Naoto Ohshima facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Naoto Ohshima
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| 大島 直人 | |
Ohshima in 2018
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| Born | February 26, 1964 Osaka, Japan
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| Other names | Big Island |
| Occupation | Character designer, game producer |
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Naoto Ohshima (born February 26, 1964) is a famous Japanese video game designer and artist. He is best known for creating the look of two very popular characters: Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman. These characters are from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog game series.
Even though another person, Yuji Naka, made a basic game idea for Sonic, the character in that early version was just a ball. Naoto Ohshima then designed the cool hedgehog we know today. The team thought about different animals, like an armadillo, but decided a hedgehog was perfect because its spikes worked well with the idea of rolling into enemies.
After working on Sonic, Ohshima started his own game company called Artoon in 1999. There, he helped create games like Pinobee (2001) and the Blinx: The Time Sweeper series (2002 and 2004). Later, in 2010, he and other team members formed a new company called Arzest. Early in his career, he was sometimes called "Big Island," which is a fun way to translate his last name.
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Meet Naoto Ohshima: The Creator of Sonic!
Naoto Ohshima is a very important person in the world of video games. He has helped create many games that millions of people enjoy. His most famous creations are the speedy blue hedgehog, Sonic, and his clever enemy, Dr. Eggman.
Early Career and Sonic's Birth
Ohshima started his career at a company called Sega in 1987. He worked on games like Phantasy Star as a designer. In 1991, he became the character designer for Sonic the Hedgehog. He was the one who gave Sonic his cool, spiky look and created Dr. Eggman.
He also directed Sonic CD in 1993. Later, he helped with the original idea for characters in Knuckles' Chaotix. In 1996, he was a director and character designer for Nights into Dreams, another popular Sega game. He also advised on Sonic 3D Blast and Sonic R.
Creating New Worlds: Artoon and Arzest
After leaving Sega, Naoto Ohshima wanted to make new kinds of games. He started his own company, Artoon, in 1999. At Artoon, he directed games like Pinobee: Wings of Adventure. He also directed and designed the Blinx: The Time Sweeper games for the Xbox. These games were about a cat who could control time.
In 2010, Ohshima and his team started a new company called Arzest. At Arzest, he continued to work on many different games. He was a producer for games like Yoshi's New Island in 2014. He also worked on Hey! Pikmin in 2017.
More recently, he was a development producer and character designer for Balan Wonderworld in 2021. He also worked on Sonic Superstars in 2023, bringing him back to the Sonic universe.
Games He Worked On
Naoto Ohshima has contributed to many video games throughout his career. Here are some of the notable ones:
- Phantasy Star (1987) - Designer
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) - Creator, Character designer
- Sonic CD (1993) - Director
- Nights into Dreams (1996) - Director, Character designer
- Burning Rangers (1998) - Director, Character designer
- Sonic Adventure (1998) - Event motion designer
- Pinobee: Wings of Adventure (2001) - Director, Character designer
- Blinx: The Time Sweeper (2002) - Director, Game designer
- Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space (2004) - Director, Game designer
- Yoshi's Island DS (2006) - Senior producer
- Blue Dragon (2006) - Executive producer
- Away: Shuffle Dungeon (2008) - Producer, Character designer
- Yoshi's New Island (2014) - Development producer
- Hey! Pikmin (2017) - Development producer
- Balan Wonderworld (2021) - Development producer, Character designer
- Sonic Superstars (2023) - Development producer, Character designer
See also
In Spanish: Naoto Ōshima para niños
