The development of Splatoon Raiders nearly took a turn that its creators found ethically troubling. In a recent Nintendo "Ask the Developer" interview, art director Koji Sonoyama and sound director Shu Tamura discussed how the game's early concept, which featured players invading a peaceful island inhabited by the Salmonids, evoked feelings of "colonialism" among the team.
Initially, the developers envisioned Splatoon Raiders being set on remote islands to showcase the Nintendo Switch 2's enhanced capabilities in depicting natural environments. This contrasted with the urban settings of previous Splatoon titles. Concept art from this early phase depicted a seemingly idyllic island where players would gather resources.
However, this direction quickly became problematic for the development team. "Somehow, with this setting, it started to feel like we were unfairly picking on the Salmonids, who were simply going about their lives happily on the island, and it became a bit difficult to accept emotionally," Sonoyama explained. He elaborated that the act of attacking the Salmonids and taking their belongings felt akin to "attacking the Salmonids and taking their cherished treasures by force, and then basking in our spoils."
This sentiment was echoed by other team members who played early prototypes. Feedback consistently highlighted a sense of sympathy for the Salmonids, with players remarking, "Poor Salmonids!" This reaction prompted the team to significantly rethink the game's visual direction and thematic underpinnings, despite development having already progressed to a certain point.
Tamura noted that even the background music, designed with a friendly, adventurous vibe to match the initial resort-like concept art, inadvertently amplified the feeling of being aggressors against innocent creatures. This led to doubts about the game's core motivation and direction.
Given the constraints of existing character models and terrain designs, the team focused on adjusting the overall environment and the Salmonids themselves. They attempted to shift the narrative to a theme of "I've wound up in an outlandish environment," but found this insufficient. Ultimately, a more substantial rework was necessary, involving significant changes to the Salmonids' appearance to make them more unusual and adjusting environmental details like lighting to create a sense of eeriness and geological instability.
To further mitigate the sense of invasion, the game's lore was also adjusted. The "salt" found on the Spirhalite Islands, a key element in the new setting, is now described as causing the Salmonids to act aggressively. This lore aims to position the Salmonids as creatures behaving unnaturally due to external factors, rather than simply being inhabitants whose homes are being invaded. "We wanted players to feel like they've wandered into a place filled with Salmonids behaving in strange and unsettling ways," Tamura said.
Splatoon Raiders is scheduled for release on July 23. The game's design journey reflects a conscious effort by Nintendo to avoid problematic themes, particularly in light of the series' existing tension between its competitive multiplayer aspect and the PvE mode's conflict with the Salmonids.