Pokemon Art Director Wants to Simplify Pokemon Designs

[Steven Bogos]

Pokemon Art Director Wants to Simplify Pokemon Designs

Ken Sugimori wants the series to go back to its simpler roots.

Pokemon X and Y have only been out for around a month or so, but legendary art director Ken Sugimori, who has been with the series from the beginning, is already thinking about the next generation. Specifically, he feels that the series has become needlessly complex as of late, and wants it to return to its simpler roots.

Talking to the Japanese We Love Pokemon Magazine [http://pk-mn.com/n/pokemon-7-sedai-simple/], Sugimori answered that rather than adding more features and more complex designs, he'd rather go back to having elements similar to what was offered in Pokemon Red and Blue to see how it would turn out.

He also believes that it's probably not possible to decrease the number of Pokemon, but it might be in the series' best interests to make a large adjustment to the number of attacks, abilities and items. He says that fan feedback has revealed that Pokemon fans also feel the same way.

On the actual design front, he says he wants to try experimenting with simpler designs for existing Pokemon in other media (such as the TV shows or manga), just to see what people's reactions would be.

Sugimori was also asked what his favorite Pokemon is, and his answer is something any budding artist can sympathize with. "Gengar, because it doesn't require many lines and is easy to draw." Consequently, Venusaur is his least favorite Pokemon.

Source: Siliconera [http://pk-mn.com/n/pokemon-7-sedai-simple/]

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[Saulkar]

I cannot agree more. Like a good melody I always felt the simpler designs with very distinct silhouettes made them all the more iconic with the newer more complex ones feeling generic with complexity for complexities sake.

 

[josemlopes]

Their designs are simple enough as it is although they really need to tone down on the amount of shapes (like if you were to dissect a Pokemon drawing to its basic shapes like circles and rectangles) a Pokemon has, like Saulkar said, their silhouettes arent that great.


Digimons have a lot more detail and yet keep some nice silhouettes.

 

[SD-Fiend]

I'm fine with them getting simpler but I hope they don't go back to Gen 1 levels of simple. I grew up with Pokemon Blue but when I think back not to many pokemon really interested me in that gen

 

[Steven Bogos]

Their designs are simple enough as it is although they really need to tone down on the amount of shapes (like if you were to dissect a Pokemon drawing to its basic shapes like circles and rectangles) a Pokemon has, like Saulkar said, their silhouettes arent that great.


Digimons have a lot more detail and yet keep some nice silhouettes.

I agree. Look at this abomination, for example:

 

[likalaruku]

I absolutely agree. The legendary pokemon look ridiculous & out of place. Plus more simplistic designs increases the likenesses of adorable mons.

 

[TJC]

simpler? Am I the only one who found Gen VI to be exactly that? The designs are sharp and clear and really really fun. And they're all good designs. There ARE some pokemon I find incredibly stupid (wtf aromatisse, just wtf) but that doesn't change the fact that they're well-designed. Really, I found Gen V to be quite strong but with Gen VI gamefreak blew it out of the park. Gen III and IV are completely forgettable and I couldn't sort the pokemon according to the games even if I tried :/

Plus, it's kinda funny that Sugimori wants to go back to Gen I when it contains both his most and LEAST favourite pokemon.

 

[Nikolaz72]

Some of the most liked Pokimen these last years were the most simpel, I agree with him completely.

 

[Guffe]

simpler? Am I the only one who found Gen VI to be exactly that? The designs are sharp and clear and really really fun. And they're all good designs.

That means he succeeded, doesn't it?
Most comments here seem to say exactly that, he already went back to simpler ways, which is what he aimed for.
So now all he needs to do is keep up the good work

Personally I haven't seen much of the mons after gen 3 and the ones I can actually name are gen 1 and 2, I played pokemon Black which was fun but it was my first thouch back into the series since Silver/Gold.
Maybe I'll get a 3DS at some point to play the latter part of the series.

 

[bug_of_war]

Gen III ... completely forgettable

You're a very brave person for speaking your mind, respect!

OT: Cool, more Pokemon!

 

[Hero of Lime]

Yeah, no I don't see the point that Pokemon have gotten worse because their designs have gotten more "complex" somehow. Isn't that what designs are supposed to do in long running franchises? The sad part is that if Game Freak had kept making simpler "generic" designs, people would still hate the new Pokemon for no good reason.

I think a lot of the early Pokemon designs are more "generic" personally than the later generations. Charizard is literally a classic European dragon, as is Dragonite. Seel and Dewgong look like creatures you see at an aquarium along with most of the water types. Paint a rat purple and you have a real Rattata. I like Gen 1 a lot, but if you want generic, look no further than Kanto and Johto.

