Hidemaro Fujibayashi
Hidemaro Fujibayashi (藤林 秀麿 Fujibayashi Hidemaro, born October 1, 1972 in Kyoto Prefecture) is a Japanese video game designer working for Nintendo.[1] He is best known for his contributions to the action-adventure game series The Legend of Zelda, for which he served as planner, writer and director.[1][2] Before he entered the video game industry, Fujibayashi had designed layouts of haunted attractions for Japanese theme parks.[2] At that time, he had considered finding an occupation involving production, and came upon a job opening from a company that developed video games.[2] He was fascinated with the fact that his application for employment had to include a sample of his work that would be inspected directly upon transmittal, and he became enamored with the idea of being a game designer.[2] Fujibayashi eventually joined Capcom in 1995, where he gained experience as planner for the interactive movie Gakkō no Kowai Uwasa: Hanako-san ga Kita!! and the mahjong game Yōsuke Ide Meijin no Shin Jissen Maajan.[2][3] Later, he became part of the company's Production Studio 1, and designed and directed the puzzle game Magical Tetris Challenge.[2]
Fujibayashi's first involvement with the Zelda series was with the Game Boy Color games The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages.[2] In the initial development stages, he acted as sort of a clerk, who gathered all staff ideas and created presentations to propose the game concepts to producer Shigeru Miyamoto.[3] Fujibayashi eventually became the director, participated as planner and scenario writer, and devised a system to link the two games for consecutive playthroughs.[3] During his time at Capcom, he also directed and planned the Game Boy Advance games The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.[4][5] Following his switch to Nintendo, Fujibayashi became subdirector and story writer for the Nintendo DS game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass.[1][6] Afterward, he made his directorial debut for a home console Zelda with the Wii game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword.[7] According to Fujibayashi, the most important aspect of game design is making the fundamental rule set of a video game absolutely clear to a player.[2] He has a special fondness for the first The Legend of Zelda, which he described as "novel" and "groundbreaking" for its time.[2]
Works
| Year | Title | Platform | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Gakkō no Kowai Uwasa: Hanako-san ga Kita!! | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Planner[3] |
| 1996 | Yōsuke Ide Meijin no Shin Jissen Maajan | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO | Planner[3] |
| 1998 | Magical Tetris Challenge | Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color | Director, planner[3] |
| 2001 | The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages | Game Boy Color | Director, planner, scenario writer[3] |
| 2002 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords | Game Boy Advance | Director, planner |
| 2004 | The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap | Game Boy Advance | Director, planner, writer |
| 2007 | The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | Nintendo DS | Subdirector, story writer[1] |
| 2011 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword | Wii | Director[7] |
References
- 1 2 3 4 "ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計 開発スタッフインタビュー". Nindori.com (in Japanese). Kabushiki-gaisha Ambit. August 2007. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "クリエイターズファイル 第106回". Gpara.com (in Japanese). March 17, 2003. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "任天堂マガジン表紙 (No.30) – インタビュー3 ディレクター インタビュー" (in Japanese). Nintendo Co., Ltd. February 2001.
- ↑ Nintendo Co., Ltd.; Capcom Co., Ltd (December 2, 2002). The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords. Nintendo of America Inc. Scene: Four Swords staff credits.
- ↑ Capcom Co., Ltd (January 10, 2005). The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Nintendo of America Inc. Scene: staff credits.
- ↑ "ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計 開発スタッフインタビュー". Nindori.com (in Japanese). Kabushiki-gaisha Ambit. September 2007. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
- 1 2 Harris, Craig (June 16, 2010). "E3 2010: Eiji Aonuma's "Trapped in the Zelda Cage"". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
External links
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