Iwatani-san, after nearly 30 year, is leaving Namco (where he designed Pac-Man, among other games) to teach at a university. Good luck Iwatani-san!
I like this quote from the article:
“For example, mental training games have become very popular lately,” he said. “TPU has set up facilities to monitor brain activity so that we can thoroughly investigate the relationship between games and brain activation. … It is necessary to verify that the claims [made by brain-training games] are valid from a scientific viewpoint. As the impact of games on society grows, they will be subject to criticism.”
I’ve always wanted to have an EEG to get some objective neurological feedback of my various activities and subjective experiences.
I also liked this quote:
“Game development is a group activity, so communication is crucial,” Iwatani said. “On the other hand, it’s a creative process, so assertiveness is necessary. I hope to foster in my students a balance between assertiveness and cooperation.”
I intend to write more about this in future posts: Design is always about balance, often of form and function. Designers like Iwatani-san have come to see that balance extends into every aspect of life.
And in keeping with this loosely themed post; here is a chimpanzee playing the bastardized Ms. Pacman (Iwatani-san once told me that he was displeased with the way that they made the levels out of “walls” instead of just lines):
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