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Post by Boo Destroyer on May 24, 2010 10:45:21 GMT -5
Most of you may have noticed by now that Nintendo really seems to like using an amount of 8 aspects in many of their games. Just a couple of notable examples here:
-The playable characters in every other Mario Kart game.
-The usual amount of worlds in most standard Mario games.
-The beginning characters in the first SSB for the N64.
-The amount of gym leaders in each of the Pokemon series.
-The amount of bosses (and dungeons) in most installments of the Zelda series.
Ah, that's all I can really think of right now. And sometimes, even if the number isn't totally 8, it cuts it pretty damn close (i.e. 7 Koopalings, and 16 or 24 of other game elements at times - sometimes with multiples of the number like that.)
Usually, I don't question Nintendo's seemingly-bizarre antics when it comes to designing their games (and as solid a choice of number as 8 really is for much of these games), but this is something that I've been seeing for a while and gotta find out more about.
Now then, feel free to point out other instances of Nintendo's frequent use of the amount of 8 in other games.
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Post by wanderingshadow on May 24, 2010 13:04:41 GMT -5
I wonder in early technical limitations have anything to do with this. I know that even today, developers make things to be used in games a power of two to avoid problems.
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Post by parrothead on May 24, 2010 23:01:35 GMT -5
Perhaps they are based on the 8-bit (1 byte) video games.  |
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Post by Spud on May 24, 2010 23:45:19 GMT -5
In Chinese numerology 8 is associated with Fortune or Prosperity. Perhaps that carries over into Japan?
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Post by Koopaul on May 24, 2010 23:57:04 GMT -5
In some video games its seven or three.
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on May 25, 2010 0:03:24 GMT -5
You really could just as easily pick any number, any number at all, slap a few examples on a list, and you're good to go. Hell, your examples of 'cutting it close' are just other random numbers.
EDIT: However, 8 does divide neatly for character selection screens and the like.
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Post by Johans Nidorino on May 25, 2010 0:20:12 GMT -5
You really could just as easily pick any number, any number at all, slap a few examples on a list, and you're good to go. Hell, your examples of 'cutting it close' are just other random numbers. I'm afraid this sums up my opinion... I believe with so few initial examples, you could do the same with other numbers. Also 7 doesn't count as being "cut from 8"... It counts as an example for an essay on the number 7  Anyway, 8 is the number of standard dungeons in several Zelda games (though it's not a majority nowadays). Leaving beside memory constraints and it being an even number, it's also short enough to remember things. |
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Post by Shrikeswind on May 25, 2010 3:13:19 GMT -5
Actually, Johans, in the case of the Koopalings, it does count, since it makes a family of 8 bosses, all of whom had that Bowser look because, well, emphasis on "Family."
I have another one, actually. Working on SBL, I've come to the conclusion that, when you break a series down to the core (which is to say splitting Yoshi from Mario, for example,) you can't go any higher than 8 characters before you start running out of major characters, this being the case for Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Pokemon if certain steps are taken. I can explain the steps in PM.
With regards to WHY 8 would be such an important number for Nintendo, I don't know.
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on May 25, 2010 6:26:44 GMT -5
Actually, Johans, in the case of the Koopalings, it does count, since it makes a family of 8 bosses, all of whom had that Bowser look because, well, emphasis on "Family." I have another one, actually. Working on SBL, I've come to the conclusion that, when you break a series down to the core (which is to say splitting Yoshi from Mario, for example,) you can't go any higher than 8 characters before you start running out of major characters, this being the case for Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda, and Pokemon if certain steps are taken. I can explain the steps in PM. With regards to WHY 8 would be such an important number for Nintendo, I don't know. Huh? No doubt what you consider a 'major character' is as arbitrary as the number 8. There's like, 4 major Mario characters. 3 major Zelda ones. Like... 2 Donkey Kong ones. Plus, obviously there were going to be 8 members of the Bowser family, because there was one for each world, and as we've established, Mario games usually have 8 worlds. That doesn't mean 8 is a magical number, either. |
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Post by TV Eye on May 25, 2010 10:53:18 GMT -5
8*8 is 64
I'll let you ponder that a bit.
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Post by Shrikeswind on May 25, 2010 14:16:41 GMT -5
Huh? No doubt what you consider a 'major character' is as arbitrary as the number 8. There's like, 4 major Mario characters. 3 major Zelda ones. Like... 2 Donkey Kong ones. I won't deny the abritrarity of considering any number of characters major, but 8 was the point where you couldn't keep it up. Basically, after 8, you reach the point where it goes from the intelligent "This character has this and this and this going for them" and becomes "I liek DIS char." |
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Post by Johans Nidorino on May 25, 2010 14:46:59 GMT -5
8*8 is 64 I'll let you ponder that a bit. What about it? The Nintendo 64? All of them are powers of 2 because of the binary nature of computers. If there's an obsession with numbers in this, it's not Nintendo's, but the players' when trying to find weird patterns. Numbers are fascinating and I can perceive why 8 is, but I don't yet see this as amazing as, say, the fact that some of Miyamoto's characters are left-handed. Also, you can find the number 8 in other long-running series than Nintendo ones and probably other things than video games. I'll mention 2 more Nintendo examples just for hobos and giggles: - 8 is the number of red coins required to unlock stars in Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Sunshine, or to obtain item prizes in the New series.
- In certain side-scrolling Super Mario Bros. games, 8 is the number of foes defeated in a row before earning a 1-Up or similar prize.
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Post by Shrikeswind on May 25, 2010 19:17:42 GMT -5
(Honestly, I find the 8 thing to be a lark myself, but it's entertaining to nitpick for patterns like this.)
So, what are your odds of getting a female starter in the Pokemon games (you know, since gender was introduced?) 1 in 8. Likewise, the formula for determining shininess? There are 8 results that cause shininess.
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Post by Dances in Undergarments on May 25, 2010 19:19:23 GMT -5
Huh? No doubt what you consider a 'major character' is as arbitrary as the number 8. There's like, 4 major Mario characters. 3 major Zelda ones. Like... 2 Donkey Kong ones. I won't deny the abritrarity of considering any number of characters major, but 8 was the point where you couldn't keep it up. Basically, after 8, you reach the point where it goes from the intelligent "This character has this and this and this going for them" and becomes "I liek DIS char." I'm actually genuinely curious how you get even close to 8 for any series 'intelligently'. I mean, for Mario, I could potentially stretch the 'main characters' to 6 (Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are main characters. At a pinch, you could throw Toad and now Bowser Jr in there). For Zelda, you could potentially make 4 if you don't split Tingle into his own series, which seems wrong. And Donkey Kong, Kirby, Metroid, etc have 4 at an absolute maximum (really, its more like 2 or 3). Not taking the piss, I'm actually curious (plus the 8 topic sucks balls so I'm derailing it). |
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Post by Koopaul on May 25, 2010 20:32:07 GMT -5
I don't know you could say that its 7 plus the finale.
In Zelda you need to find the Seven Sages before you face Ganondorf.
You need to fight the Seven Koopalings before you fight Bowser.
You need to rescue the Seven Star Spirits before the final battle.
You need to collect the Seven Chaos Emeralds before... er wait that's not Nintendo...
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