Fumito Ueda

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Fumito Ueda at E3 2016

Fumito Ueda ( Japanese 上 田 文人 Ueda Fumito ; born September 16, 1970 in Tatsuno (Nagano) , Hyōgo Prefecture ) is a Japanese game designer . Ueda's best-known works are the computer games Ico (2001), Shadow of the Colossus (2005) and The Last Guardian (2016). His games have achieved cult status , which are particularly captivating with their minimalist plot , strongly staged environments, unsaturated light, fictional languages ​​and hardly any dialogues. He is therefore often referred to as a "computer game author ".

Early years

Fumito Ueda worked as an animator under Kenji Eno (picture)

Fumito Ueda was born on September 16, 1970 in Tatsuno . In 1993 he graduated from Osaka University of Arts. He tried to make a living as an artist for over two years before pursuing a career in the computer game industry in 1995. He joined the game developer WARP and worked there as an animator on the games D no Shokutaku: Director's Cut (1996) and Enemy Zero (1996), both for the Sega Saturn by game designer Kenji Eno . He described his time at WARP as "exhausting" because the game was behind schedule and everyone on the project had to work a lot more to meet the deadline.

2000s: Sony

Fumito Ueda during his time at Sony, 2005

In 1997, Ueda joined Sony Computer Entertainment as a first-party developer . He started working on Ico in Sony's SIE Japan studio . After its release in 2001, Ueda and his small team, better known as Team Ico , began to work on the computer game NICO , later named Shadow of the Colossus . The game was released for PlayStation 2 in late 2005 and received excellent reviews almost across the board. It is considered by many critics to be one of the best computer games of all time.

In February 2007, the Japanese computer game magazine Famitsu reported that Ueda and his team were working on a new game for the PlayStation 3 . In 2008, Sony President Shūhei Yoshida described the game as "very, very good" in the August issue of the official PlayStation magazine. Yoshida also notes that both Ico and Shadow of the Colossus took four years to develop. An indication that it would take a while to be published. In the E3 2009, the game was as The Last Guardian presented for the first time. The first trailer hinted at a connection between Ico and Shadow of the Colossus , in which a boy tries to solve puzzles with a huge creature. Ueda later confirmed a bond between The Last Guardian and his two previous projects.

2010s: The Last Guardian and other projects

Ueda left Sony in December 2011, but the project contract to complete The Last Guardian remained. After many years in developing hell, the game's release was announced for October 25th, 2016 during E3 2016 in June. However, the final date was postponed to December 6, 2016 in September.

In a 2009 interview, Ueda expressed interest in developing a first-person shooter , citing Half-Life 2 as an example.

Influences and style

Ueda himself says that in his childhood he was very curious and inquisitive: “I enjoyed catching and collecting live animals such as fish and birds. Otherwise, I liked animated films and their creations. In principle, I was interested in everything that moved. ”His favorite subject at school was art. A subject that still plays an important role in Ueda's life: “If I were not in the computer game industry, I would like to be a classical artist. I don't just see games as art, but everything that represents something - be it films, novels or mangas . "

Ueda's games have a very distinctive style that Ueda himself describes as "design through subtraction". Barren landscapes, unsaturated lighting and a minimalist plot give his games a personal and distinctive atmosphere . Ueda also puts the game mechanics at the top of the creation process in its games, and only then should a story complete the work.

In 2008 IGN named Ueda one of the best game designers of all time:

"Ueda's knack for creating atmospheric puzzle playgrounds with mute or near-mute characters instills a sense of isolation, yet provides an endearing feeling of hope as the protagonists seek simply to find an exodus or redemption from their weather-worn, ornate prisons."

"Ueda's gift for creating atmospheric puzzle play areas with mute or almost mute figures instills a feeling of isolation, but still provides a lovable feeling of hope, while the protagonists are only looking for an exodus or redemption from their weathered, ornate prisons."

- IGN

Games

Web links

Commons : Fumito Ueda  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Fumito Ueda (person). In: Giant Bomb. CBS Interactive , accessed December 14, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Mike Rougeau: 'The Last Guardian' delays only brought it closer to the original vision. In: Mashable . Mashable, Inc., November 10, 2016, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  3. ^ Daniel Nye Griffiths: "Ico, Ico, See How I Go" - Ueda leaves Sony. In: Forbes . Forbes, Inc., December 14, 2011, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  4. ↑ Ewen Hosie: The Architects: Video Gaming's Auteurs. In: IGN . Ziff Davis , July 26, 2013, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Mike Diver: The Return of the Video Game Auteur. In: VICE . VICE Media LLC, October 9, 2014, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  6. ^ Fumito Ueda at Game For Future 2007. In: Team ICO Games Magazine. Createhive Publishing, 2007, archived from the original on October 17, 2008 ; accessed on December 14, 2016 .
  7. ^ Shadow of the Colossus for PlayStation 2 Reviews. In: Metacritic . CBS Interactive , accessed December 14, 2016 .
  8. ↑ The 20 best games of Edge's lifetime. In: Edge . Future plc , November 15, 2013, archived from the original on December 11, 2014 ; accessed on December 14, 2016 .
  9. ↑ Best Videogames and Computer Games of the Decade 2000-2009. In: IGN . Ziff Davis , archived from the original on February 11, 2010 ; accessed on December 14, 2016 .
  10. ↑ All-TIME 100 Video Games. In: Time . Time Inc. , November 15, 2012, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  11. ^ Ellie Gibson: Sony boss praises Ico team's new game. In: Eurogamer . Gamer Network, August 4, 2008, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  12. ↑ Ryan Clements: E3 2009: Team ICO Presents The Last Guardian. In: IGN . Ziff Davis , June 2, 2009, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  13. ^ The Last Guardian sera bien lié à Ico et Shadow of the Colossus. In: Jeuxvideo.com. L'Odyssée Interactive, September 24, 2009, accessed December 14, 2016 (French).
  14. ↑ Tom Curtis: Confirmed: Ico Creator Fumito Ueda Leaves Sony. In: Gamasutra . UBM plc , December 12, 2011, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  15. ↑ Dieter Bohn: The Last Guardian is coming to PlayStation 4 on October 25th. In: The Verge . Vox Media, June 13, 2016, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Shūhei Yoshida : An Update on The Last Guardian. In: PlayStation.Blog. Sony Interactive Entertainment , September 12, 2016, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  17. ↑ Patrick Klepek: Fumito Ueda's A Big Half-Life 2 Fan, Interested In Making A First-Person Game. In: G4 . NBCUniversal , October 2, 2009, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Ollie Barder: A break from the norm. In: The Guardian . Guardian News & Media Ltd., August 18, 2005, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  19. ↑ 46. ​​Fumito Ueda. In: IGN . Ziff Davis , 2008, accessed December 14, 2016 .
  20. ^ The Story of Fumito Ueda. In: shmuplations.com. Accessed December 14, 2016 .
personal data
SURNAME Ueda, Fumito
ALTERNATIVE NAMES 上 田 文人 (Japanese)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Japanese game designer
DATE OF BIRTH September 16, 1970
PLACE OF BIRTH Tatsuno (Nagano) , Hyogo Prefecture , Japan