Edit: Are people seriously complaining that newer Pokemon silhouettes are harder to make out and therefore, worse designs? If you were raised on the new Pokemon, you would know the silhouettes as well as the old ones. I've heard some lousy arguments, but this takes the cake.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

Their designs are simple enough as it is although they really need to tone down on the amount of shapes (like if you were to dissect a Pokemon drawing to its basic shapes like circles and rectangles) a Pokemon has, like Saulkar said, their silhouettes arent that great.


Digimons have a lot more detail and yet keep some nice silhouettes.

It's a good thing that Gen I silhouettes were so recognizable then!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G16gSgfBWRk

 

[JarinArenos]

I wonder what his thoughts on Gen 6 are. On one hand, he certainly gets his "simpler" (and IMHO far better) pokemon designs. On the other, they added quite a few features and complications to the system. (flying vs sky, rotations, hordes, etc)

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

While Ken's speaking his mind, I wonder what his opinion is on the ice cream Pokemon.

 

[GamemasterAnthony]

I don't mind "simple" just as long as it doesn't go into "generic" like Hero of Lime mentioned. I definitely agree that the Legendaries have gotten...well, interesting, at the very least. But still, the Legendaries seem to be getting more complex and in some cases scarier. Not exactly a good match for a game with a cute-as-a-kitten-in-a-cup (as least I think that's what they were trying for) mascot.

I think they are trying to aim for simpler this time around. A lot of the Pokémon, besides getting updated cries, seem to have much cleaner and uncomplicated designs to them. This made many of them look a lot more presentable and more befitting the new graphics and design of the Kalos region.

My only hope is that they don't try to simplify anything else. Abilities, double/triple/rotation battles, sky battles, effort values...these are all things that in my opinion made the game much better and much more enjoyable to play. So...simplify the graphics if you must, but keep the gameplay elements intact.

 

[Someone Depressing]

This is what Pokemon needs.

It needs mole things, dogs, fish, snake-things. Not flying rocketship-like turtles or key chains.

I hope the next Pokemon game isn't shit. That's really universal.

 

[Vykrel]

glad he feels the same way i do. the last few generations have been getting more and more bizarre. they dont even look like pokemon anymore. honestly, if you were to put a bunch of official fifth and sixth gens in front of me, mixed in with a bunch of overly-complex fan art, i wouldnt be able to tell the difference. i mean, there are freaking ice cream pokemon now. and i think theres also a trash pile pokemon. and i know for a fact that there is a key chain pokemon. and a sword one... its just ridiculous, imo

 

[DarkRyter]

Sure, Ken. Maybe less random spikes and stripes. And keep these color schemes down. Five different colors on one pokemon (I'm looking at you, Mega Lucario) is just too much.

However, do not cut down on moves, abilities, and items. They add depth to the game.

 

[Ulquiorra4sama]

I can see why they'd want to cut down on the complexity of the design, i mean can you imagine trying to play Who's That Pokemon with Gen VI? Honestly i don't care so much about simple or complex designs, but what i would love is for the pokemon to have a more memorable design again. Gen V & VI have hardly had any pokemon in them that i remember once i put it down.

Oh, and why the fuck would you cut down on attacks and abilities? Having unique attacks or moves that are special only to a certain group of pokemon actually adds some drive to catch and evolve them, meaning it contributes to what many would call the "point" of pokemon in the first place.

Items i'd be fine with seeing cut down a bit though 'cause the new item bag is a pretty cluttered mess even after you sort it.

 

[loa]

One look at the inventory of pokemon X/Y should tell you that cutting the fat is much, much needed.
Bullshit items that evolve only 1 specific critter when held during a trade after which they disappear (what the fuck, gamefreak. Stop that. Seriously), 9 flavors of evolution stones each only evolving ~4-5 pokemon and a shitload of outright useless items (who the hell uses attack boosting items?) and up to 3 items boosting the exact same element for each element all packed into one giant list.
Have fun scrolling cause the ones you want to use such as repels are right in the center.

Also HMs. Fuck. HMs.

Design-wise, they're on the right track with X/Y. A track leading far, far away from Reshiram and Zekrom.

They should fire whoever thought a menu that -on top of being a convoluted piece of shit- takes almost a second to pop up and close down and putting fade to black behind fucking everything was a-okay though.
That interface is the worst abortion I have ever seen in a pokemon game.