Violent games influenced Harvest Moon

What would you do if I told you that Harvest Moon was inspired by violent video games? You'd probably call me a filthy bastard. Well, in case you were wondering, I'm neither a filthy bastard nor a liar. Speaking to Gamasutra, Harvest Moon creator Yasuhiro Wada stated that violent games did in fact play a role in his creation of the famed farming RPG series.

Obviously, there's no crazy killing or blood and guts in the Harvest Moon games, but Wada explained that games with violence in them inspired him to do something different. "Thinking differently from other people is one of the themes I have for my life," said Wada. "I wouldn't deny the violent games out there, but rather, I actually get influenced by them to create something very different."

"Because there are violent games with killing and war, that kind of shapes the identity for what I create," continued the developer. "It's healthy to bring much variety to games. If the only things you see are violent games, then it won't be any fun. There used to be so many kinds of video games, but now I walk around, and all I see is the same kind of game. It's a little sad."

It's interesting to see how certain games and genres can inspire a developer to do something remarkably different. And it's hard to disagree with Wada. I love pumping dudes full of lead in Max Payne 3 and smashing zombies' heads with baseball bats in Dead Island, but there are also times when I just like experiencing something beautiful in a game like Journey.

Anyone else feel the same way?

[Destructoid]

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