You can tell that GAMEFREAK is still very proud of Pokemon Black and white/2 every chance they get for the 15 anniversary they went all out on that game and the sequel as well
I could tell something was special in those games, but it was such a shame the stilted literal translation ruined much of the game for me. Worst part is I never see anyone else complaining about that aspect, haha
Ty Jackson I think I had the most fun playing the gen 5 games out of any of the games. I also didn't know the pokemon in the game when I played it so it was exciting to see new pokemon
This video is very humbling to life long fans like myself. It's an honor just to be able to watch and get a glimpse behind the scenes of a series that has in part defined my life. Thank you Gamefreak.
They are amazing! No many people knows how fucking hard is to make things in assembly, and they did pokemon in assembly with a low processor machine (gameboy)
RPGmaster they said that when they were making Gold and Silver the cartage was only 2-GB but thanks to Mr.Iwata he put in another 2-GB cartrage so it was double the space for where you could go which is why you could go back to kanto in that game.
Pokemon Red, Green, Gold and Silver ALL in Assembly? With just 2 mb? Wow, just wow. I coded in Asembly and can asure you that it's a pain in the ass. My respect and congrats to the group of programmers of GameFreak.
Lo más mérito que tiene, es que los originales tenían solo 512KB de espacio, y este entro justo cuando pusieron a mew, luego en la versión europea y América, estos ya disponían de 1MB de ROM, aunque ya se estaba desperdiciando la mitad del chip. Luego ya cuando salió la 2Gen ya habían chips de 2MB y pudieron expresar toda su creatividad, añadiendo de mas la región de Kanto.
Has Game Freak made any comment about making these documents publicly accessible? I can't imagine what interesting little details and ideas could be uncovered from them.
I truly appreciate that they are taking the extra steps to archive as much as possible. Even if nobody is ever intended to see it, it's still good for personal reference. Now if only Nintendo would follow the same path...
SuperMew98 From what I've read, Nintendo archives EEEEEEVERYTHING! From prototypes to ideas, unreleased but finished games (like StarFox 2) and of course the source code to every game they created. Else WindWaker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Ocarina of Time 3D, Majora's Mask 3D, Super Mario 64 DS, etc. would have been nightmares to accomplish!
I dont know what you think you know about Nintendo, but they achive almost every single piece of work they do. They are a much bigger company than Game Freak and are light years of expertise.
I swear I've read in the past that Nintendo destroys their prototypes after the final product. Take the Nintendo PlayStation, for example. The only one known to exist is the one that was discovered not that long ago. All of the others were ordered to be destroyed afterwords. And, while not necessarily a prototype, all of the 1992 SNES Campus Challenge cartridges were destroyed after the competition, and only one was saved (not by Nintendo). Here's a quick example I could find regarding Nintendo and their prototypes: www.reddit.com/r/assemblergames/comments/36k1tb/why_does_nintendo_of_japan_take_an_aggressive/
You want another 2 really depressing examples? The source codes of both Attack of the Muntant Penguins (Atari Jaguar & PC) & Super Burnout (exclusive to the Atari Jaguar) are lost. I talked to both of the programmers who worked on those games. Same goes for the unreleased beat 'em up Conan (by the devs. of Legend on the SNES) and the run 'n gun Deathwatch (by Data Design Interactive), which are also for the Atari Jaguar. Another game that has his source code lost for the Jaguar is Phase Zero.
I honestly love getting to see the creators talk about how they did certain things in the games, and it's super cool to see those old notes and concept art and things! It's amazing what they managed to create with the limitations they had at the time.
This is the most interesting thing I've ever watched. Can't say enough how much I appreciate the work you do for us Ben and the GI crew. Keep up the amazing work!
It's so interesting to see their ideas, how they work and how they worked. We can clearly see that Junichi Masuda is very passionate about what he's doing.
I don't care what people say, each major iteration of Pokemon has been very impressive. Few rpgs have the amount of content these games have, and they are packed with small details and cater to every kind of gamer in different ways. They are the ultimate portable games.
Yeah, honesty some of the unsatisfied fans just don't realize they're growing out of pokemon. There's some features in each game I don't really like or care for but they don't make the game instantly bad.
