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Producer of Pokemon Sun/Moon appreciates the motivation behind fan-made games

'We kind of share that same feeling' of enjoying developing games, he said.

David Craddock

October 19, 2016 12:25 PM

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In an interview with Kotaku, Pokemon Sun and Moon producer Junichi Masuda shared his thoughts of fan projects such as artwork, ideas for pocket monsters, and fan-made games.

“Yes, of course, I see a lot of the—well, it’s hard to say an example, but I see a lot of people on Twitter [sending me] different takes [on Pokemon]," Masuda said. "If I see that you are having fun creating things, or working on an art project...working on game development, we kind of share that feeling."

Masuda went a step further. "In general terms, as creators we both have fun creating things, and at Game Freak we are always looking for skilled individuals, so please apply."

His response was in answer to a question posed by Kotaku regarding fan games such as Pokemon Uranium and Milton "DoctorM64" Gausti's AM2R (Another Metroid 2 Remake)—both of which had to be taken down after cease-and-desist letters issued by Nintendo's counsel.

Fan games have received greater attention over the last several years, and publisher response to their existence varies. Nintendo squelched AM2R and Uranium, but almost six years ago Capcom supported the creator of Mega Man X Street Fighter, going so far as to let him use its branding and even releasing his game for free on its website. (Of course, fans interested in playing games that have been removed can still find them if they know where to look.)

Of course, neither Masuda nor his colleagues at Game Freak would be responsible for dropping a legal hammer on creators of fan games like Pokemon Uranium; the legal department at Nintendo, or perhaps The Pokemon Company, would see to that. Still, it's nice to see developers encouraging fans to practice the game-development equivalent of writing fan fiction to sharpen skills they might want to apply toward a paying job in the future.

David Craddock

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.