I find it fascinating that people are rediscovering older interviews with Shigeru Miyamoto and bringing them back to prominence. Why? Because they are providing valuable insights into his thought process and how he came up with certain things. Sure enough, Shmuplations found yet another interview that Miyamoto had done in the year 2000 and translated it once more for our reading pleasure. The topic of this particular interview was the pipes that can be found in the Super Mario franchise. They’ve been in the series since the literal first game. So, how did Miyamoto come up with it?
Not-so-ironically, it had to do with the programming limitations of the time mixed with a very lucky encounter:
“Due to the way the screens worked, enemies that went to the bottom had to re-appear at the top of the screen. So that got us thinking, ‘OK, we need a path or some way for them to get back up there.’ Then one day I happened to be walking through the streets of Kyoto, and I saw a plastic pipe sticking out of a wall.”
And history was made during that walk! Those who know the history of Shigeru Miyamoto’s creations know that this kind of “real-world encounter” is how he’s come up with many stories, characters, and even entire game ideas. The Legend of Zelda and Pikmin both came to him during regular life activities.
Oh, and if you’re wondering why the original game had a “New York vibe” to it, that would be because of the game’s monsters. They needed a “reasonable place” to be set in. Or:
“Some huge underground tunnels that must exist somewhere… like under New York, I thought,”
The more you know!