Brock originally wasn't the first gym leader. It was some kid with the same exact pose as Giovanni's battle sprite. There's pictures online of this. I think it was on twitter? There was going to be 191 pokemon in Red & Green. And work actually started around 1989 I believe. Game Freak made the puzzle game Yoshi and that money helped pay for Pokemon Red & Green. Pokemon Gold & Sliver where delayed a full year in japan too. They didn't call it Gold & Sliver at first. And the title screen from the beta with Ho-Oh was different too. There is a video of that title screen online as well. Lots of stuff changed and beta stuff around the net. Notice how pokemon in red & green looked different from the anime verisons too until yellow came out as well. Love this video a lot too. Thank you so much everyone for this. Assembly is very very hard to program for as well!
i had no idea brock was not the original... would like to know more details. pokemon was not expected to sell well, and it was so expensive that satoshi tajiri did not take a salary while working on it. it almost went down the same route as banjo kazooie. id like for videos to explore the details about the manga. i heard satoshi came up with the original story? he didnt like how different the anime was from his original idea so he had the manga made on the side
twitter.com/SUPER_32X/status/611129653110026241 PIctures here. www.gamefaqs.com/boards/367023-pokemon-red-version/73289352 Looks like the first gym leader might have been your rival too.
Why to make fine concept art designs if you have a 128x128 sprite to fill? It is more efficient to think only on how to make it that way. This is one of the reasons of some crazy design, like Hitmonlee's springs on his ARMS
It's not unusual for the time. A lot of Japanese companies had specific procedures in designing assets. I'd think more often than not a character would be designed on some graph paper with the proper pixel dimensions first. Mario was created in the same way, as pixel art. His mustache, hat, and overalls were added to the pixel model to make him look more human than just a blob of pixels
I never ceases to amaze me how readily Japanese game devs are/were to just toss out data and documents for old games even if they were massive successes. Only recently are they really noticing that archiving this stuff is good for not only fans but their business in the future as well for things like re-releases, remasters, or remakes. Nintendo, Square Enix, Capcom, Namco and more, all have stories about how they just straight up did not bother to take care of/keep track of some of the things that went into making some of their most successful titles.
I am so loving these videos. I've wanted to see what GameFreak was like for years. Oh, and funnily enough, I misread the title and thought it said Digimon. XD Haha.
Some modern games are still developed in a similar way. See E02/Headcannon Game Engine and Retro Engine (sonic mania is made with a modified version of the Retro Engine).
Pokemon Red, Yellow and many of the earlier 'color' ones have solid gameplay mechanics that make it very enjoyable. Its super disappointing that Pokemon Go doesn't even scratch the surface of what could have been, had GameFreak made it. - No leveling, except through purchased "CP" points - also no narrative explanation makes sense in the Pokemon universe for why CP is now neccessary - No offline play, everything is based on locations, tapping and super shallow mechanics with little reward - Gyms are no longer a true test of your training ability, just a 'perch' mechanic - Pokemon no longer need to be caught with strategy, just throw a ball - completely destroying that fun element of the Pokemon universe - Collecting Pokemon is no longer fun, as catching them is so exceedingly easy that a player with 0 hrs invested can catch something that shouldn't be available past a certain point of the game - No story whatsoever, to tie gameplay mechanics in a neat narrative - No sense of progression, challenge, or tension - Gambling aspects for children - Pay to Play/Pay to Win mechanics - also almost no warnings to parents about the game and GPS location tracking (given Pokemon on GBA did have gambling aspects as well, my emphasis is on the shallow gameplay-design around gambling as core mechanic)
I absolutely love that they got this interview, seeing concept art and behind the scenes is SUPER tight lipped around pokemon, what an amazing opportunity gameinformer landed
Very cool. You should have asked what brand of cigarettes he smokes or if he even if he doe smokes, which I'm sure he does. Maybe even ask who were the original members and where are they now?
Ok about this video, I can't like it. Game disigners are contemporaneous artists. A mix of engineering, art and technology. So charming and interesting.
