Interviews// Yasuhiro Wada, creator of Harvest Moon

SPOnG: So you want to inspire other deep emotions as well as those obvious ones inspired by violence?

Yasuhiro Wada: Exactly, yes.


SPOnG: OK, enough on violence.

Yasuhiro Wada: [laughs]


SPOnG: So, it�s been eleven years since the first game � how has Harvest Moon changed and developed over that time?

Yasuhiro Wada: The basic system and construction of the game hasn�t really changed since the SNES or N64 versions. All that has changed is that there has been an increase in the level of complexity, in terms of the quality and the volume of different elements of the game. The world and the characters have grown and developed, but the basic structure is the same.


SPOnG: And what about looking more generally at the games industry over the last eleven years � in terms of technology and in terms of the way business is done � how has all this changed?

Yasuhiro Wada: At some point in the last eleven years, I think progress of software stopped � because technology had advanced so quickly and the software business became increasingly high-risk, so business people were too concerned with making certain types of games for certain types of audiences. So, gaming became a bit boring, a bit staid, as a result. In this situation, Nintendo DS totally changed and improved this �stalling� and slowing down in the progress and improvement of games, because DS is simpler � compared to other recently developed technologies � so playability is higher amongst a much wider audience.


SPOnG: And what of the PSP, what are your thoughts on that?

Yasuhiro Wada: PSP uses exactly the same strategy as previous consoles, simply bringing very high quality graphics into the handheld world. So, what [Sony] are trying to achieve is very high specification with very high quality graphics, but they also bring that console mentality, along with a shrinking market for those type of consoles. So, DS works as a kind of counter-force to this tendency.

But I also think that the direction PSP is taking is necessary � it�s necessary for us to have a high-spec, quality-graphics machine within the handheld market.


SPOnG: Okay, let�s talk more specifically about the DS and PSP versions of Harvest Moon, out in Europe this month. How is the storyline in the DS game different to past versions?

Yasuhiro Wada: Previous games didn�t have a very clear, given objective or task for the player to achieve. In the DS version, the player is tasked with finding the Harvest Sprites in the game.

You can, if you like, carry on playing the game without getting involved in finding the Harvest Sprites � but this task within the storyline is the main new feature in the DS game.

SPOnG: Also, another new feature in the DS game is petting the animals � was Nintendogs an inspiration here? How does the animal petting work in the game?

Yasuhiro Wada: No, no, the game was released at the same time as Nintendogs in Japan, so that wasn�t really an inspiration so much. Basically if you look after your cows and sheep and other animals in the game they will become more productive � giving you better milk, wool and so on. So, it�s fairly essential to the gameplay.


SPOnG: And as for the PSP version, can you say something about the new setting in this version of the game?

Yasuhiro Wada: Innocent Life: A Futuristic Harvest Moon on PSP is quite different to the �mainstream� Harvest Moon games, it�s a brand new game. If you like, I am the main boss or creator of the stories in the mainstream Harvest Moon games, this PSP version has a new creator who is developing his own ideas for the game � with an emphasis on higher resolution, beautiful graphics and a different storyline � so by branching out onto different formats, different platforms and developing new ideas, we hope we can branch out and appeal to both old and newer fans of Harvest Moon.