Early Pikmin concepts included creatures with AI chips in their heads
Although Pikmin as we see them today are just a series of funky, little guys, their original concept was a bit darker in nature.
In the latest instalment of Nintendo's Ask The Developer series of interviews, Pikmin creator Shigeru Miyamoto spoke alongside former series directors Shigefumi Hino and Masamichi Abe, as well as programmer Yuji Kando and designer Junji Morii on the origins of the series.
Hino revealed initially the team had planned to feature creatures with AI chips in their heads in the first Pikmin game, and players would be able to control them by assigning different chips. The concept art for this prototype was shown, and the early Pikmin would have looked like round creatures with limbs, a nose, eyes, and an antenna.
As the team wanted to use a top-down camera, they needed each Pikmin to be instantly identifiable from what was on their head, Hino said. He also revealed the team felt the designs «lacked impact as a character», even though they are quite cute.
Mori later drew sketches featuring the Pikmin looking more like their plant selves, which Abe said was selected «by unanimous decision» by the team. «I was strangely attracted to this design,» Miyamoto said. «I liked the idea of plants walking. We were saying things like, it would be cute if it sucked up water from the leaf on its head.»
Mori's initial sketches were drawn in a very distinct style, and he revealed at the time he was interested in the works of film director Tim Burton. «I wanted the designs to not just be cute,» he said, «but also give a sense of eeriness or some emotional weight,» which led to him using lots of lines layered on top of each other.
The team wanted to contrast the «bright and vibrant designs» of the Mario and Zelda
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