Bring Back Baja Blast Satoshi Tajiri is still the CEO of GAME FREAK. Thing is, he has Asperger's Syndrome, and doesn't do well in front of people, so Masuda is the face of the company.
Waiting for them to confirm which Pokemon was the first to ever be designed and finalized (Rhydon was put INTO the game's code first, which is not what I'm asking for. What I want to know is which Pokemon was the first to be drawn and have their concept and design finalized).
If I had to take a guess, I'd say perhaps Clefairy was the first Pokemon ever designed and finalized before all of the others since it was pitched to be the icon of Pokemon only to be replaced by Pikachu soon after.
The sine wave reversal trick explanation is cool, back when developers had to squeeze every last bit of performance and space they could out of a system. The limitations of games past is what made them good. Modern games are trash and the developers are just children with scripts compared to these legends.
You can tell that GAMEFREAK is still very proud of Pokemon Black and white/2 every chance they get for the 15 anniversary they went all out on that game and the sequel as well
Ty Jackson I love those games, shame the anime for those games are utter garbage.
Ty Jackson they stand out as still some of the best designed games in the series, imo. They gave those games their all, and it really shows.
I could tell something was special in those games, but it was such a shame the stilted literal translation ruined much of the game for me.
Worst part is I never see anyone else complaining about that aspect, haha
Ty Jackson I think I had the most fun playing the gen 5 games out of any of the games. I also didn't know the pokemon in the game when I played it so it was exciting to see new pokemon
This video is very humbling to life long fans like myself. It's an honor just to be able to watch and get a glimpse behind the scenes of a series that has in part defined my life. Thank you Gamefreak.
I love this sort of stuff. So interesting to see the minds behind the games at work.
RPGMaster They've done interviews with Iwata in the past where he mentions coding and helping out with Pokémon Red and Blue along with Gold and Silver
RPGMaster
Compression, not compilation. 😉
The way these guys take notes for programming is inspiring.
They are amazing! No many people knows how fucking hard is to make things in assembly, and they did pokemon in assembly with a low processor machine (gameboy)
megazerohex They are geniuses I tell you geniuses.
RPGmaster they said that when they were making Gold and Silver the cartage was only 2-GB but thanks to Mr.Iwata he put in another 2-GB cartrage so it was double the space for where you could go which is why you could go back to kanto in that game.
Jonathan Cox *Megabyte
I would happily watch a 5-hour version of this.
Pokemon Red, Green, Gold and Silver ALL in Assembly? With just 2 mb? Wow, just wow. I coded in Asembly and can asure you that it's a pain in the ass. My respect and congrats to the group of programmers of GameFreak.
Lo más mérito que tiene, es que los originales tenían solo 512KB de espacio, y este entro justo cuando pusieron a mew, luego en la versión europea y América, estos ya disponían de 1MB de ROM, aunque ya se estaba desperdiciando la mitad del chip. Luego ya cuando salió la 2Gen ya habían chips de 2MB y pudieron expresar toda su creatividad, añadiendo de mas la región de Kanto.
Made the game in ASSEMBLY, respect !!!!
Pretty much *every* Gameboy game was written in Assembly. Not just Pokemon.
Daniel Lo Nigro yeah but I think the size and complexity of the Pokémon games for that time back then is what makes it even more impressive
Yeah, that's definitely true :)
Fernando Geraldo agree
Fernando Geraldo Assembly language for me is hard. to know that someone made a game using the assembly language it's just amazing.
Id kill for a series of videos of Masuda talking about game development
Has Game Freak made any comment about making these documents publicly accessible? I can't imagine what interesting little details and ideas could be uncovered from them.
Well, you can find them because of the 2020 leaks!
I truly appreciate that they are taking the extra steps to archive as much as possible. Even if nobody is ever intended to see it, it's still good for personal reference.
Now if only Nintendo would follow the same path...
Tell that to Sega, they lost the source code of Magic Knight Rayearth and Panzer Dragoon Saga for the Saturn years ago for example.
SuperMew98
From what I've read, Nintendo archives EEEEEEVERYTHING!
