Pokemon X and Pokemon Y were released nearly a month ago and have seen a great amount of success and acclaim for its move to a full 3D plane. In an interview with We Love Pokemon magazine, and translated by Siliconera, series art director Ken Sugimori weighed in on what direction he hopes the series takes in Generation VII.
While the Pokemon series has grown with each title, Sugimori would like the next generation to go back to its roots with a simple experience more like Red and Green. He says there really is no way to reduce the number of Pokemon, but believes that the number of moves, abilities, and items should be lessened. Sugimori makes sure to say that just because he feels that way does not mean that it will happen, but it is possible.
As a way to test the grounds of simpler designs, Sugimori says he may try to do simpler designs in other media in the upcoming years to get some reactions. After all, he says his favorite Pokemon is Gengar due to his simplicity to draw, while Venusaur is his least favorite due to its complexity.
Arcadia
November 9, 2013 at 7:03 PMPokemon Red and Green…. hmm.
mgs2ss
November 13, 2013 at 6:59 AMAnd what, may I ask, is wrong with the current level of complexity? The base game is simple enough for a 7 year old to beat on their own, without help from guides or an older gamer. The meta-game is complex enough to keep 20+ year old gamers interested in breeding for max stats and IVs and movesets for competitive play. The best part is, this meta-game isn’t even really visible to the younger audience, so they don’t even feel like they are missing anything.
As for the simpler designs, if Venusaur is too complicated for you to draw…. Let’s just make them all look like ****ing Dittto, and be done with it. How lazy can you get?
Charlee
December 5, 2013 at 5:10 PMI think it should be simpler next gen. I grew up with the original pokemon an loved it! I started falling out of it after diamond, pearl, and platinum because they just weren’t looking like pokemon really anymore. They look like mix matched thrown together animals and elements, no collective thought almost. Goin back to the roots of pokemon and making simpler designs will definitely bring a more classic feel to the next generation, a little throwback if you will. And I’m pretty sure if you had to keep drawing complicated pokemon over and over and over and OVER again you’d get pretty tired of doing it as well. Bring back classic simple pokemon!!!