How a hamster helped develop Super Mario Galaxy

That up there is Shigeru Miyamoto (left, not right). As the creator of Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda, he’s pretty much the Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola of videogames. The dude’s pretty damn important.

Almost as famous as Miyamoto’s games are the things that inspire them. Zelda came from Miyamoto playing outside and exploring as a child, while Nintendogs came from his hobby as a semi-professional dog-breeder. And 2007’s Super Mario Galaxy? Well obviously that was inspired by … er, hamsters.

The game is famous for its 3D planetoid levels, which saw players running about over spherical worlds, a typically unique approach to the traditional platform game. At a recent Japanese games roundtable discussion, Miyamoto revealed that this was to prevent players getting lost.

However, it wasn’t until the Miyamoto family hamster rolled past in his hamster ball that the idea became reality. And thus, a hamster helped develop Super Mario Galaxy. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of hearing Miyamoto’s charming and wacky influences.

[Via Kotaku]