The father of Mario and Zelda

By Moira Muldoon

Dec 2, 1998 | The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time -- released in the U.S. last week -- is perhaps the most perfect video game ever made: Immersive, balanced and beautiful. The game procured raves from journalists with advance copies, and Nintendo expects it to sell 2.5 million copies by Christmas. For most designers, such a hit would be a career-topping feat; for Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto, it's just the latest in a long line of groundbreaking video games.

In his off hours, Miyamoto may prefer playing bluegrass banjo to playing video games, but there is no doubt he has one of the keenest senses around of what makes a video game fun. A short list of titles he has created for Nintendo in his 20 years there includes Donkey Kong, all the Mario games and all the Zelda games. And as general manager of Nintendo's Entertainment Analysis and Development Department in Kyoto, Japan, Miyamoto has had a hand in dozens of other games, like F-Zero X and Yoshi's Story. But The Legend of Zelda is his baby, and it, like all his games, has two all-important video-game characteristics: replayability and balance.

Replayability means, simply, that players don't tire of the game: After finishing it once, they still want to go back and play again and again. Zelda has so many secrets that once you finish it, you'll be sure to want to go back not only for the sheer pleasure of it, but also to see what you missed the first time around. Balance is the delicate art of creating challenge in game play without making it so difficult that it's frustrating -- something that Zelda excels in. There are some tricky puzzles, but you never feel cheated when you solve them, never feel the solution was implausible. Miyamoto is a master of both replayability and balance -- an extraordinary feat, and one that has brought him fame in Japan and among American gamers.

Though Miyamoto himself may not be well known in the United States outside gaming circles, his characters are. And given how famous they are -- Mario is a household name, Donkey Kong's not far behind -- it's surprising to hear Miyamoto say that the characters are actually of secondary importance in creating a game.

"We first set up the rules," Miyamoto explains, "and then we make the best character to appear on the game system. And then finally we think about the whole game story which will be best suited to the game system and the game character," he says through his translator.

For example, he says, "In the case of a Mario game, you can see a tortoise character. I didn't intend to make a tortoise character from the beginning, but I thought it would be nice if there was one enemy character which would be in trouble once flipped." From that came the speckled turtle who, once you jump on it, is flipped upside down and can't move for a short period of time (then it rights itself and becomes a threat once more).

In the gaming industry, Miyamoto is better known for his innovations than for his characters -- and with good reason. He has been responsible for some of the most critical developments and changes in video-game design over the years.

Next Page: Just because you're a programmer doesn't mean you can create a character -- or compose music

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