Junichi Masuda

Junichi Masuda
Junichi Masuda in 2007
Background information
Born	(1968-01-12) January 12, 1968 Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan
Occupations	Video game composer, director, designer, producer, and programmer
Instruments	Keyboard, Trombone[1]
Years active	1989–present
Labels	Game Freak

Junichi Masuda (増田 順一, Masuda Jun'ichi, born January 12, 1968) is a video game composer, director, designer, producer, and programmer best known for his work on the Pokémon franchise. He is a member of the Game Freak board of directors, and has worked at the company since 1989. He helped compose the music for games like Mendel Palace and Smart Ball before beginning to work on the first Pokémon games. On Pokémon Red and Green he worked mainly as the soundtrack and sound effects composer, as well as contributing some of the programming.

With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of modern celebrated composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition. His video game ideas are generally drawn from everyday life and observation.

Life

Masuda was born on Jan. 12, 1968 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.^[2] As a child, his family often vacationed in Kyūshū, where many of his relatives still live. There he spent his time catching fish and insects, an act that later influenced his video game design. Masuda modeled the Pokémon series' Hoenn Region after Kyūshū in an attempt to recapture his memories of summers there.^[3] In high school, Masuda played the trombone; he soon discovered classical music, and was drawn in by works like The Rite of Spring and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.^[4]

Masuda attended the Japan Electronics College, a technical school in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he studied computer graphics and C programming language using a DEC Professional.^[5][6] His daughter Kiri was born in September 2002; he named a character in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire after her.^[7]

Career

Masuda has worked at Game Freak since the company's inception^[8] in 1989.^[9] Masuda has been involved in every title that Game Freak has ever produced,^[9] and was one of the original developers of the Pokémon series, beginning with Pokémon Red and Green.^[10] He now serves as a member of the Game Freak board of directors.^[11]

He was first hired to compose and program video game music. His first game at Game Freak was Mendel Palace, a puzzle game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.^[12] Next, he worked on Smart Ball, and then on Yoshi, the company's first collaboration with Nintendo.^[12] When the company first began releasing Pokémon titles, Masuda worked mainly as the composer, though he did minor programming work as well, and later began directing and producing them.^[12] His work on the first games included writing the program to play audio in the games, music, and sound effects.^[13] He directed and composed the music for Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, and produced Pokémon Platinum.^[9] He also produced Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.^[14]

Masuda has been directly involved in the naming and design of many Pokémon. He has stated that one of the hardest aspects of design is making sure that a Pokémon's name and attributes will appeal to a global audience.^[10] Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Masuda has been one of the main employees who approve or reject designs for new Pokémon. Most characters take around six months to design, while more central ones take more than a year.^[15] He also oversaw the composition of the Pokémon Stadium level music in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.^[16]

Influences and style

Masuda approaches each of his games with the mindset that a beginner should be able to easily play it.^[17] To this end, he layers more complicated concepts, introducing them to the player in a simple manner, and building from there.^[12] He believes that handheld systems provide an opportunity for social interaction that cannot be found on console systems.^[17] He has stated that continuing use of 2D computer graphics has been integral to Pokémon's success.^[18]

Masuda's musical style draws from a number of sources, particularly classical music and the works of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.^[15] His favorite musical genre is techno, and he has looked to the music of the Super Mario series as an example of video game music that works well.^[15] Most of his ideas are inspired from simply observing real life and visualizing how he would design or draw outside objects.^[13] As a rule, he does not use previous characters as inspirations for new ones, instead creating each new one from independent sources.^[13]

Production History

• Mendel Palace (1989) — Composer
• Yoshi (1991) — Composer
• Pulseman (1994) — Composer
• Pokemon Red and Blue (1996) — Composer, Programmer
• Pokemon Stadium (1999) — Advisor
• Pokemon Gold and Silver (1999) — Assistant Director, Composer, Game Designer, US Coordination
• Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire (2002) — Director, Composer, Game Designer
• Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen (2004) — Director, Composer, Game Designer
• Drill Dozer (2005) — Producer
• Pokemon Diamond and Pearl (2006) — Director, Composer
• Pokemon HeartGold and SoulSilver (2009) — Producer, Composer
• Pokemon Black and White (2010) — Director, Producer, Composer
• Pokemon Black and White 2 (2012) — Producer
• HarmoKnight (2012) — General Producer
• Pokemon X and Y (2013) — Director, Producer, Composer

References

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