With visual fidelity on consoles reaching new levels one acclaimed video game director Hideki Kamiya says that pretty visuals alone don’t do much for him these days. Kamiya went on to say that a good action game needs mechanics no other game has and he points towards the games that he has directed:
“When I make a new game, I try to come up with a unique gameplay mechanic that can only be experienced in that game. For example, in Bayonetta it was the Witch Time system where dodging an enemy attack slows down time, and in Okami, it was the Celestial Brush, which lets you directly affect the game world by drawing.”
Kamiya went on to say that innovation is one of the most important things in video games and that graphics can not carry a game alone. Morbid Metal creator Felix Schade said that the most games these days do not include some innovative formula and Kamiya said that he’s not drawn to games that only offer improved graphics. “As a player, I want to get excited by the unique experiences which only that one game can offer.”
