User:PLMMJ/Pikmin design rage

This article uses first-person writing.
See also User:PLMMJ/Pikmin ARC design trivia

Rant numero uno

here goes sorry in advance Pikmin: Back in Action

Intro

I wanted to add a second Pikmin type to my fanon game Pikmin ARC, but had no more ideas. And a lot of the Pikmin ideas on this wiki are... subpar in terms of design, in my opinion. Here goes.

The four don'ts

1. Don't just make it an immunity
2. Don't just make it a retexture
3. Don't just take someone else's
4. Don't be like me

Don't just make it an immunity

So my first point here is that a Pikmin type isn't just an immunity. Like the scores and scores of explosion resistant Pikmin. An example of what I mean is Pikmin: Back in Action's Orange Pikmin, who are just explosion and crushing resistant. An example of the same done well is Pikmin 8: The World Beyond's (and therefore the ones I added to ARC lol) Orange Pikmin, who are not only immune to explosions, but have a stunning spin dash that makes them actually worth using outside of their resistance.

Small Key argument

Continuing from the above, I'm just going to parrot the YouTuber SilokHawk in slightly different words as they explain this better than I could. Imagine someone ranking Blue Pikmin as the best Pikmin in all of the franchise, solely because they are the only type that can go in water, and water is everywhere. This is the Small Key argument. To paraphrase SilokHawk...

"Imagine I made a new Pikmin type: Goo Pikmin. Their only trait is their immunity to deadly tape. Now, is that a good Pikmin type if only because I put deadly tape all over half the map?"

or something like that. That's my entire point here. Don't just give it an immunity and make it only useful because of that immunity, give it an actual advantage over other types. See again the Orange Pikmin of The World Beyond.

Don't just make it a retexture

Even the most basic Pikmin types have a nose, mouth, and ears respectively. Give them something unique, like the shells of the aforementioned Orange Pikmin.

Don't just take someone else's

Don't just copy someone else's design. Unless there's a valid reason and you have permission, at least change something. For example, if you wanted to use my Mosaic Pikmin, you either ask my permission and provide a valid reason for them being the same across games, or change something about them, like changing their unique defense-weakening ability to one of these I used while spitballing:

• Immunity to blunt force
• Immunity to spikes
• Boost other nearby Pikmin
• Reflect light (instead of just being immune)
• Stun enemies

etc...

Don't be like me

...and check if someone else made it first. If not, add it as a type for others to use. If so, add it to the page if possible. Also thanks auths for guiding me in that respect.