Satoshi Tajiri is a Japanese video game designer and is one of the founders (and president) of the video game developer company Game Freak. More importantly, he is also the creator of the legendary Pokemon franchise, which I'm sure was a large part of many of our childhoods (at least it was for me). Tajiri had always been interested in video games. As a child, he would spend a lot of his free time in arcades and would win video game design contests throughout high school. This interest eventually developed into a passion as Tajiri eventually published his first video game, Mendel Palace, in 1987. Two years later, he officially founded the company Game Freak before beginning the design of Pokemon which released in 1996 (and 1998 in North America).
One of the factors that allowed Tajiri to become so successful was his comfortability with failure. Nintendo actually approved the concept and publication of Pokemon Red and Blue in 1990, but the game took six long years to develop with numerous setbacks that pushed the release date back to February of 1996. In an interview with Time, Tajiri explains how he builds ideas off of his previous failures and that he never views failure as the end-means. In fact, he stated that Nintendo didn't expect much from his game and that he felt "like a baseball player who slides into second base even though you know you’re going to be out, but then it turns out you are safe.” This comfortability and familiarity with the 'failure' component of his creative process is what allows him to push through and succeed.
Given that Tajiri is one of the top creatives in his field and has had a massive impact on people all over the world, it is fair to say that he deserves the title of being a Big-C creative. Game Freak and Pokemon are two examples of how successful this man has been and it is safe to say that he has made eminent contributions to his chosen domain and then some. His company, Game Freak, is worth over 90 billion dollars and his creation, Pokemon, has become the highest grossing entertainment franchise of all time. To top it all off, he accomplished all of this while having high-functioning autism. Tajiri is truly an inspiration to all, and I am personally forever grateful for how he has shaped my childhood.
Sources:
https://the-art-of-autism.com/how-satoshi-tajiris-autism-helped-create-pokemon/
https://venturebeat.com/games/satoshi-tajiri-the-man-who-created-pokemon/
https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Satoshi_Tajiri
I've always been interested in Pokemon, and I liked learning about how it was created. I read an article several years ago about how Tajiri's autism influenced his decisions while creating the game, though I noticed you touched on this only briefly. It would be interesting to explore that creative relationship and whether he himself considers his neurodivergence a help or a hindrance.
ReplyDeleteA story like Satoshi Tajiri’s is quite inspirational for young kids who are passionate about art and video game design. My brother and I were massive fans of Pokémon growing up and had a ton of merchandise related to the franchise and I know for a fact that the design books on how to draw various Pokémon step-by-step were what got my brother to take character design seriously. His level of patience is also important to consider when understanding the often bureaucratic type of system that many video game companies operate on when pushing products.
ReplyDeleteI consider myself to be a big fan of Pokémon. The franchise has been a huge part of my life for as long as I can remember. You talked about his inspiration for getting into game design, but his inspiration for Pokémon itself, his childhood interest in bug catching, was also a vital part in the creation of this franchise. Because of Satoshi Tajiri's experiences as a child, he managed to create something that has gained worldwide popularity.
ReplyDeletePokemon was a huge part of my childhood, so Tajiri's creativity has had a big role in my life. It is very interesting to me that the first games took 6 years to develop. Now, it seems that Gamefreak makes a game about every 3 years, so I wonder how different it was when he did it for the first time. I remember reading somewhere that he would often work 24 hours straight in the early days, then rest for half a day during the development process. It certainly seems like he was motivated by more than just selling a video game.
ReplyDeleteAs an avid Pokemon Go (I know it's not the same and I'm kind of a bandwagon fan) player, the franchise is addictive. Something about adorable little characters having intense superpowers is so fun. I absolutely agree that he is a Big-C creative. I can't think of anything like Pokemon before its creation and certainly nothing since it. it feels like there isn't really as well known a childhood pillar than Pokemon.
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