and talking to people to advance the plot." Suzuki persuaded, "You can definitely adapt to this game."

Hayao Miyazaki's expression turned pale, "I was just painting and my hands were dirty."

He sheepishly wiped his hands on his apron twice, then put his hands behind his back.

You say that, do I not want to lose face?

Miyazaki Hamster said, "I'm not the kind of person who quits playing a game because it's too difficult."

…

After spending more than 5 hours, the two finally completed the game before 2 p.m.

As the healing BGM played at the end, both Hayao Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki showed happy smiles on their faces.

"It's great, we are finally together."

Suzuki Toshio turned around with a smile.

But I saw Miyazaki Hamster secretly wiping tears.

Don't ask, if you ask this guy, he will definitely say "My eyes are a little sore after looking at it for a long time"

Sure enough, seeing Suzuki Toshio paying attention, Miyazaki immediately sniffed and put his glasses back on his face.

"My eyes are a little sore after looking at them for a long time. I just wiped the lenses because they were dirty."

Uh-huh.

I see.

Suzuki Toshio nodded.

…

The two of them each made a cup of coffee, drank it, and started discussing the content of the game.

"Hmm... it's a good story, and the emotions are well conveyed. The imagination is rich enough, and the painting style is very comfortable. Can today's games actually achieve this level?"

Miyazaki sighed.

"Yes, the world is changing very quickly." Toshio Suzuki said, "Now many companies have begun to use computers as tools for painting."

At this time in the past, Hayao Miyazaki would definitely have said, "How can a machine replace animation, a sophisticated work of art that requires emotion? Human beings are the most advanced creatures in the world."

But this time he didn't refute.

Hayao Miyazaki was silent for a while, then raised his head and looked at Toshio Suzuki.

"Suzuki-san."

"Huh?" Suzuki Toshio responded in surprise.

"I have a new appreciation for the game now."

"Huh? So fast?" Suzuki Toshio looked at his old friend with a smile.

Hayao Miyazaki nodded seriously, "The development of science and technology today is really amazing.

Maybe, as you said, one day machines can also become an important support for animation.

Of course, I have not given up on animated films. After all, the most critical core will not change, and that is human creativity and soul.

I just think that games seem to have their own unique charm, allowing you to play a certain role with real feelings and creating enough immersion and resonance.

This is not so easy to do in animation. "

"Yes... indeed." Suzuki Toshio carefully considered Miyazaki's words.

In fact, the most critical point is-

Animation is passive, the audience does not have to do anything, they just passively receive it and just follow the animation supervisor's shots.

The game is active, in which players can make choices and take actions. When you become active, your whole person's emotions and sense of substitution are mobilized.

From this point of view, the two have completely different experiences.

However, if you really have to make a choice, Suzuki Toshio will feel that games may be the most ideal creative form for expressors.

It is not just indoctrination, but allows players to understand the expresser's thoughts during exploration, which is very rare.

…

The two people exchanged opinions with each other, and both gained extraordinary insights into the game "Your Name".

Even Hayao Miyazaki remained silent for a long time.

Silence does not mean retreat, on the contrary, Suzuki can see the fire in his eyes.

What it looks like when creativity is being ignited.

After a long time, Hayao Miyazaki's face was filled with an unfinished smile, and he seemed to have thought a lot.

"Interesting, the form of expression of games is more interesting than I thought." Hayao Miyazaki nodded, "By the way, what is the name of this company?"

"Pokeni." Toshio Suzuki said.

"Tell me, is there a possibility..."

Hayao Miyazaki suddenly became interested. He sat on the wooden chair with his legs crossed and his head tilted to look at Suzuki.

"Huh? What?"

"I asked, is there a possibility that our "Princess Mononoke" will also produce a game while making a movie?"

"Princess Mononoke" is an animated film currently being created by Studio Ghibli. It was born very early. Hayao Miyazaki already had the idea in 1983.

However, the production cycle is very long. Based on Miyazaki Hayao's strict requirements and the traditional hand-painted painting method, it is expected to take 1996.

"ha?!"

Suzuki Toshio was stunned.

Miyazaki's hamster jumped bigger than he thought.

This is no longer stepping out of the comfort zone, but jumping directly to the tree and looking up at the blue sky.

"But... we have no experience in making games." Suzuki Toshio said, "Have you forgotten the last time we played "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind"?"

"Although we don't have it..." Hayao Miyazaki pointed to the TV, "They do, the company that made "Your Name."

…

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