An insight: American and Japanese games

Why are American and Japanese games different? Well after expounding over eight pages of game observation, opinions and some research analysis, Kurt Katala enumerated a few points to consider when wondering why two cultures make games differently. We here at QJ decided to run through the details and jot down the highlights.

• Americans fought for their freedom in the past. It would be no wonder why this reflects in most of their games’ story and gameplay. Japanese are creative people, being able to draw the most peculiar worlds from the human mind. So they like to invite players into the worlds that they brought up.
• Americans love independence. Freedom to do what they want is what they look for in most games. Japanese love the cinematic portrayal of the hero as they have imagined him weaving his way through the story.
• American designers focus on realism. Realistic visuals are a plus among American gamers. Japanese develop games with style, especially visuals with a certain personality, depending on the developer or on the game.
• Visuals in American games are often rigid, tall and straight, characterizing strength and superiority. Curves and flowing lines are usually shown in Japanese games, showing more beauty and appeal.
• Music in American games are sometimes non-existent or production-heavy, like orchestra music. Melody is key to most Japanese game designers so they focus on that. Music is integral to their game experience.
• Heroes in American games are usually superior in more than one way. In the Japanese games, the hero often comes with a flaw.
• American games are designed so that the player can save anytime, anywhere. Japanese games, however, are designed so that the player can only save at a particular place, sometimes with a special condition.
• American gamers love a challenge. They would take more energy and time to try to complete a game. Japanese gamers would just quit if a game is too hard.

The final word is that great games are great games, despite the hundreds of years of cultural differences. There are American gamers who love Japanese games and there are Japanese gamers who love American games. There are even times that adopting another culture’s ways makes for better development. So the more you think about it, is it really about culture?  Or it is close-minded discrimination?

That’s up to you to decide, ultimately. You can read the all the details by clicking the Read link below, or feel free to discuss it.

Why are American and Japanese games different? Well after expounding over eight pages of game observation, opinions and some research analysis, Kurt Katala enumerated a few points to consider when wondering why two cultures make games differently. We here at QJ decided to run through the details and jot down the highlights.

• Americans fought for their freedom in the past. It would be no wonder why this reflects in most of their games’ story and gameplay. Japanese are creative people, being able to draw the most peculiar worlds from the human mind. So they like to invite players into the worlds that they brought up.
• Americans love independence. Freedom to do what they want is what they look for in most games. Japanese love the cinematic portrayal of the hero as they have imagined him weaving his way through the story.
• American designers focus on realism. Realistic visuals are a plus among American gamers. Japanese develop games with style, especially visuals with a certain personality, depending on the developer or on the game.
• Visuals in American games are often rigid, tall and straight, characterizing strength and superiority. Curves and flowing lines are usually shown in Japanese games, showing more beauty and appeal.
• Music in American games are sometimes non-existent or production-heavy, like orchestra music. Melody is key to most Japanese game designers so they focus on that. Music is integral to their game experience.
• Heroes in American games are usually superior in more than one way. In the Japanese games, the hero often comes with a flaw.
• American games are designed so that the player can save anytime, anywhere. Japanese games, however, are designed so that the player can only save at a particular place, sometimes with a special condition.
• American gamers love a challenge. They would take more energy and time to try to complete a game. Japanese gamers would just quit if a game is too hard.

The final word is that great games are great games, despite the hundreds of years of cultural differences. There are American gamers who love Japanese games and there are Japanese gamers who love American games. There are even times that adopting another culture’s ways makes for better development. So the more you think about it, is it really about culture?  Or it is close-minded discrimination?

That’s up to you to decide, ultimately. You can read the all the details by clicking the Read link below, or feel free to discuss it.