Current Events > Paper Mario producer elaborates on NPC restrictions.

(+) Yeah! (+)

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/paper-marios-producer-elaborates-on-the-challenge-of-npc-restrictions/

Nintendos Kensuke Tanabe told VGC in an interview covering the making of Paper Mario: The Origami King this month that since 2012s Sticker Star it was no longer possible to modify Mario characters, or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe.

In the two most recent Paper Mario instalments, the adventure games have focused on existing characters from the Mario universe, rather than entirely new Mario creations such as those seen in earlier Paper Mario games.

For example, GameCube instalment The Thousand Year Door features a Goomba archaeology student called Goombella and a Bob-omb sailor called Admiral Bobbery.

The newly released Nintendo Switch instalment introduces several Origami characters such a King Olly and his sister Olivia, but they are billed as having come from a different universe to Marios Mushroom Kingdom.

In a separate interview with GamesRadar Tanabe elaborated on the NPC restrictions, specifically stating that its no longer possible for the Paper Mario team to graphically represent individual characteristics in the games Toad NPCs.

From the production of Paper Mario: Sticker Star onwards, we were no longer able to graphically represent individual characteristics, such as age, gender etc., in the Toad NPCs (non-playable characters), and so it has become that much more important to convey their personalities simply through text, Tanabe said.

Our writer, Mr Taro Kudo, has been grappling with this difficult challenge since Paper Mario: Sticker Star, but has managed to achieve giving all the texts a sense of humour, he added. In this instalment, Paper Mario: The Origami King, we were able to include some Toads wearing an outfit to match their role, and also created original origami characters.

Tanabe who is also a senior officer at Nintendo has not provided a full explanation for Paper Marios recent character restrictions. However, in a 2012 Iwata Asks interview it was suggested that guidelines were placed on the Mario series, stating that new designs should be based only on gameplay function.

On the subject of The Origami Kings cast, Tanabe told VGC that whether a character becomes an all-time hit or not isnt up to us on the development side.
He added: I think its more the case that characters that fans truly accept naturally end up that way. I hope that the origami siblings in Paper Mario: The Origami King will stay in players memories, even if they do only end up appearing in this title.

I wonder if/when things will lighten up?

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Solar_Crimson posted...

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/paper-marios-producer-elaborates-on-the-challenge-of-npc-restrictions/

I wonder if/when things will lighten up?

I mean, as noted here, they did lighten it up slightly with origami king

there are multiple toads as well as limited other characters that have unique costumes

not perfect of course but they did a somewhat better job creating original characters this time around

my real issue is with the lack of original enemies. Mario RPGs have always had some excellent enemy design, its a real bummer that its just all the standards now

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It's such a bizarre restriction

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Why do they hamstring Paper Mario so bad, but in regular Mario games (Odyssey) they can introduce all sorts of outrageous characters

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Why do they hamstring Paper Mario so bad, but in regular Mario games (Odyssey) they can introduce all sorts of outrageous characters

Nintendo is so hyper conservative about avoiding drama that I bet they added that restriction because of random criticisms of past games like the "5 fun guys" pointless drama.

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/shufflegate

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AngelsNAirwav3s posted...

Why do they hamstring Paper Mario so bad, but in regular Mario games (Odyssey) they can introduce all sorts of outrageous characters

Three reasons I think.

1. They're the A Grade Nintendo team
2. They still sort of have restrictions placed on them. Any major new characters are bosses who fit the 'gameplay requirement'
3. Super Mario Odyssey was about travelling to other Kingdoms. Even with the new NPC's they're not actually breaking the 'No new characters from the Mushroom Kingdom' rule


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Sombrero Shy Guy and Archeologist Toad.

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s0nicfan posted...

Nintendo is so hyper conservative about avoiding drama that I bet they added that restriction because of random criticisms of past games like the "5 fun guys" pointless drama.

https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/events/shufflegate

The restriction came before that from Iwata.

Also, I don't get this joke. I never followed anything about gamergate. That article didn't explain how it tied to her aside from her reaction to it. What's the Five Guys joke?
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Mr_Rian posted...

The restriction came before that from Iwata.

Also, I don't get this joke. I never followed anything about gamergate. That article didn't explain how it tied to her aside from her reaction to it. What's the Five Guys joke?

The thing that kicked off gamergate was a jaded ex boyfriend writing an open letter claiming his former girlfriend slept with five game reviewers to get her indie game more coverage and a higher score.

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This all seems pretty weird because there are plenty of new takes on existing characters, especially Toads, in the new PM game lol
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Smashingpmkns posted...

This all seems pretty weird because there are plenty of new takes on existing characters, especially Toads, in the new PM game lol

Well, not plenty

but definitely some



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The reason the restrictions are there is just purely due to branding purposes. Mario and his friends are concrete at this point in the same way it is for Popeye and Mickey Mouse.

They don't want developers to randomly try and create their own friends for Mario. They let other developers make Mario games so that is something that could potentially happen.

