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Miyamoto Faxed Rare A Request For Less Killing In Goldeneye 64
James Bond is a violent character. He kills for a living, and therefore it's no surprise that the games in which he stars are filled with hot lead. It's no surprise then that one of the best Bond games, Goldeneye 64, presented a challenge because of Nintendo's family-friendly ethos.
Speaking at the GameCity festival in Nottingham, England, co-designer Martin Hollis revealed some of the feedback his team received from Nintendo during development. According to The Guardian, which was in attendance at the event, Hollis revealed that Nintendo designer and Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto wasn't entirely fond of the wanton killing.
In a perfectly 90s moment, Rare received a fax with feedback from Miyamoto that included some notes for improving the game. "One point was that there was too much close-up killing – he found it a bit too horrible," Hollis said. "I don’t think I did anything with that input. The second point was, he felt the game was too tragic, with all the killing. He suggested that it might be nice if, at the end of the game, you got to shake hands with all your enemies in the hospital.”
While we never did see the overflowing hospital beds filled with soldiers Bond "shot in the leg," Rare did include a note in the credits reminding people that the game is fiction. And while this idea never made it into the final game, Miyamoto isn't the only designer to want players to face the consequences for their digital destruction.
Metal Gear Solid 3 famously includes a scene in which Snake must face the spectres of his fallen foes. The fewer you kill, the easier that scene is.
You can read more about Hollis' thoughts on Goldeneye and Rare's Nintendo navigation in The Guardian's coverage.
[Source: The Guardian via Eurogamer]
Our Take
This is the most quintessential Nintendo anecdote I've ever heard. Thankfully, the company has found a way to comfortably broaden its reach in the days since Goldeneye 64.
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