Becoming a Game Dev – Mitu Drawings

Feb 24
6 min read

When I finished high school, I still wasn’t sure that I wanted to become a game developer, but I did know that I loved coming up with video game ideas as a hobby and drawing characters. So I embarked on a very fun project.

It consisted of creating a character (Mitu) in the style of specific games. Basically, games that I love or whose character design fascinates me. This Mitu is essentially me in different universes, and since I’m obsessed with cats, they all include that element. The companion is usually Miso, my real-life cat.

The very first character was Mitu in the world of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. This character owns an island all to himself and dedicates his time to rescuing cats around the world and bringing them to that island. The island is decorated only with objects that cats love.

This is the only character I fully digitalized using the Wind Waker art style.

The next universe was One Piece. One of my favorite characters is Perona. So Mitu becomes her twin brother, who ate the Devil Fruit complementary to Perona’s. If ghosts pass through you, instead of making you depressed, they make you extremely happy.

I know it’s not a video game, but at that point I still hadn’t clearly defined what the project would become.

Machinarium is one of the indie games that made me reconsider becoming a developer. So I designed a robot that would live in the city of Machinarium. I had thought of a puzzle, but since I never wrote it down, I don’t remember it. It had something to do with recharging the robot.

My favorite 3D platformer of all time is Jak and Daxter. So Mitu had to appear in that universe as well. Here, he is an archaeologist who studies Precursor artifacts.

More Zelda! Who would have guessed it’s my favorite saga… In this case, Mitu appears in The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. I find the style of characters when they merge into walls or paintings incredible. Here, Mitu is a magical painter. He has a seed in his hat that grows the more inspired he becomes.

Now it’s time for Pikmin! On the planet where Mitu lives, food is not a problem — potable water is. His mission is to collect water and bring it back to his planet. To do so, he uses octopus-shaped machines that absorb liquids. In addition, seven new Pikmin appear:

Stretch Pikmin: when grouped together, they can form a ladder that allows you to climb any height.
Hungry Pikmin: perfect for attacking enemies with lots of flesh. The bigger the enemy, the more effective they are. However, if the enemy is very small or thin, they lose interest.
Digger Pikmin: since finding water requires digging underground, this Pikmin is essential to complete Mitu’s mission. It can also discover treasures.
Ghost Pikmin: see something behind a wall you can’t cross? This Pikmin can pass through any obstacle.
Ice Pikmin: if you need to cross a lake, this Pikmin creates a temporary ice bridge so you can walk over the water.
Lightbulb Pikmin: caves are very dark, so bringing a Lightbulb Pikmin with you is the best option.
Aquatic Pikmin: the native creatures of the planet won’t be happy if you steal their water. This Pikmin is perfect for fighting underwater.

In the Animal Crossing universe, the protagonist is not Mitu, but Miso. A cat who arrives in your village and causes mischief. Always grumpy, but inside his house there’s a portrait of a boy… who could it be? If Miso lives in your town, you’ll occasionally find stolen items, trash, and fish bones. Some houses will have graffiti that you’ll need to clean.

In the Mario universe, Mitu is a young electrician. After working so much with electrical circuits, his gloves have accumulated electricity that he can use to attack enemies. There are versions of him in the style of Paper Mario and as Toy Mario. His favorite transformations are cat and ghost. He can even ride his pet Miso, transformed into a giant cat.

The Fakémon I already published actually originated here. I didn’t even remember I had given them names and types!

Another saga that has marked me deeply is Professor Layton. Here we have a new case for the Professor and Luke to solve. Mitu is a circus fortune teller who seems capable of predicting every misfortune that will happen around him… Is it true? In this circus, there are many colorful characters you’ll meet in Professor Layton and the Soothsayer Prince.

I promise this is the last Zelda! The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has a very interesting art style that simply couldn’t be left out. You’ve seen pots all over Hyrule, right? Well, Mitu is the one who makes them. But he has a great enemy who is dedicated to smashing them for no apparent reason…

Splatoon isn’t one of my favorite games, but its art style and character design absolutely fascinate me. In Splatoon there are two factions: the squids and the octopi. Who stands in the middle of this war? The nautiluses! They are also capable of transforming into humanoids and can change the color of their ink at will. He sells the player all kinds of new inks. He can also appear on the battlefield, but you’ll never know which side he’s on until he starts using his weapon: the multicolor pen.

One of my favorite animated series is Adventure Time, so it couldn’t be left out either (even though it’s not a video game — but we already have the example of One Piece).

Mitu is a very famous stand-up comedian, but his monologues… aren’t that great. So he invented a hat that makes people see him as the most handsome guy in the world. Of course, not everyone has the same taste, so each character sees something different. And that’s why he’s so popular — until he gets exposed.

One of the great misunderstood titles of the Wii is Sengoku Basara, the first Musou game I ever played. It’s a fantastic game with incredible character design. In this case, Mitu is a Catalan who has gotten lost along the coasts of Japan and found himself caught in the middle of a war. With his scythe and his trabuco, he will try to defend himself from the other characters.

Capcom, I’m still waiting for ports of all the Sengoku Basara games that never left Japan…

Another great misunderstood Wii title. Zack & Wiki is the perfect evolution of the point-and-click genre, but it was released right at the launch of the Nintendo Wii and wasn’t a big success. For me, it’s a masterpiece and one of the Wii’s hidden gems.

In this case, Mitu is a pirate who can also transform animals into useful objects, but instead of a monkey that turns into a magical bell, he has two kittens that transform into maracas. Zack will have a very hard time defeating this pirate, who has the same resources as him!

Capcom, I’m here to help with Zack & Wiki 2. I have lots of ideas! Contact me.

Okami is legendary. I remember playing it in English (when I didn’t really know the language yet) because there was no Spanish translation. I was so drawn to the game that I played with a dictionary next to me and spent hours deciphering the dialogue.

In Okami, Mitu is a wanderer who gets lost in a forest and reaches enlightenment thanks to magical clovers. He gains eight guardians who help him in his mission: planting more clovers to protect the forest. Eight different cats who, surprise!, are cats from my game Membal, since at that time I had already drawn the Membal characters.

Capcom, it’s me again. Sorry for insisting, but I’m here if you want to make Okami 2. We can forget Okami-den and focus on a proper sequel.

The art style of the characters in Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective is probably my favorite of all. I imagined a new story for a sequel (too bad I don’t remember it), but here are seven new characters for Ghost Trick! They’re probably my favorite designs in this entire post.

Capcom… this is the last time I’m contacting you, I swear. I’m also offering to help create Ghost Trick 2! Ports aren’t enough.

We’re reaching the end of this journey, and what better way to finish than with a new god to liven things up. In Kid Icarus, Mitu is the god of wind. He lives peacefully above the clouds, in a territory filled with windmills, from where he decides where the wind will blow each day. Since no one ever visits him, he’s always naked, although the clouds kindly cover him if someone shows up.

To defend himself from intruders, he relies on several allies who fly across his skies. They help him maintain peace in his kingdom.

And finally, Yo-Kai Watch couldn’t be left out! Since Pokémon, no game had created creatures as interesting, in my opinion. Yo-Kai Watch has a very original and fun monster design. So, taking advantage of the theme, I created Mitu as a Yo-kai, and also added a few extras inspired by figures like the “boogeyman” or the Catalan Tió de Nadal.

And that’s all the Mitus! A project I truly love and am very proud of. It helped me learn how to draw and develop my creativity. It was also my first step into game design, imagining new mechanics for existing games and creating new narratives.