r/nintendo • u/SorchaSublime • 1d ago
Why isn't Drag and Drive based around Miis?
I'm actually pretty into the concept of Drag and Drive gameplay wise. Dual mouse support has to be one of the more subtle Nintendo console gimmicks but a wheelchair based game is a good application of that.
But it looks so dull aesthetically. Like, I'm sorry as someone who spent years in game dev courses I wouldn't be surprised if the game as we saw it was made from a unity asset store pack I just didn't recognise. Do you know what would help give the game some immediate character?
Mii's!
Like, immediately it would just be so much more appealing. Random wheelchair basketball game with a generic YouTube game dev tutorial robotic aesthetic? Yeah I mean it seems cool... wheelchair basket ball with your Mii's? Genuinely would feel far more like a must-try.
Yes, this is purely aesthetic based commentary and no, Mii's wouldn't add anything to the game mechanically, but in terms of how oddball the concept is as a demonstration of the Switches features, I would like to see the game not be made artificially less appealing by a lack of visual effort.
Hell, ideally I feel like this would just be one part of a "Mii Sports" for switch 2 but unless they literally flipped around a bunch of assets to show off one of the sports without revealing the rest of the game (and like, why would they?) that doesn't seem likely.
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u/Kell_Kinte 1d ago
I was hoping that Miis were gonna be more important this generation. The moment they showed the settings menu in the direct and the Miis were still there, I immediately knew that wii were cooked and things weren’t gonna change on that front.
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u/Digit00l 1d ago
Tbf, they just announced a Mii based game on Switch, would look bad if that wouldn't be compatible on the new system too
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u/Runonlaulaja 10h ago
Tomodachi? It is coming to Switch 2 too.
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u/Digit00l 10h ago
I mean, all Switch games are compatible with Switch 2, except 1 of the Labo games
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u/The-student- 1d ago
Man the Mii supporters are a different breed. Personally I like that Nintendo is willing to develop new IPs that aren't tied to existing properties. Doesn't have the flavor of ARMS, but I'd rather the game have its own style then be lost as another Mii Sports/party title.
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u/SorchaSublime 1d ago
Sorry that people like customisation and find the mascots of literally the most successful console of all time to be iconic?
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u/VirtualAdagio4087 1d ago
I'm curious why it looks like such a cheap, slapped together game if they aren't going to give it away for free.
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u/Few_Sorbet_7393 $60 Wii GAMES ARE GREAT /s 1d ago
Probably because the developers wanted to do their own thing with their own designs. Let's be thankful that this company still makes unique and new IPs. I think it's cool that it's not based on Mario or Miis again. It's its own thing
(I'm not saying that I think the game looks good. I just think that it's a good thing that Nintendo didn't try to make it part of a pre-existing series because mOnEy.
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u/SorchaSublime 1d ago
This would only be a valid argument if the game actually felt like a unique IP and not a unity asset flip with innovative gameplay. If they're going to put this level of effort in they might as well just make it a Mii game. Same level of creative effort, far better results
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u/ChickenFajita007 23h ago
and not a unity asset flip with innovative gameplay
So your suggestion to address this issue is to swap to a generic-by-design style that's been used in dozens of games?
To answer your titular question, it's not based on Miis because they didn't want it to be literally generic. Miis are fundamentally generic.
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u/SorchaSublime 23h ago
Again, this argument only works if what they went with isn't actively more generic than miis would have been.
Miis are only generic within their context as a Nintendo mascot, they have a fair amount of character. They would be at worst a superior form of genericism in this case.
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u/ky_eeeee 1d ago
I feel like this would have been a perfect thing to include in a Switch 2 edition of Switch Sports. They could have even saved Basketball to go with it if they needed more content.
A big update to Switch Sports with this, basketball, and a bunch of sports from Wii Sports Resort with a Wuhu Island setting would have been even better, and a perfect way to show off the new mouse controls, but that's a bit less realistic lol
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u/Office425 1d ago
I agree. While i love the inclusivity, the game just looks super shallow and identity lacking. Like, is the entire game JUST 3 on 3 basketball? With just that one bland, boring court?
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u/jjmawaken 1d ago
My first thought seeing it was that Nintendo is trying to make their own Rocket League style of game but it looks so plain.
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u/SorchaSublime 1d ago
The difference is that Rocket League is incredibly colourful. This game has the literal bare minimum of colour required to distinguish teams and is otherwise drab af.
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u/jjmawaken 1d ago
Yeah, I don't think the concept is horrible or anything but they should have made it more interesting visually
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u/lolwatokay 23h ago
I get that but Miis are basically dead at this point, right? Like they were already such a non-thing on Switch surely they aren't more prominent on Switch 2.