They just don't make any special exceptions for Paper Mario even though it has its own distinct style and shouldn't really have that problem.

Honestly I think the biggest reason this rule exists is because of Waluigi.

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s0nicfan posted...

The thing that kicked off gamergate was a jaded ex boyfriend writing an open letter claiming his former girlfriend slept with five game reviewers to get her indie game more coverage and a higher score.

Ah. Crazy. Why would anyone care what an ex says? And what game even is it? And people cared more about that than about companies paying reviewers for publicity and good reviews? lol
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Iwata has been dead for five years now, right? I think as more time goes on, they will move further away from Iwata's moronic decree. It was a needless imposition that actively removes joy from the developers and the gamers. I'm glad they continue to stray away from such nonsense. I hope a Nintendo President comes in and specifically asks them to go back to using full-blown PM customized characters.

Also, I wonder what the original game looked like before he made them turn it into the Sticker Star that we got.
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King Rial posted...

Iwata has been dead for five years now, right? I think as more time goes on, they will move further away from Iwata's moronic decree. It was a needless imposition that actively removes joy from the developers and the gamers. I'm glad they continue to strat away from such nonsense. I hope a Nintendo President comes in and specifically asks them to go back to using full-blown PM customized characters.

Also, I wonder what the original game looked like before he made them turn it into the Sticker Star that we got.

I don't think so. They license the character out to theme parks, merchandise and movies now. I don't think the rule will change at all. Paper Mario isn't important enough to change that and I doubt they'll make an exception for it.

I think this is more due to Miyamoto than Iwata as well.

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Darmik posted...

I don't think so. They license the character out to theme parks, merchandise and movies now. I don't think the rule will change at all. Paper Mario isn't important enough to change that and I doubt they'll make an exception for it.

I think this is more due to Miyamoto than Iwata as well.

You're right, that was Miyamoto, not Iwata. Big mistake on my part. Thank you for correcting me.

But I'm not sure what the licensing part has to do with unique characters though. At any rate, they are clearly loosening the restrictions here, and I hope we get more of it in the future.
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King Rial posted...

You're right, that was Miyamoto, not Iwata. Big mistake on my part. Thank you for correcting me.

But I'm not sure what the licensing part has to do with unique characters though. At any rate, they are clearly loosening the restrictions here, and I hope we get more of it in the future.

With Mario getting a movie and theme park rides, I expect them to double down in the near future.

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King Rial posted...

You're right, that was Miyamoto, not Iwata. Big mistake on my part. Thank you for correcting me.

But I'm not sure what the licensing part has to do with unique characters though. At any rate, they are clearly loosening the restrictions here, and I hope we get more of it in the future.

It's because they're letting a lot of people use these characters and they all probably have to follow the same rules.

Think about even Mario + Rabbids. Technically it matches these rules because the Rabbids invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. There was no actual new Mario universe character from Ubisoft. Same thing with that Puzzles and Dragons Mario game.

I bet the Universal movie will end up having to follow these rules too. Any new character will be from a different universe or whatever. Mario will look like traditional Mario.

It's also why I think Mario will always stick with this same artstyle now. Paper Mario sneaks in because it's a spin-off from before these new rules. I don't think it would happen anymore.

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Nintendo doesn't get flamed enough for this because of their stupid fans

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Irony posted...

Nintendo doesn't get flamed enough for this because of their stupid fans

It's funny because they would rather rake Tanabe over the coals than Nintendo themselves.

At least they finally explained why instead of covering it up and making weak excuses. They're probably tired of taking the brunt of the complaints, lol.
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Darmik posted...

It's because they're letting a lot of people use these characters and they all probably have to follow the same rules.

Think about even Mario + Rabbids. Technically it matches these rules because the Rabbids invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. There was no actual new Mario universe character from Ubisoft. Same thing with that Puzzles and Dragons Mario game.

I bet the Universal movie will end up having to follow these rules too. Any new character will be from a different universe or whatever. Mario will look like traditional Mario.

It's also why I think Mario will always stick with this same artstyle now. Paper Mario sneaks in because it's a spin-off from before these new rules. I don't think it would happen anymore.

A shame, because I have a pipedream of a 2D sidescroller game done in a hand-drawn, slightly more exaggerated style (similar to Wario Land: Shake It!!), but it will likely never happen.

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Darmik posted...

It's because they're letting a lot of people use these characters and they all probably have to follow the same rules.

Think about even Mario + Rabbids. Technically it matches these rules because the Rabbids invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. There was no actual new Mario universe character from Ubisoft. Same thing with that Puzzles and Dragons Mario game.

I bet the Universal movie will end up having to follow these rules too. Any new character will be from a different universe or whatever. Mario will look like traditional Mario.

It's also why I think Mario will always stick with this same artstyle now. Paper Mario sneaks in because it's a spin-off from before these new rules. I don't think it would happen anymore.

But...they did add new characters into this game. Not just different color Toads wearing the same clothes. This is more of a return to old. I was saying I want more of it and I'm glad they have done this.
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