Upcoming Nintendo Switch title ARMS is set to release in less than a week, and Kotaku recently spoke with Masaaki Ishikawa, the game’s art director. Ishakawa weighed in on a variety of topics, including the design of the character Min Min, as well as the process behind designing the cast of characters’ legs.
First off, when asked what inspired the design of Min Min, particularly the character’s hair, Ishikawa explained with the following response:
“She’s a female character that’s not too cutesy, and her sporty outfit—including the ramen bowl inspired beanie and dragon motif accessories—also contributes to her popularity.”
“Back when the character was in development, we saw a lot of women wearing shallow beanies over here in Japan. This was right around the time when we were thinking about a ramen-themed female character. It hit us that maybe we can cleverly combine this beanie fashion with an upside-down ramen bowl. That’s how it got incorporated into the design.”
“[It] widens out at the end resembles the curves of uncooked ramen noodles. We also thought this hairstyle would go well with a beanie. That’s how Min Min’s hairstyle came about.”
Kotaku also inquired about the thought process behind the design of ARMS’s characters’ legs, and Ishikawa noted that they were designed with the intention to clearly show movement from a distance.
“When facing away from the screen, the legs convey the most information about how the character will move. We designed the legs to have clear definition so movements are easy to see even from a distance. As a result, the silhouettes of the characters resemble those of trained athletes.”
Additionally, a handful of new concept artwork featuring Ninja Man, Ribbon Girl, and Spring Man.
ARMS is set to release for the Nintendo Switch on June 16th, 2017.
