When you make a video game character, no matter how big or small, human, alien or monster, or something in between, you want players to connect with them in a way that’ll make their gameplay experience feel meaningful. Because if you don’t, you’re not going to get sales and won’t have people talking about your game a lot. For the team behind Pikmin 4, they knew that the Pikmin were special creatures and that people knew about them, but with this fourth game, they wanted to do even more to connect players to them.
During the last part of their special Nintendo interview, the dev team talked about how they wanted to show the perspective of the Pikmin, with Shigeru Miyamoto highlighting why he felt the creatures were so unique:
“I’ve been saying for a long time that Pikmin games tend to stand out due to their world and characters, but I think they’re also interesting as a game genre. Furthermore, I want people to have this real sense that Pikmin are all around us, that they aren’t just fantasy creatures. Pikmin have no set age or nationality. They have a unique presence as creatures that exist somewhere on Earth. I think we’ve finally reached a point where people can find Pikmin in various places, not just in their imaginations. I hope more and more people become aware of Pikmin and play Pikmin games.”
It’s clear that he’s referencing not just the console or handheld titles but the mobile game where you literally walk around trying to collect Pikmin as you exercise—further bringing people and the characters together.
As for how they’ve altered Pikmin 4 from previous titles to make players feel more connected with the creatures, that would be the camera angle. Yutaka Hiramuki noted:
“In the first three games, you basically looked down at the ground from up high. But in the fourth game, we’ve created it in such a way that players can get a better sense of what’s around them in this world. For example, players can go under benches and desks or dive into deep water. We wanted players to experience the world from the perspective of these tiny Pikmin, so we’ve given them more control over the camera than ever before.”
Many hope the game does well sales-wise, and undoubtedly the dev team is feeling the same way, as they have put a lot of effort into making it stand out from the others. We’ll find out soon, as the game releases tomorrow!
