Feature: 'Post-GDC: Is That a Franchise in Your Pocket?'

At last week's GDC, Nintendo producer Katsuya Eguchi gave this talk on making Animal Crossing Wild World for the Nintendo DS and the design considerations involved in taking a home console game and redesigning it for a handheld console, and Gamasutra presents an in-depth discussion of his fascinating lecture. In this extract, Eguchi discusses some of the issues inherent in Wild World's use of DS Wi-Fi for having other users enter your Animal Crossing town: "On this topic, Eguchi felt there were two important points. One is that gathering in someone's town is relaxing and fun because you're with friends. Some may enjoy inviting others, while others may be shy. If someone you don't know shows up in your town, you may be nervous and apprehensive. The towns are unique, so you may not want strangers coming in and chopping down your trees. One way to avoid this could have been to limit what users could do, but the team decided that'd be punishing many people for the actions of few. The Internet is rife with these sorts of problems anyway. “So we asked ourselves what to do about this, and I think the Wifi connection illustrates our solution to the problem.” DS wireless service in general is based on 3 ideals. Ease of use, worry-free operation, and free of charge. In Eguchi's estimation, worry-free operation best speaks to Animal Crossing on the DS." You can now read the full Gamasutra report on the subject, including plenty more information on this vital lecture (no registration required, please feel free to link to this feature from external websites).