From prototypes to ideas, unreleased but finished games (like StarFox 2) and of course the source code to every game they created. Else WindWaker HD, Twilight Princess HD, Ocarina of Time 3D, Majora's Mask 3D, Super Mario 64 DS, etc. would have been nightmares to accomplish!
I dont know what you think you know about Nintendo, but they achive almost every single piece of work they do. They are a much bigger company than Game Freak and are light years of expertise.
I swear I've read in the past that Nintendo destroys their prototypes after the final product.
Take the Nintendo PlayStation, for example. The only one known to exist is the one that was discovered not that long ago. All of the others were ordered to be destroyed afterwords.
And, while not necessarily a prototype, all of the 1992 SNES Campus Challenge cartridges were destroyed after the competition, and only one was saved (not by Nintendo).
Here's a quick example I could find regarding Nintendo and their prototypes: www.reddit.com/r/assemblergames/comments/36k1tb/why_does_nintendo_of_japan_take_an_aggressive/
You want another 2 really depressing examples? The source codes of both Attack of the Muntant Penguins (Atari Jaguar & PC) & Super Burnout (exclusive to the Atari Jaguar) are lost. I talked to both of the programmers who worked on those games. Same goes for the unreleased beat 'em up Conan (by the devs. of Legend on the SNES) and the run 'n gun Deathwatch (by Data Design Interactive), which are also for the Atari Jaguar. Another game that has his source code lost for the Jaguar is Phase Zero.
I honestly love getting to see the creators talk about how they did certain things in the games, and it's super cool to see those old notes and concept art and things! It's amazing what they managed to create with the limitations they had at the time.
It's amazing how Pokemon have come a long way. It's one of the best video game series in this world!
I am in awe. I am literally shaking at the thought of programming such an immersive game in just assembly language. Awesome video!
This is the most interesting thing I've ever watched. Can't say enough how much I appreciate the work you do for us Ben and the GI crew. Keep up the amazing work!
1:02 Damn, so the whole Pokemon franchise could've been canceled from a single computer crash?
Ethon we are truly lucky~
Hail lord helix.
It's so interesting to see their ideas, how they work and how they worked. We can clearly see that Junichi Masuda is very passionate about what he's doing.
I can't express how much I have enjoyed these videos.
I could listen to Masuda even if he was reading a dictionary
I don't care what people say, each major iteration of Pokemon has been very impressive. Few rpgs have the amount of content these games have, and they are packed with small details and cater to every kind of gamer in different ways. They are the ultimate portable games.
Yeah, honesty some of the unsatisfied fans just don't realize they're growing out of pokemon. There's some features in each game I don't really like or care for but they don't make the game instantly bad.
@@hornetsilksong damn this didnt age well
@@FRAMEDSKATEKREW69 Was about to comment the same thing until I saw your comment lol
I was wondering where this video was just tonight, and now you've uploaded it. It's amazing getting this insight into their workflow and approach!
Thank you very much for taking the time to do this GI - that was fantastic =D
Imagine the system masuda's expression idea being inplemented in b/w. Should be cute in 2D form :3
Brock originally wasn't the first gym leader. It was some kid with the same exact pose as Giovanni's battle sprite. There's pictures online of this. I think it was on twitter? There was going to be 191 pokemon in Red & Green. And work actually started around 1989 I believe. Game Freak made the puzzle game Yoshi and that money helped pay for Pokemon Red & Green.
Pokemon Gold & Sliver where delayed a full year in japan too. They didn't call it Gold & Sliver at first. And the title screen from the beta with Ho-Oh was different too. There is a video of that title screen online as well. Lots of stuff changed and beta stuff around the net. Notice how pokemon in red & green looked different from the anime verisons too until yellow came out as well.
Love this video a lot too. Thank you so much everyone for this. Assembly is very very hard to program for as well!
i had no idea brock was not the original... would like to know more details. pokemon was not expected to sell well, and it was so expensive that satoshi tajiri did not take a salary while working on it. it almost went down the same route as banjo kazooie.
id like for videos to explore the details about the manga. i heard satoshi came up with the original story? he didnt like how different the anime was from his original idea so he had the manga made on the side
twitter.com/SUPER_32X/status/611129653110026241
PIctures here.
www.gamefaqs.com/boards/367023-pokemon-red-version/73289352
Looks like the first gym leader might have been your rival too.
