Legendary former F-Zero and Star Fox dev says Nintendo focuses on small mechanical details that feel "good to play" because "it's all about that direct connection between you and the game"

A former Nintendo developer says that Nintendo focuses on mechanical details when it comes to developing games.

Nintendo's best games very often don't feature incredible storytelling or realistic graphics; the company has made its name through the gameplay itself. Many of its best games feature mechanics that allow for player interpretation, as seen in the ways players utilize the movement mechanics of games like Mario 64, Sunshine, and Odyssey to perform acrobatic feats that make the intended route appear like a mile-long walk.

We've heard various stories of Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Pikmin creator Shigeru Miyamoto playing games in weird ways, most recently just digging one spot in Donkey Kong Bananza. And believe it or not, that seems to be a direct way of testing Nintendo's development process.

Takaya Imamura, who worked at Nintendo on titles like Star Fox and F-Zero for 32 years before leaving in 2021 – and more importantly, designed Tingle – spoke to Bloomberg about Nintendo's obsession with small mechanical details like "when you push the stick to move a character, they gradually pick up speed, or when you jump, the height changes depending on how hard you press the button."

Imamura continued, "It’s that kind of thing that just never gets old – it just feels good to play. It’s all about that direct connection between you and the game, that sense that you’re completely in control." Because it doesn't matter how good your world or level design is if the character you're playing as doesn't feel good going through it, which is one of the reasons the company's first 3D title, Super Mario 64, still feels incredible today.

Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto spent an entire New Super Mario Bros. Wii test demo just sliding around with the Penguin power-up, former Nintendo marketing leads recall: "That's all he was doing."