ANIME AND GAMING
How Anime inspired new genres of games around the world.
WHAT IS ANIME STYLE GAMING?
Anime style and anime-inspired video games used to be a label used for any video game produced within Japan, however, it has now evolved as an entire branch that covers games of shonen or shojo design through its graphic illustration or is based on existing anime or manga. Predominantly, Anime style video games today fall under the RPG (role play game) and Gatcha genres and are not limited to their development within Japan. (Walter)
HISTORY OF JAPANESE GAMING SIMULATION
Ichikawa, Arata. “Early Japanese Gaming Simulation Efforts.” Ryutsu Keizai University, 2014.
https://absel-ojs-ttu.tdl.org/absel/index.php/absel/article/view/416
This academic article (accessed through pdf) highlights the original development of the gaming concept within Japan. Something worth noting is that the original use of Role Play Games and Specifically Tabletop Role Play Games (RPGs meant to be played on a table with paper) in Japan emerged during World War 2 used for simulation purposes for war and training. However, Japanese video games companies heavily borrowed and adapted the doctrine of simulation in the creation of their own Japanese gaming worlds and realms after wartime. (Walter)
IMPORTANT ANIME GAMING GENRES
RPGs to JRPGS to Gacha
ROLE PLAY GAMES (RPG) & JAPANESE ROLE PLAY GAMES (JRPG)
These two sources (one article and one website) highlights the evolution of Japanese-specific role play games and the contrasts they have with their western counterparts.. Both indicate that the development of JRPGs was heavily influenced by previous Western physical RPG games such as Dungeons and Dragons and JRPGs have many borrowings from them such as concepts of a basic stat, combat, and level systems. It is worth noting that JRPGs rose in popularity through the addition of 3D action and fighting elements which have become a staple today in JARPG (action). The sources also reveal that though JRPGs and JARPGs are becoming a much more popular genre in the Western world, Western takes on JRPGs have an emphasis on an open world and realistic graphic mechanics, while traditional JRPGs have a set story-driven outline and progression with a focus on anime and Asian style graphics. (Walter)
Wada, T. History of japanese role-playing games. Annals of Business Administrative Science, 2017.
Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7880/abas.0170228a (UBC Library)
https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/FMMC0282/JRPG
Image used off public domain Gamespot, https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/255/2558280/2977214-8886219277-maxre.jpg
GACHA
Gacha is a popular sub-genre element that is comprised of luck-based loot boxes which a user may open for a cost of the game’s in-game currency. Gacha was originally used to refer to Japanese-style vending machines that sell mini toys (themed after manga and anime) to a customer who cannot choose themselves what to get specifically, and is purely up to luck, a staple to modern-day Japanese culture. Today, Gacha gaming is used extensively within anime-styled video games and is found predominantly alongside both RPG and JRPG games as a means for increased player activity and popularity. The majority of all top-grossing Japanese video games have incorporated gacha, and many companies outside Japan such as China and Korea have adopted it. (Walter)
GLOBALIZATION OF GACHA TO THE WEST
Heinze, Johannes https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-07-18-how-gacha-can-benefit-western-game-developers 2017.
This article refers to how Western games can and have been adopting a westernized Japanese gacha genre within their games. Primarily, where Japanese Anime style games use gacha as a means of tradition for their gaming culture, Heinze describes in his article that Western takes of gacha in their games such as Pokémon Go (developed by USA company Niantic) and the FIFA and EA game series use gacha in the same sense as incorporating a rarity and random roll system, but only as a tool to maximize monetary value and profits from players. (Walter)
DMM is a Japanese game development company and game hosting site which focuses on many aspects of the internet. They produce both browser-based and mobile app anime-styled games such as Touken Ranbu which became very popular in Japan in 2016. Their games are available worldwide but with a target audience of Japanese citizens. This website is DMM’s game hosting site in the Japanese language by default (needs to change the language to English manually) where they offer a wide arrange of anime-styled online games for players with a majority in the RPG/JRPG/JARPG and gacha genres. This source also allows the visitor many other options aside from gaming, such as shows, movies, ebooks, and simple English translation lessons. (Walter)
REFERENCES
Ichikawa, Arata. “Early Japanese Gaming Simulation Efforts.” Ryutsu Keizai University, 2014. (https://absel-ojs-ttu.tdl.org/absel/index.php/absel/article/view/416)
Heinze, Johannes. “How gacha can benefit Western game developers” GameIndustry.biz. 2017. (https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-07-18-how-gacha-can-benefit-western-game-developers)
Wada, Takeaki. History of japanese role-playing games. Annals of Business Administrative Science, 2017. Doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.7880/abas.0170228a (UBC Library accessed through free pdf)
Unknown Author, JRPG info, https://mediawiki.middlebury.edu/FMMC0282/JRPG
DMM, (in Japanese) https://www.dmm.com
Mihoyo, (In Chinese, http://www.mihoyo.com) (International In English, https://www.hoyoverse.com)
Nintendo, https://www.nintendo.com/en-ca/
Steam (Anime Category) https://store.steampowered.com/category/anime/
Image References
Intro Photo https://wallpaperaccess.com/aesthetic-anime-desktop
Anime Style Gaming photo https://www.mai-on.com/best-anime-about-games
JRPG https://www.gamespot.com/a/uploads/original/255/2558280/2977214-8886219277-maxre.jpg
Gacha https://qph.cf2.quoracdn.net/main-qimg-897836970285d3272db5a8002c2a9e9f.webp
Nintendo https://switchlib.com/