Team Rocket HQ Haha. I have a boxed copy of Yoshi
thanks
This is cool. I would kill to have some of that early Pokémon concept memorabilia, I'd love to own a piece from that archive.
Masuda-San is a genius. Literally. Just a genius at work.
They designed the pokemon in pixel art first?!?
Why to make fine concept art designs if you have a 128x128 sprite to fill? It is more efficient to think only on how to make it that way. This is one of the reasons of some crazy design, like Hitmonlee's springs on his ARMS
It's not unusual for the time. A lot of Japanese companies had specific procedures in designing assets. I'd think more often than not a character would be designed on some graph paper with the proper pixel dimensions first. Mario was created in the same way, as pixel art. His mustache, hat, and overalls were added to the pixel model to make him look more human than just a blob of pixels
leftyfourguns fascinating!!
I haven't played a Pokémon game in years, but these videos are super fascinating to me.
I am getting chills at this man explaining how he used math and engineering to create a world, he is literally an ARCEUS!
Thanks for watching!
For anyone amazed by the fact they did it in assembly, go check out the depths of the retro demoscene.
Its interesting how they are so smart and creative and then you see something like Mass Effect Andromeda where someone farted on the computer.
I would listen to A 2 hour documentary of Masuda and game freak just talking about every detail of capumon - red and green development.
Awesome video, really enjoyed this!
i could actually cry.
I would have loved to see the game shelfs in the background 8:25 close-up!
Have you guys recorded that?
8:17 is that a Darumaka Pikachu?!
Dark Unova It is so adorbs
This is so cool man! And a lot of work. Really, all my respect to those guy's :-)
I would love to hear about the beta/unused soundtracks, or more of what could have been for the musical side.
I never ceases to amaze me how readily Japanese game devs are/were to just toss out data and documents for old games even if they were massive successes. Only recently are they really noticing that archiving this stuff is good for not only fans but their business in the future as well for things like re-releases, remasters, or remakes.
Nintendo, Square Enix, Capcom, Namco and more, all have stories about how they just straight up did not bother to take care of/keep track of some of the things that went into making some of their most successful titles.
I am so loving these videos. I've wanted to see what GameFreak was like for years. Oh, and funnily enough, I misread the title and thought it said Digimon. XD Haha.
Very interesting. I would have loved to see a bit of how they work to the Pokémon designs.
Great interview, great video!
Omg this was sooooo awesome :o Amazing respect for the developers!
Yes, some Pokemon do sound similar. In fact, Charizard and Rhydon have the exact same cry.
This was really intresting to watch, thank you.
いつも増田さんを見る時はこう言った細かい話はされないので、かなり新鮮に感じます。
That was a very cool interview.
That's wild. Shame at times the computers crashed, but that was my excuse usually at school in IT. Nevermind.
The room where all the magic happens
Awesome. What a legend
Great video guys
2:57 that Pikachu looking back at the player looks incredibly creepy XD
Very interesting!
7:04 I thought he was about to bust out the "An A-press has 3 parts"
ty for this. i am glad they did it. I would miss something without pokemon so many memorys and i am still playing it in 2k17.
That room is like an Indiana jones warehouse of locked treasure every Pokemon fan is drooling
I'm loving these videos!
In which edition I can find Kyle's 12-page feature covering all this?
This is amazing.
Very interesting insight. So much to be learned from here.
amazing ^^ thanks for the video
I appreciate them so much.
Some modern games are still developed in a similar way. See E02/Headcannon Game Engine and Retro Engine (sonic mania is made with a modified version of the Retro Engine).
retro engine is in c++
Pokemon Red, Yellow and many of the earlier 'color' ones have solid gameplay mechanics that make it very enjoyable.
Its super disappointing that Pokemon Go doesn't even scratch the surface of what could have been, had GameFreak made it.
