It would appear that 5th Cell looked to the success of Nintendogs when developing their acclaimed Scribblenauts for Nintendo DS, searching for clues as to how to become a leader on the platform.
“People think that Scribblenauts was some crazy idea, but when I was designing the base concept, I looked at Nintendogs,” commented Jeremiah Slaczka, creative director at 5th Cell, to Game Set Watch. “I asked, ‘Why is that a market leader?’ And I broke it down scientifically, looking at things – the art style, how the input works. The core theme is puppies, and you know, nobody hates puppies.”
It was a fundamental choice to pursue utilising the player’s imagination and reactions to surprise, yet Slaczka explained that the studio was conscious in regards to its quirky reputation.
“We call it ‘marketable innovation’ here,” he discussed. “Commercial viability is extremely important to us. When we do something, we don’t just throw it at a wall and hope it sticks. We look at market data, what people are interested in playing, and offer our own take on that.”
He continued ” … We call ourselves innovative and different — that’s kind of our MO. So if we’re going to say that, we shouldn’t be stuck in our comfort zone. Whenever we do another project, we want to push the boundaries of what’s comfortable to us. … That’s why we come into work every day.”
[Thanks, Game Set Watch via VG247]
5th Cell inspired by Nintendogs during Scribblenauts development
