Moving game design beyond safe and familiar | Shouichi Tominaga | TEDxKyoto
The team introduces a new game console demonstrating advanced lighting technology capable of rendering the translucent quality of Japanese sweets, using a game themed around Sixties imagination and incorporating mechanics inspired by Marxist concepts like manual labor, resource sharing, and community elections. The primary technological breakthrough involves real-time, localized light calculation that allows for subtle shadow detail previously impossible on consoles. ## Speakers & Context - Speaker: Unnamed team member from a group developing software for a new game console. - Location: Kyoto. - Objective: To demonstrate unique ideas and advanced technologies implemented in the new console. ## Theses & Positions - The goal was to replicate the *translucency* and quiet feeling of Japanese sweets using new console lighting technology. - The advantage of gaming is that players *really live in that world* and experience it, unlike other media. - The game mechanic can facilitate social reflection, prompting players to question: *"Am I truly a member of this society?"* or *"Am I truly contributing here?"* - The potential for gaming to explore complex societal structures, such as those found in Marxism, is unexplored in interactive media. ## Concepts & Definitions - **Translucency/Transparency:** A specific, subtle, and quiet aesthetic quality inspired by Japanese sweets, which the developers sought to replicate digitally. - **Manual Labor:** Incorporated into game mechanics where players mine resources using shovels and pick-axes and must manually carry resources home, emphasizing cooperation. - **Queuing:** A feature implemented in the online world, representing people commuting by bus periodically, which the speaker notes is "absolutely unnecessary in a digital world." ## Mechanisms & Processes - **Advanced Lighting Calculation:** The console calculates how light hits points *inside* objects in real time, leading to a "more naturally lit space" than previous consoles that showed completely dark spots. - **Depicting Shadow Detail:** The new technology allows for the reproduction of "subtle detailed shadowy areas, like dips and boundaries." - **Game Progression:** Players develop a town by mining resources, which is a combination of manual labor, sharing resources, and cooperation. - **Town Development Cycle:** Progress requires manual labor for mining/carrying, cooperation/delegation, and participation in town governance (elections and manifesto voting). ## Named Entities - Japanese sweets. - Traditional wooden Czech dolls (source for character designs). ## Numbers & Data - No specific quantifiable data points were given beyond describing the comparison between old vs. new console visuals. ## Examples & Cases - **Aesthetic Inspiration:** The look and feel of Japanese sweets, characterized by their peculiar shade and quiet, steady feeling. - **Visual Demonstration:** Comparison showing previous consoles' lighting versus the new console's ability to render natural light reflection and subtle shadow details on a character model. - **Game Design Inspiration:** The Sixties, described as a "totally crazy time" with "overflowing imagination." - **Game Setting Illustration:** A picture of an island in the shape of a surreal face. - **Gameplay Example (Labor):** Mining resources with shovels/pick-axes and carrying them home. - **Gameplay Example (Structure):** The town has a Labor Office where contributions are evaluated, and there are town elections where manifests suggest expanding defenses or power plants. ## Tools, Tech & Products - **New Game Console:** The central piece of technology enabling the demonstration. - **Lighting Technologies:** The focus of the advancement, specifically concerning translucency and real-time light simulation. - **Shovels and Pick-axes:** Tools used in the game for mining. - **Bus:** Used in the game mechanic to represent communal commuting. ## References Cited - Marxist themes (re-evaluated in recent books and videos). ## Trade-offs & Alternatives - **Old Console vs. New Console:** Older consoles displayed insufficient light realism, often having completely dark spots, while the new console achieves a more natural illumination and shadow detail. - **Digital vs. Real Labor:** The game integrates manual labor (mining, carrying) into a digital world, forcing the question of whether such an effort is meaningful in a purely digital setting. ## Methodology - **Art Direction:** Character designs based on traditional wooden Czech dolls to convey a "hand-carved" warmth. - **Game Mechanics Integration:** Merging concepts from sociology/history (Marxism, communal elections) into a playable, resource-management loop. - **Technical Showcase:** Using localized, real-time light calculation to visually prove technological leaps in console rendering capabilities. ## Conclusions & Recommendations - The ultimate goal was to recreate the *calm serenity* of Japanese sweets through technology. - The appeal of the medium is its immersive quality, allowing players to deeply experience the simulated society. - The team aims to *"continue to challenge ourselves to explore the unknown."* ## Implications & Consequences - The technology opens pathways to simulate delicate, subtle natural phenomena (like light passing through translucent objects) in interactive media. - The game genre is positioned to become a new platform for exploring complex societal theories, providing an experiential lens on philosophy (Marxism) and sociology. ## Verbatim Moments - *"Japanese sweets have a peculiar look. Is it transparency? A peculiar shade. A quiet, steady kind of feeling to them."* - *"You can see that it calculates how light will hit points inside objects. What's more, as a console it does so in real time."* - *"It's only through individually layering these effects that we have approached the calm serenity of the Japanese sweets from before."* - *"The Sixties were a totally crazy time. Our imaginations ran riot."* - *"Wait, is this Marxism?"* - *"Unlike other media, the advantage of playing a game, is that you really live in that world, you really experience it."* - *"Am I truly a member of this society?"* - *"We could only have done this on our latest gaming consoles."*