List of developers significant to Super Smash Bros.
The following list describes developers that have had a major impact on the development of Super Smash Bros. or one of its major franchises.
Shigesato Itoi
Shigesato Itoi (糸井重里 Itoi Shigesato, born November 10, 1948) is a Japanese copywriter and essayist, best known as the creator of the EarthBound series. He was also part of the original development team for Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee under HAL Laboratory. Itoi co-owns the rights to EarthBound characters, and as such he is the only individual credited by name on the title screen of any Smash game.
Satoru Iwata
Satoru Iwata (岩田 聡) was a programmer and the fourth President and CEO of Nintendo in the early 2000s. Iwata joined HAL Laboratory in 1980 while attending the Tokyo Institute of Technology, working on titles such as EarthBound and the Kirby series during his time there.
Iwata worked on Super Smash Bros. and Super Smash Bros. Melee closely with Masahiro Sakurai, contributing greatly to the game's debugging process. At E3 2005, Iwata offhandedly announced Super Smash Bros. Brawl while the game had not even been planned. He approached Sakurai the next day and asked him to direct the game.
Hideo Kojima
Hideo Kojima (小島 秀夫 Kojima Hideo, August 24, 1963) is a video game designer formerly employed by Konami, and the creator of the Metal Gear series. His involvement was instrumental in bringing Solid Snake to Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
According to Masahiro Sakurai, Kojima "practically begged" him to include Snake in Super Smash Bros. Melee, but at that point the game was too far in development to allow adding any additional characters. When work on Super Smash Bros. Brawl began several years later, Sakurai contacted Kojima about adding Snake, which led to his inclusion in the game. Kojima developed Snake's stage, Shadow Moses Island. After losing a test match of Brawl against Sakurai, where he played as Snake and Sakurai played as Mario, he stated that he felt the game was "very complete" to the point that Nintendo could have put Brawl out on the shelves then and it would sell millions of copies. When asked about the inclusion of Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Kojima remarked that he enjoys playing Super Smash Bros. with his son, who asked Kojima to put Snake in Super Smash Bros. Kojima also cited the lack of Metal Gear games on Nintendo consoles as a reason to include Snake in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
During an interview with Geoff Keighley for Twitch on March 2014, Kojima was asked about the possibility of Snake reappearing in Super Smash Bros. 4 to which Kojima replied that he had no input on the game and felt Snake's return was unlikely, although he was open to the idea of Snake returning in the game. Upon the release of Super Smash Bros. 4, Snake was confirmed not to make an appearance in the game.
Shigeru Miyamoto
Shigeru Miyamoto (宮本 茂, Miyamoto Shigeru, born November 16, 1952) is a Japanese video game director, video game producer, concept artist, video game designer, and EAD general manager who is the creator of many Nintendo flagship franchise characters such as Mario, Donkey Kong, Link, Fox McCloud, Olimar, Bowser, Ganondorf, Wolf O' Donnell, Andross, Luigi, Falco Lombardi, Princess Peach, Princess Zelda, Pikmin and other Nintendo icons. He is known by many as the father of modern gaming, and is often credited with the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo Wii.
Miyamoto is one of the most internationally recognized and celebrated figures in the video game industry. He was even chosen by Time Magazine as one of the 100 most influential people of the year and in 1998, he was the first person to be inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences' Hall of Fame.
Shigeru Miyamoto has worked alongside Masahiro Sakurai throughout the Super Smash Bros. series.
Masahiro Sakurai
Masahiro Sakurai 桜井政博, born August 3, 1970, is a Japanese game developer, creator, writer, and voice actor. His most notable creations include the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series, both of which he created and developed in his tenure with HAL Laboratory. He has since continued his work on the Super Smash Bros. series under his company Sora Ltd..
Sakurai first came up with the concept for Super Smash Bros. in 1998, known as Dragon King: The Fighting Game. At the time, the project emphasized the unique mechanics differing from traditional fighting games. However, Sakurai decided that the inclusion of Nintendo characters would give the game a more proper atmosphere. The end product, Super Smash Bros., became an unexpected hit.
As the Nintendo GameCube neared release, Sakurai was named head of production for the development of Super Smash Bros. Melee, once again with HAL Laboratory. He recalls living a "destructive lifestyle" during the game's 13-month development period, with minimal time off.[1] In addition to his work in developing the game, Sakurai wrote and maintained Smabura-Ken, a website devoted to revealing the content and gameplay of Melee. Sakurai would later direct Brawl and Super Smash Bros. 4 with Sora Ltd., also providing voice acting for King Dedede in the games and maintaining the Smash Bros. DOJO!!.
Ken Sugimori
Ken Sugimori (杉森建, Sugimori Ken) (born January 27, 1966 in Tokyo, Japan) is a graphic artist from Japan who is the art director of the Pokémon games. Sugimori designed the first 151 Pokémon virtually by himself, and since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire Versions, he has been part of a character design team. His other work for the series includes the design for the human characters such as Gym Leaders, as well as the 1st and 2nd Generation of Pokémon trading cards. Sugimori's art pieces of each Pokémon are commonly used for generic images of each character on forums and websites.
Sugimori is a close friend of Satoshi Tajiri, the creator of Pokémon, and co-founded Game Freak with him. Sugimori has also helped on the art direction for the Pokémon of the Super Smash Bros. series.
Sugimori illustrated Greninja's challenger illustration for Super Smash Bros. 4.
References
- ^ George, Richard. Super Smash Bros Creator: "Melee The Sharpest". IGN.
