- the initial prototype used cube-shaped characters shooting black and white ink on a flat map

- they used cubes because they were easy to make, and the team eventually ended up calling them blocks of tofu

- rabbits can be both black and white, making them easy to separate into teams, which is why the next prototype had rabbits

- rabbits are also very territorial creatures, which made sense for the gameplay

- the devs wanted to use brightly colored inks and thought they would contrast well with the neutral color of the rabbits

- the build was shown to others around Nintendo, and many were confused as to what rabbits had to do with ink

- squids were actually one of the original candidates, but the team couldn’t find a reason to choose them over other ideas

- when the team thought up swimming quickly through ink, squids started to make more sense

- the squids were given a human form to help differentiate between their walking and ink-swimming abilities

- Nintendo took the ‘container’ approach when creating the game's world

- the 'container' was the multiplayer, and the team slowly added things to that

- things added included the hub world, character apparel, songs, the Squid Sisters, and more

- the team saw Splatoon as a service game, much like For Honor or Overwatch are

- the team sought to continuously add weapons, stages, and modes to keep players engaged and entice newcomers

- Splatfests also helped to bring people back for more

- the fan reaction and support for the franchise means a lot to the devs, saying nothing makes them happier