- No leveling, except through purchased "CP" points - also no narrative explanation makes sense in the Pokemon universe for why CP is now neccessary
- No offline play, everything is based on locations, tapping and super shallow mechanics with little reward
- Gyms are no longer a true test of your training ability, just a 'perch' mechanic
- Pokemon no longer need to be caught with strategy, just throw a ball - completely destroying that fun element of the Pokemon universe
- Collecting Pokemon is no longer fun, as catching them is so exceedingly easy that a player with 0 hrs invested can catch something that shouldn't be available past a certain point of the game
- No story whatsoever, to tie gameplay mechanics in a neat narrative
- No sense of progression, challenge, or tension
- Gambling aspects for children - Pay to Play/Pay to Win mechanics - also almost no warnings to parents about the game and GPS location tracking (given Pokemon on GBA did have gambling aspects as well, my emphasis is on the shallow gameplay-design around gambling as core mechanic)
What I'd really like to know is what does Satoshi Tajiri, the man who does primary credit for creating the games, think about all this
I was born in 1992 I'm so lucky for Groening up with the fiesta generation of Pokémon
I absolutely love that they got this interview, seeing concept art and behind the scenes is SUPER tight lipped around pokemon, what an amazing opportunity gameinformer landed
Assembly Language, damn they really are GAME FREAKS!
8:19 guy in background fixing his crotch -.-
IndustryOfMagic omg X'D
WOW it was so obvious too!
Thanks bro, we really needed that!
Seems that the making of the original games is pretty interesting.
Very cool. You should have asked what brand of cigarettes he smokes or if he even if he doe smokes, which I'm sure he does. Maybe even ask who were the original members and where are they now?
Assembly?
That "(...) we're trying to be more careful about digitally archiving everything" really aged like milk
This is awesome
Ok about this video, I can't like it. Game disigners are contemporaneous artists. A mix of engineering, art and technology. So charming and interesting.
Beautiful
That sequined shirt.. queen
This is so cool!
ahh i want to see more stuff from masuda's b/w diary.... ;_; i absorb early concept stuff like a SPONGE its so interesting
Whatever happened to Satoshi Tajiri, the main father of the games?
Bring Back Baja Blast maybe he retired? I didn't even know he was the father of the games
Thediamond planet Yeah he even came up with the concept
Bring Back Baja Blast holy moly,what a guy,I wonder what someone like him is doing now a days
Bring Back Baja Blast Satoshi Tajiri is still the CEO of GAME FREAK.
Thing is, he has Asperger's Syndrome, and doesn't do well in front of people, so Masuda is the face of the company.
He still works on them, in fact you can see his name in the credits, fact is that due to Asperger's Syndrome he doesn't want to interact with people
Waiting for them to confirm which Pokemon was the first to ever be designed and finalized (Rhydon was put INTO the game's code first, which is not what I'm asking for. What I want to know is which Pokemon was the first to be drawn and have their concept and design finalized).
Thats something only Tajiri could answer, as Capsule Monsters originally featured what became Gengar, Nidorino, Rhydon, and a few others.
@Luke Steele Yeah. Been dying to know this and surprised none of the press have made efforts to find out.
I read somewhere that diglett was a design somebody made in their childhood. Don't know if it's true though
If I had to take a guess, I'd say perhaps Clefairy was the first Pokemon ever designed and finalized before all of the others since it was pitched to be the icon of Pokemon only to be replaced by Pikachu soon after.
i wann cop som of that glitter shirt
This is big brain for me
Amazing
This is great!
Junichi Masuda is the father of Pokemon
i never thought I'd be hearing a math term in pokemon
The sine wave reversal trick explanation is cool, back when developers had to squeeze every last bit of performance and space they could out of a system. The limitations of games past is what made them good. Modern games are trash and the developers are just children with scripts compared to these legends.
Thanks!
Listening to Japanese without subtitles is oddly satisfying
Is everyone multilingual in this room? Seem both sides understand each other but are still speaking their native language.
I'm sure japanese developer can understand english well, but they aren't used to speak english.
Amazing!
Interesting stuff.
8:19 the background xd
So cool.
Yeah, I'm here from reddit too.
1 Digimon fanboy disliked the video
Geniuses.
Dat baldy is so cute
game boy adjustment 8:19
Thomas Teraoka game ball
Marry me Masuda, you genius!