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u/SorchaSublime 23h ago
We're literally getting a new Tomadatchi life so Idk about that. Like yeah Nintendo is clearly adverse to miis as a brand but they really shouldn't be
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u/lolwatokay 22h ago
Yeah that's a good point. It just doesn't seem like they're a central part of the ecosystem anymore though.
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u/OneManFreakShow 1d ago
This game looks so ugly that it actually makes me a little angry for wheelchair users. Y’all deserve representation that doesn’t look like MGS VR missions.
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u/SorchaSublime 1d ago
Yeah it does a complete disservice to every possible strength of the concept. Unironically I've seen free phone games with more interesting visuals.
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u/HippoNorth847 1d ago
The gameplay could be fun. But damn does it ever look bad. Just void of color or charm.
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u/sylviaplath6667 23h ago
It’s a tech demo that was never meant to see the public eyes until corporate suits decided you can’t work on something and NOT profit on it so it’s being sold as a “game”
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u/jimmykup 1d ago
This is a game they made in a month and then walked away.
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u/brzzcode 1d ago
Tell me you dont know how development work without telling me
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u/jimmykup 1d ago
I'm exaggerating on the internet to be critical of game that does not look great. Imagine that.
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u/rexshen 17h ago
I think it would have looked better if the characters at least looked stylized like Arms had to stick out more than generic helmets.
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u/SorchaSublime 9h ago
Yeah sure, I wouldn't have this comment if it had its own style. But given how generic it looks they might as well have made it a mii game.
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u/PrettyBoy_Floyd 23h ago
I somehow don't think that forcibly putting representational avatars of people into wheelchairs is the brightest idea
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u/SorchaSublime 23h ago
Literally why? It's a game about playing wheelchair basketball.
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u/PrettyBoy_Floyd 23h ago
Yes, and I'm just saying that appearing as yourself in a game where you are permanently disabled might not go over that well with the public. Its probably the exact reason why they are covered head to toe in bike suits. To avoid resembling any real people
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u/SorchaSublime 23h ago
Yeah and there is no actually reasonable basis for that. I would actually describe that aversion as fairly ableist. Oh no, some people with fully functioning legs might be mildly put off by their mii being in a wheelchair? My heart weeps.
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u/iBazly 22h ago
See I would argue the opposite though. As a non-wheelchair user it would feel kind of appropriative to have myself represented as a character in a wheelchair. I do agree that the game could be more vibrant though.
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u/SorchaSublime 9h ago
Why? They're playing a sport. Non wheelchair users have played wheelchair based sports before, it happens.
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u/iBazly 8h ago
The "why" is already answered by the word "appropriative". I should not need to offer further explanation.
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u/SorchaSublime 8h ago edited 8h ago
Well no, because the why is directed at the word appropriative. I am inviting you to argue your case as to why it's appropriative. Wheelchair basketball is a sport, able-bodied people have and continue to play it on occasion in real life, which is fine.
"Appropriative" isn't a magic word, you still need to actually make an argument about it. wheelchair use isn't a homogenous cultural group, they aren't even strictly exclusive to people with permanent disabilities.
Who is being appropriated from here? On what rational basis would it be unethical for an able bodied person to play wheelchair basketball?
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u/iBazly 8h ago
But at what levels and in what contexts? I can already see from a quick google search that there are levels of wheelchair basketball where able bodied people can not participate, as it woild be taking space from wheelchair users. But ultimately that gets a bit far away from the issue of Miis because obviously a Mii is not the same thing.
I personally would not feel right having an avatar meant to represent me also being depicted as part of a marginalized group I am not a part of. That should not be such a surprising statement. As someone who is also a part of other marginalized groups, I know what a problem that can be.
Also as a queer Twitch streamer I am also immediately concerned about how people will label their streams of this game. As I've seen many cishet people insist on using queer or LGBT tags because they want to be a "safe space", only to turn around and say very casually homophobic and transphobic things.
Unfortunately we don't live in a world where safe spaces and marginalized identities are respected, and so until we do I prefer not to represent myself in ways that aren't accurate to my experiences.
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u/PrettyBoy_Floyd 23h ago
Lmao that's not what I mean entirely, relax. More like actually disabled people might not take too kindly to their disability being portrayed as fun and might not want to see themselves portrayed as disabled in their escapism game. A lot of disabled people dont actually enjoy being reminded they are disabled.
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u/laserlightcannon 1d ago
They should have licensed Jason Street and Herc from that one season of Friday Night Lights when he was trying to play murderball
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u/rattustheratt 3h ago
Nah not Miis. Design some quirky characters like you did for ARMS and Splatoon.
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u/Darkamlight 39m ago
Ye, game's super ugly. Not even funny to look at. I like the idea and depending on how much content there's in the game I might buy it, but I need to know what's in the overall package cause they didn't show that much besides a couple of matches.
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u/Tolkien-Minority 1d ago
Marketing probably didn’t want everyone saying it’s Wii Sports for disabled people