Creating content isn’t easy, no matter what industry you work in. However, game development, especially for those focused on franchises that millions of fans have an opinion on, puts a substantial amount of pressure on anyone and everyone involved. Super Smash Bros. game director Masahiro Sakurai has been open and honest about the struggles of creating this well-loved series, comparing just the act of character selection to actual death. He has never been afraid to express exactly what he’s feeling when making one of these Nintendo projects, and in a new column he’s posted on Famitsu, the designer has decided to open up about the pain many professionals experience in this industry.
“Projects take a while, and you run into difficult and painful times. Some people have to bow out of it,” Sakurai stated in the post. “To be honest, I've sometimes thought about what I'm earning for myself, going through all this life-changing struggle. But the pain I feel at the time goes away over time, and yet the game itself always remains. Players talk about the fun and so forth behind the game for years to come, and they still play it.”
When you can claim to be the man behind one of the biggest brawlers on the market, the long hours and personal struggles might just be worth it. But even with these bad times that go along with development, Sakurai loves what he does.
“Oftentimes I'm asked by the overseas media if I feel any pressure when making a title like Smash Bros. Like I've written before, on a personal level, I don't feel anything like pressure. It's really fun work,” he continued. “Sometimes you have to resign yourself to the fact that things will work out the way they're meant to work out. But you need to funnel your regrets to the next project and work as hard as you can on that. The pain goes away, but your work always remains.”
