Not all game development is done via software: Some of it begins with designers doing hands-on work with physical media. Sometimes, that's pen and paper, but depending on what's being developed, toys can come in clutch as well. A great example of this phenomenon is Pokémon Diamond and Pokémon Pearl, the Nintendo DS Pokémon RPGs where developers finessed the map with Lego bricks.

A picture of Game Freak developers building out the game with Lego has floated around the internet previously, but we didn't get the full context until Pokémon archivists uploaded a never-before-seen "making of" documentary for the 2007 Pokémon games. In the documentary, titled Pokémon Diamond and Pearl: Behind the Scenes DVD — Make All, Game Freak can be seen actively moving Lego pieces around while discussing map particulars. Given the blocky nature of the map, fans probably won't be surprised that this is how Game Freak operated.

Game Freak certainly isn't the only game studio to employ Lego when designing game worlds. While at Konami, game designer Hideo Kojima famously used Lego to create the levels and building structures of Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

Lego is helpful for big picture depictions, but Game Freak used hand-drawn maps for individual routes and dungeon layouts. In the newly publicized documentary footage, developers are shown illustrating these elements, but the Pokémon archivists took the liberty of mashing all the different routes together into a single image. Fans will note a few differences from the final map, like the earlier appearance of Jubilife City, Sinnoh's largest metropolis. Eterna Forest was also originally a smaller location, but sizing it up undoubtedly helped the nostalgic area feel more like a maze.

The documentary also features footage of an internal map test that reinforces the idea that these were, in fact, full-on 3D games. While some fans consider the Diamond and Pearl Pokémon generation to be 2D, it's a matter of perspective. Beta footage shows Game Freak playing through a version of the game where the player can control the camera, Super Mario 64-style. There's a 3D model of the protagonist and everything. In a different world, Pokémon could have been the first mainstream series to popularize the HD-2D aesthetic that is now pervasive within RPGs.

The video analyzing Game Freak's internal documentary, which has not yet been translated to English, is 56 minutes long and bursting with all sorts of fun trivia like this. For example, I had no idea that the subterranean areas in the game were influenced by game director Junichi Masuda's father, who endured harsh labor conditions as a coal miner.

Pokémon enthusiasts can watch the original documentary via the Internet Archive while they wait for more news on the next generation of games, Pokémon Winds and Pokémon Waves, to arrive on Switch 2 next year.