Nintendo has published an Ask The Developer feature for Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream, revealing a ton of behind the scenes details about the project.

The feature reveals that the game started development back in 2017, nine years before it would eventually release. The developers discuss the “Nine-Years Worth” of ideas in the third part of the feature, including how they spent a great deal of time discussing whether Miis should be able to fart, along with potentially cutting features such as the iconic Mii News segments.

You can read some excerpts below, or check out the fill feature here.

Nine years’ worth of ideas

Daisuke Kageyama (Art Director): We set up an idea board where anyone on the development team could share their ideas.

If someone posted a fun idea, someone else in a totally different role might pick it up and make it happen. Bringing an idea to life meant setting up a proper workflow, which presented challenges. But we trusted the passion of the team members who wanted to drive it forward and encouraged them to refine their ideas. One of the defining features of this project was seeing that kind of collaboration all the way through into the later stages of development.

Kageyama: Even when it came to room designs, we packed in lots of ideas. To be honest, maybe we went a bit overboard adding little touches, as some rooms turned into a headache for the graphics team… (Laughs) But the excitement each team member felt while creating those details really gave the game its energy.

Takaomi Ueno (Programming Director) Before I knew it, a bunch of things were moving, objects were making unexpected sounds, and smoke was coming out from somewhere… (Laughs) Things got pretty wild. A lot of the newer team members had played Tomodachi Life on Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, and I think they were the ones most passionate about the series. They’d say things like, “We absolutely have to include this!” with so much enthusiasm.

Mii News

Kageyama: Many of the directors and leads were focused on getting development across the finish line, so when the schedule got tight, they were tempted to let things go, thinking, “I’m not sure this’ll make it…” But then, a passionate team member on the ground would insist, “We can’t cut this, it’s absolutely essential!”

It was incredibly reassuring to see teammates stepping up, saying, “I’ll take charge!” and driving things forward. The game’s quality owes a lot to those passionate individuals who took ownership and responsibility.

Ryutaro Takahashi (Director): For example, Mii News was something we almost dropped because we didn’t have enough time to fit it in. But then one of the younger designers said, “Without Mii News, it just wouldn’t feel like Tomodachi Life! It’s what really gives the game its character.”

Ueno: Meanwhile, the veteran developers were grumbling, “We don’t have time for that…” (Laughs)

Takahashi: That designer went around talking to different people, figuring out how we could make it work, and eventually came up with a realistic plan. It really struck me how someone who used to play the series as a fan was now a developer, bringing those memories to life in the game.

Miis “Breaking Wind”

Takahashi:  Speaking of little quirks, there was a big debate among the team about whether Mii should be able to…break wind. (Laughs)

Takahashi: Some people found it hilarious, while others thought it was a bit vulgar. After talking it over, we ended up making it a little quirk. If it’s your kind of thing, you can bestow the trait on your Mii. If not, you’re under no obligation.

Toru Minegishi (Sound Director): While we’re on the subject, we really obsessed over getting the sound just right…

Ueno: We did so many retakes. (Laughs)

Minegishi: Tell me about it. I got comments like, “That’s a bit too realistic for my liking.”

Kageyama: We tried out all sorts of visual effects, too. For a while, the fart effect looked like an explosion going off. (Laughs)

Everyone: (Laughs)

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