Video games news, releases, esports and culture — all the biggest gaming stories in one place.
Game Freak Reveals Early Prototype Video For Pokémon Pokopia
Game Freak has published an interview with director Shigeru Ohmori featuring early prototype footage of Pokémon Pokopia. The video offers a rare look at the game’s origins, showing how its core ideas emerged shortly after work on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet finished, including Ditto as the player character and a system in which planting grass attracts different Pokémon.
Ohmori said the project began with a team of three—himself and two programmers—before growing to five. The prototype already included the grass-planting mechanic, while the developers also tested Ditto’s scale, transformations and arm movements; Ohmori additionally highlighted retaining elements of random encounters. Pokopia’s first downloadable expansion, Bubbly Basin, is now available and received an 8/10 review from Nintendo Life.
In short
- Game Freak revealed early Pokémon Pokopia prototype footage.
- Pokopia began with a team of three developers.
- Its first expansion, Bubbly Basin, is now available.
Explained simply
Pokémon is a series of games in which players encounter and befriend creatures called Pokémon. Game Freak, the studio behind the main series, is making Pokémon Pokopia, a spin-off in which players control Ditto, a Pokémon that can change its shape.
Director Shigeru Ohmori began developing the idea with two programmers, and the small team explored how Ditto might move and transform. They also built around planting grass to attract different Pokémon, drawing on familiar series features such as random encounters.
The prototype offers a glimpse of how the team developed the game’s central ideas. Pokopia has also begun receiving downloadable expansions, which add content after a game’s release.