In addition to talking about tips for developing games, Masahiro Sakurai also uses his video series to explain his own design decisions. For example, the latest one talks about his own studio. Sakurai founded the game company Sora Ltd, which isn’t a typical sort of developer. Rather, he noted it is a means for him to work with other companies independently. Specifically, he referred to himself as a “wandering director.” It is all for contracting purposes.
Here’s Masahiro Sakurai’s full statement going over why he founded the company Sora to make games:
I employ almost no game production staff, and I’m not looking for any, either. Normally, when a creator goes independent, they form some kind of company and hire a handful of employees, then organize a team and start development on a game. But then, the creator often ended up bogged down in company management— necessary work to keep their employees paid—leaving no time to focus on what matters most: creating their game. I thought it would be fun to become a sort of wandering director instead, so that’s what I did.
He also explained that while he is independent, this means that when he does work for another studio or publisher, it is “as though I were actually employed there.”
The video also went into how payment works. Masahiro Sakurai noted that he isn’t paid while games are being developed. It is only once it is released that he starts making money. His pay from a game is based on its sales. He did note,”If the project falls through, I earn nothing, of course.”
Here’s the full “Sora. Ltd [Grab Bag]” video. At both the 38 second and 2:46 marks, it points out that the Sora game company is not hiring.
One of Sakurai’s last more personal entries in the series starred his cat Fukurashi.
