In a fascinating interview by Bloomberg, former Nintendo developer Ken Watanabe spills some intriguing insights into the company's famously secretive culture. It's known that Nintendo is selective in its hiring, favoring only the top-tier developers, who are encouraged to trust their instincts and innovate while creating games. Employees often delve into side projects during their downtime, some of which eventually blossom into full-fledged titles.
“The company culture, or whatever you’d call it, embraces people taking initiative,” Watanabe, now an independent game creator, shared. “For example, it’s not unusual for someone to secretly work on something without telling their boss — like, ‘I made this in secret’ — and then it turns out to be interesting, so it gets turned into a real product.”
— Ken Watanabe (@KenWatanabe) date
One notable account features a particle-effect artist who devoted his spare moments to experimenting within Nintendo’s stage editor and ultimately managed to pivot into a role that captivated him. Watanabe himself recounted an experience where he clandestinely crafted a level for Pikmin 3 that was so impressive it made it into the final version of the game. “In that sense, there really is a lot of freedom,” he added.
“Whether it turns out to be a blockbuster or a huge flop, the company lets you just focus on building what you believe to be fun, without distraction,” Imamura commented.
— Imamura (@Imamura) date