Pack-In-Video Co., LTD
Planner/Graphic Designer: Harvest Moon
Planner: Harvest Moon 64, Harvest Moon: Save the Homeland, Harvest Moon: Magical Melody, Harvest Moon: Animal Parade
Harvest Moon Anniversary Questions
Harvest Moon was unlike any game that preceded it. Can you discuss the inspiration for creating a farming simulation?
The producer of the game, Wada-san, started with the concept of “Let’s create a kind of game we’ve never seen before.” It’s not a game where you have to defeat any enemies, and it had a relaxing feel with a lot of heart. The setting of the farm allows you to find a small bit of happiness each day in your day-to-day life. Also, we tried to eliminate the charts and figures you’d see in a simulation game, and rather showed the action occurring on-screen. That was the main focus during development. I was inspired a lot by The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, as I was really into that game at the time. Hitting something with your hammer and seeing an immediate reaction to your action was something I wanted to implement in the game. Also, picking up chickens and lifting them over your head was something that also influenced us, I suppose! (laughs)
Have you ever lived in a farming community or experienced real farming in any way? How has your experience (or dreams about living off the land) inspired your impact on this series of games?
I lived in the countryside, so doing things like working in the fields and cutting up wood for the bath was a part of daily life ever since I was in elementary school. Using tools on the farm like a sickle, hoe, axe, and watering can was easy for me to imagine. I didn’t have any experience raising animals, but the development team and I went to Hokkaido to check out some dairy farms. Connecting with nature and animals really warmed our hearts. At the same time, we learned the responsibility of raising living things and how difficult it can be to manage. I remember I had hard time simplifying the realistic aspect of farm life into an actual game.
Harvest Moon has appeared on a variety of platforms, dating back to the SNES. How did the evolution of video game hardware impact your vision for the franchise?
As the graphics improved and the number of things you could include in the game increased, it was difficult to choose exactly what you wanted to put in the game. I actually think this part was more difficult for the programmers than the game designers.
What began as a farming simulation soon included fishing, mining, and cooking. Can you discuss the inspiration to include these additional activities?
I thought it would be boring to do the same thing over and over again, so fishing and mining were added as kind of a respite from the usual work. As for cooking, it’s obviously an essential part of our lives, and I thought it was more interesting than just shipping the crops and animal products for money. I think being conscious of the female players helped us in this regard.
Were there any other activities you considered adding to the game, but ultimately didn’t? Why?
There was an idea about digging up soil to do pottery, which I personally wanted to do very much, but the cost of adding that feature would have been too much. We also thought about making the romance and marriage aspect more realistic, and even thought about including divorce. However, in the end, we decided to keep a lighthearted feel to the game.
The original Harvest Moon included just four crops, whereas later installments included well over a hundred varieties. What goes into deciding how many crops to include? Are there reasons for choosing specific crops?
I thought about crops that would look nice in your fields, like bright red tomatoes and purple eggplants, and also having crops that really gave you the sense of the season. Due to things like greenhouse farming, it may be harder to think of a crop as growing only in a certain season, but I tried to do this as much as possible.
Harvest Moon is famous for including numerous secrets. Have you ever worried some would never be found? What are your favorite secrets in the series?
My favorite hidden element in the Harvest Moon series is in Harvest Moon: Animal Parade—the detail the graphic artists gave to objects that you couldn’t see unless you zoomed in on them. It didn’t have anything to do with the gameplay, but it was nice to look at.
Do you have a favorite Harvest Moon game in the franchise? What about a favorite event o r character?
Harvest Moon 64 has a special place in my heart, so it’s probably my favorite. My favorite character is probably Popuri, the girl who works at the flower shop. My favorite events are the Blue Mist Flower event and dance events. I like anything with fantastical colors.
How does it make you feel to know that this interview will be included in a book celebrating the twentieth anniversary of a franchise you have been a part of? Why do you feel that this series has had such a lasting impact?
First of all, I sincerely thank all the players who love this series, and who have supported it through all these years! There were many difficulties, such as delays and debt, during the development of the first game for the Super NES, and we sometimes wondered if the game would ever be finished at all! Even after it was decided to continue development at Pack-In-Video, I thought, “I wonder if the company president will be angry at me… I should apologize to him, because it will cost more time and money!” Instead, he completely supported us! It made me very happy.
We slept at work every day and didn’t go to bed until 3:00 a.m. during development. When I would wake up in the morning, the company president, Kizu-san, and the rest of them would already have their computers on in the dark, and when I tried turning on the lights, they would say to me, “No, you still need some more rest!” I will never forget how concerned they were about me. Wada-san, the producer, encouraged me many times. For the people who helped get the series started, for the players who were waiting for the game to come out, I was able to do my best and make it happen. Many years after the game came out, I saw a video where a player said they became a farmer because they played the game when they were little. I was speechless!
I am truly grateful. The series has lasted this long thanks to the players. I hope it continues to be loved for many years to come.