We all know that Japanese and western video games are fundamentally different. But narrowing down the stylistic and aesthetic reasons for those differences is worth thinking about, because they say a lot about the respective art cultures too.
For one good example, explored in this video: The Japanese have a concept for negative space, called “ma”, which actually explains a lot about everything from aesthetics to level design and the very genres that the Japanese developers work with.
For more information on ma (and it very much is worth learning about if you’re interested in Japanese art):
https://qz.com/1181019/the-japanese-words-for-space-could-change-your-view-of-the-world/
https://medium.com/@kiyoshimatsumoto/ma-the-japanese-concept-of-space-and-time-3330c83ded4c
Do let me know what you think about the concept, and other examples of ma that you can think of in Japanese games. And thanks as always for tuning in!
– Matt S.
Editor-in-Chief
Find me on Twitter: @mattsainsb
