Nintendo steps out in style

At last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E³), Nintendo announced its game lineup for 2009 release, including the one I've been working on as a writer/editor for the past six months: Style Savvy^TM.

Courtesy of Nintendo.

Here's the promo movie. The announcement was an exciting, anxious moment for all of us on the team, like how I imagine it must feel for a parent watching his child debut in a school play. Admittedly, E³ is maybe not the best audience for a fashion game targeted toward young girls, dominated as the conference naturally is by hard-core gamers. I was encouraged by Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata's keynote speech, which made a strong case for audience expansion beyond traditional gamers (young males, mostly) to include, well, everyone else.

It's worth noting that 20 percent of people who buy a Wii never owned a game console before buying this one. Included in that 20 percent, just as an aside, are my sister and her husband, and my brother and his wife. I can name a dozen or so other people I know who've bought either a Wii or a DS in the past two years who aren't traditional gamers. I bet you can, too.

Style Savvy is for the DS, so I've been playing that little handheld console like mad the past six months, as part of the localization work. I'll be buying a DSi soon, and not just so I can admire the fruits of my own labors. I want to know what happens with this mythical box that is supposed to kill whoever opens it. I've been looking over the shoulder of one of my coworkers as she plays Hotel Dusk, and I want my own copy. And then there's a game developed in collaboration with a fiction writer.

The possibilities represented by that last title announcement really get my mind reeling. I used to teach my students about the evolution of writing. I'd draw diagrams on the board beginning with cave paintings on one far end, up through the Gutenberg printing press in the 15th century to computers and the Internet in the 20th. I'd ask them: What will our mode of storytelling and communication be in the future? Holodecks? Judging by the promise of Microsoft's Natal, presented in more immediate, practical terms by the Wii MotionPlus, we're on our way.

The game is known as Wagamama Fashion Girls Mode in Japan, "wagamama" meaning something like "selfish" and "aggressive" rolled into one sentiment that is more girl-power than selfishness. Girls Mode was No. 1 in sales for a time and remained a success story in Japan, its audience reaching beyond young girls. Just for fun, check out these Japanese TV spots. I think it's going to sell like trendy cupcakes here in the U.S., but that's just my opinion.

Comments

[Marsha]

It's nice to hear some details about the project you've been working on! What is your role in the production of this game? (Writing dialogues?)

[Lisa Albers]

Marsha, thanks for your comments. As a contractor for Nintendo, I’ve had the opportunity of a lifetime, getting to aspects of game writing/editing that don’t usually happen for several years into a typical career. I’ve written dialogue for 80 characters, including a main character (Felicity, the fashion journalist). I devised the plans to name the streets in the game after famous fashion districts and to use occupational/aspirational bios for our boutique customers. I wrote hundreds of headlines for digital magazines in the game, and I named many of the characters, all 10,000 clothing items, several clothing brands, wi-fi shops and towns, and other elements.

I’ve also been deeply involved in the problem-solving work of localizing Japanese cultural aspects of the game that don’t easily translate to a North American audience. And as the most experienced (contract) writer and editor on the team, I’ve mentored the younger writers, developed style guides, and offered valuable critique.