Tomonobu Itagaki

I aim my [creations] at the world.

Interviewer: That's a rare thing to achieve.

Itagaki: I don't think it's as difficult as it's made out to be. I think you have to focus on creating [things] that have an appeal which extends beyond regional boundaries: that do not rely on historical background, religion, fashion, a specific culture, or things of each nation. In Japan, there is a saying "kachoufuugetsu", which is "flowers, birds, wind, and the moon." That basically is a vague summary of things which human beings might find appealing.



[...]

If it was just about trying to compete for pure visual quality, then all you would need is a good still photograph. It doesn't get much better than that for photo-realism, or pure visual appeal. But what we are trying to do is create something that's interactive. You do something, and [it] reacts. [Things] will change based on that reaction. You might push a single button, and an incredible amount of activity will happen.

Just from a purely objective viewpoint, having the rate increase of output versus input -- well, the higher it is, the better. The more you get out of what you do, the more human beings will be happy, and find that experience fun. So if you have a two-year-old child standing near a light switch, they will turn it on and off, on and off, on and off, until told to stop. [Itagaki gets up and demonstrates.]