Minivilles
Cultural adaptation of a Japanese game for the French market: an edition that shaped those that followed.
2013 · Moonster Games · Art direction of the French edition
Context
Machi Koro, by Masao Suganuma with art by Noboru Hotta, first came out in Japan with Grounding. Moonster Games adapted it for France as Minivilles: dice, cards, a city built in under thirty minutes.
What was at stake
An imported game has to introduce itself again, in another audience’s codes. And when an identity lives across several boxes, you have to know what must stay stable and what is allowed to move: too rigid, and each expansion becomes a photocopy; too loose, and the identity disappears.
The work
Art direction of the French edition, which shaped the later editions of the game.
- Art direction of the Moonster Games edition
- Box and marketing materials
- Animation and direction of the video clip
Results
As d’Or nomination in 2015. The original game, Machi Koro, was nominated for the Spiel des Jahres the same year.