The developers of Palworld are currently celebrating great successes. However, as the CEO of Pocket Pair has now announced, the studio had little experience in at least one aspect of the game. They brought in a 20-year-old hobby developer to help.
What is the situation? The success of Palworld is undeniable. Since its release, the game has broken record after record. Many are now asking what the reason for this success is. Is it the game’s concept that initially seemed like a “Pokemon with guns” but is actually so much more?
Interestingly, the weapons, which the game has prominently showcased in the trailers, were a significant problem during development. This is evident from a blog post written in Japanese by the CEO of Pocket Pair, the studio behind Palworld.
Finding someone knowledgeable in the design and animation of firearms was far from easy in Japan.
The Palworld developers had no idea about firearms
What was the problem? CEO Takuro Mizobe shares in his blog post about a specifically Japanese issue: “Japan makes a ridiculous amount of RPGs. But how many Japanese shooters are out there?” The only example he could think of is Resident Evil, where the weapons are not the focus.
However, Palworld definitely needed to include shooter mechanics. The reason for this, according to Mizobe, is simple. He states:
I decided right at the beginning of the project that Palworld would be a shooter because those are the most popular games worldwide.
Takuro Mizobe via note.com
Although there are some other examples of titles with shooter mechanics from Japan, such as Splatoon by Nintendo, the genre simply isn’t particularly popular there. Accordingly, it was quite difficult to find a developer with experience in this genre.
Initially, relying on foreign professionals was also not a solution. The reason for this was simply that no one on the team spoke fluent English. It would have complicated the work.
Salvation came in the form of a 20-year-old hobby developer
How was the problem solved? It’s almost a miracle that CEO Mizobe randomly came across an anonymous account while scrolling on X (formerly Twitter). There, he found a series of videos showcasing weapon animations, like reloading a rifle.
Mizobe contacted the unknown creator. It turned out that the creator of the videos was not a long-time game designer with vast industry experience, but rather a 20-year-old from northern Japan who worked part-time in a grocery store. He had a middle school diploma and no experience in the gaming industry.
Everything the young man knew about animating weapons, he had learned through tutorials on YouTube. Additionally, he had learned near-fluent English by playing shooters.
Mizobe didn’t need to think long. He invited the young hobby developer to Tokyo and offered him a permanent position at Pocket Pair. Additionally, the company provided him with housing in Tokyo. From then on, the 20-year-old contributed his skills to the development of the now immensely successful Palworld.
In retrospect, the CEO of Pocket Pair wonders about the trust the young man placed in the company:
A small, unknown studio asks a middle school graduate with no experience to quit his job at a grocery store and move to the capital as a full-time employee? I would have thought that was a scam.
Takuro Mizobe via note.com
Fortunately, it was not. Who knows what might have become of Palworld had the studio not found someone to handle the weapons and their animations. It’s a beautiful story that will surely inspire many other hobby developers. Pocket Pair can now continue to enjoy the great success of their game. The streamer Asmongold has his own theory on why Palworld is currently so successful.
