How Does Nintendo Design Video Games? [VIDEO]

Rogelio Valdés

Feb 28, 2021

One of the best video game companies in the world is Nintendo. Almost all of us have played one of their games at some point, and what is most impressive is that they entertain people of all ages, from children to older adults. So what makes Nintendo’s games so special? Let me explain what this company does to design better and better games, the methodology and principles they follow. The best part is that you can follow these same principles when creating your own games.

Start with an idea

There are basically two ways to begin making a video game: starting with an idea for the story you want to tell, or starting with an idea for the game mechanic.

Let me introduce Miyamoto. For anyone who does not know him, he is the creator of Mario and many of Nintendo’s most iconic games. He says that a video game should give the player a feeling of accomplishment, the sense that they are completing something. That is why it is so important to begin with one of those two foundations. We can give the player the feeling that they are progressing through a story, or we can create that same feeling by letting them master a new ability. What matters is that the player feels they are moving forward. That is what keeps us playing.

What is a mechanic?

A mechanic is an action or a way of playing. In Mario games, for example, the most important mechanic is jumping. In fact, Mario was originally called Jumpman, because the player had to master jumping in order to advance.

Across more than 35 years of new Mario games, Nintendo has kept that same core jumping mechanic. What is fun is that from the very beginning, they paid close attention to the details of the jump and found many different ways to explore and expand it.

In the very first game, they focused on perfecting the physics of Mario’s jump. You can see how the distance changes depending on how long you hold the button. Whether you are running, walking, or have just changed direction affects the precision of the jump and where you will land.

Now compare that to more recent games like Mario Sunshine, Mario Galaxy, or Mario Odyssey. In one, you need to control a normal jump, a running jump, and jumps affected by water mechanics. In another, you need to account for different terrain and planetary gravity. In Odyssey, your hat changes your jumps and movement options. But the core mechanic is still the same: moving from one place to another by calculating where you will land with precision.

Keep it simple and accessible

The jump mechanic sounds simple, doesn’t it? You do not need deep video game knowledge to play Mario. You do not need to understand complex projectiles, camera systems, power switching, and so on. You just move left or right and press a button to jump. But the more you play, the more challenges you face, and the more you realize you need to perfect your control over that jump, making it as precise as possible to collect coins and move efficiently. In other words, the game offers a challenge both for beginners and for advanced players.

Nintendo always keeps beginners in mind, because at the beginning we are all beginners. If you only play the first Mario level, you can already understand everything essential about the mechanics. There is no written tutorial. The tutorial is the game itself.

Mario Bros. Level 1

In that first level, Mario starts on the left side of the screen with empty space and no distractions to the right. This invites the player to move. If they try going left, they see that they cannot progress and immediately understand that the game wants them to move right. Once they walk right, the camera moves with them, and now they understand movement. That empty space gives a new player time to experiment in a safe area without losing lives.

Then the player encounters an enemy moving toward them. It looks angry, so the player assumes it is dangerous. At that point, the player has to learn how to jump, using one of the only two buttons available in that era. Even if they just press every button at once, they will likely discover how to avoid the enemy by jumping. If they fail, they lose, but only restart a few steps back, so it is not too frustrating. In that moment, the player has already learned how to move and how to jump, the only two essential things needed to master the game. After that, practice does the rest.

How can I apply this myself?

Notice that at no point were we talking about graphics, highly complex enemies, or how many powers a character should have. That is not the most important thing. What matters is having an idea and developing it as far as possible in the simplest and most accessible way.

You can start with an interesting story idea or with a mechanic you want to explore, such as jumping, shooting, hiding, moving quickly, and so on.

Create a simple concept for your game and build a fast prototype. It does not have to be the entire game. A single level is enough to know whether it is fun. Show that level to your friends and share it online to get feedback. If people enjoy it, then you know it is worth continuing and expanding the project. If they do not, go back to the idea, improve the story or the mechanic, and try again. The most enjoyable games were not made in a single day. They are the result of many prototypes that failed, and a few that turned out really, really well.