Takahisa Ikejiri
| Full name | Takahisa Ikejiri |
| Native name | 池尻 貴尚 |
| Splatoon games worked on | Splatoon 2, Splatoon 3 |
Overview
Takahisa Ikejiri is an artist in Splatoon 2 and 3, responsible for character design in Salmon Run, with creations such as the Flyfish and the Stinger. He also worked on Octo Expansion, with work in player and weapon design[1].
2015 Interview
A translation of a Nintendo article[1] regarding Salmon Run in Splatoon 2
Since I loved drawing from a young age, I became unsatisfied with just drawing still images in highschool. I thought it'd be fun to animate, so I started making 2D animations. The experience of brainstorming ideas, sketching rough drafts and producing animations by myself at the time unexpectedly came in handy after I joined Nintendo as a character designer.
After joining Nintendo, I worked on designing enemy characters for the Nintendo 3DS game "Miitopia," and then became involved in the "Splatoon 2" project. While the main gameplay of this game is a 4-on-4 competitive game called Turf War, there is also a mode called "Salmon Run" where players fight against computer-controlled enemies in the form of salmon to collect Power Eggs. I was tasked with designing the enemies for this mode.
You might imagine character creation as a division of labor, where one person creates the model and animators add movement to it. However, at Nintendo, it's common for the person who creates the character to also handle the animation. The reason for this approach is that Nintendo values designs that directly impact gameplay and functionality.
Even if you try to convey complex movements of characters to programmers, it's common for things to get lost in translation. Due to schedule constraints, there was a need to proceed with character production quickly, so if there were discrepancies in understanding, it could lead to delays. What was helpful in that regard was my experience with animation, considering that I was passionate about during my student days. I came up with a scene where enemies - the Salmonids - leap for lures, and to convey the fun of their movements, I created a simple animation that made it clear, allowing the staff to understand at a glance.
Also, in terms of designs directly related to gameplay, I incorporated elements from real-world play into the design. For example, I created an enemy called Flyfish and gave it garbage can-like objects on both sides. Players defeat them by throwing bombs inside. The inspiration for this came from a game I played as a child, where we would crumple paper and throw it into a trash can. Another example is the enemy called the Stinger, which is defeated by shooting down a stack of seven pots. The basis for this idea was the game of daruma otoshi*
In the job of designing characters, meeting functional requirements is important, but even more crucial is creating something that players will find enjoyable to interact with.
Translation Notes
*Daruma otoshi is a game played with a daruma doll. The goal of the game is, using a small hammer, each piece from the bottom must be hit without letting the other pieces fall.
