While Pokémon Pokopia’s nature as a cozy life simulation/crafting game may be a far-cry from the mainline Pokémon games, its core gameplay loop was inspired by senior director Shigeru Ohmori’s experience working on Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire back in 2001 (source: Famitsu).
As a game and map designer, one of Ohmori’s first roles on the project was placing grass patches in the levels for wild Pokémon to pop out of. Using an in-house editor, he found it fascinating that creatures native to the area would spawn whenever he placed a new patch of vegetation.
With that in mind, Ohmori wanted to make a game where players could experience a similar feeling of creating their own world where Pokémon can live and flourish. The Pokémon would have distinct personalities that they could learn about in a manner unlike the mainline RPG titles. After more than twenty years, Pokémon Pokopia was born.
There were some changes to Ohmori’s original vision. Though initially a simulator game, Pokémon Pokopia became a life simulation/crafting title starring a Ditto posing as a human. With no prior knowledge of the genre, Game Freak turned to Koei Tecmo, whose Omega Force division (known for the Dynasty Warriors franchise) helped realize the sandbox aspects of the title.
Pokémon Pokopia is set to release on March 5 for the Nintendo Switch 2.
