Naoto Ohshima

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Naoto Ohshima
Naoto ohshima gdc 2018.jpg
Ohshima at the 2018 Game Developers Conference
Born (1964-02-26) February 26, 1964 (age 57)
Osaka, Japan
Other namesBig Island
Alma materKyoto Seika University
OccupationCharacter designer, game producer
EmployerSega (1987–1999)
Artoon (1999–2010)
Arzest (2010–present)

Naoto Ohshima (大島 直人, Ōshima Naoto) (born February 26, 1964) is a Japanese artist and video game designer best known for designing the Sonic the Hedgehog and Dr. Eggman characters from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise.[1][2] Although Yuji Naka created the original tech demo around which Sonic's gameplay was based, the character in his prototype was a ball that lacked any specific features.[3] Sonic Team considered numerous potential animal mascots before deciding on Ohshima's design, with an armadillo or hedgehog being the top choices because their spikes worked well with the concept of rolling into enemies.[2]

After leaving Sonic Team, Ohshima formed an independent game company called Artoon. There he went on to work on such games as Pinobee and Blinx: The Time Sweeper, and in 2004, the sequel to Blinx, Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space. In 2010, Artoon was absorbed into AQ Interactive. That same year, he and other key members of Artoon left to form Arzest. Early in his career, he was credited under the nickname "Big Island" in a number of games, which is a literal translation of his family name.

Works[]

References[]

  1. ^ Sheffield, Brandon (2009-12-04). "Out of the Blue: Naoto Ohshima Speaks". Gamasutra. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  2. ^ a b "The Essential 50 Part 28 - Sonic the Hedgehog". 1UP.com. Archived from the original on March 28, 2017. Retrieved 2014-07-21.
  3. ^ "Sonic's Architect: GI Interviews Hirokazu Yasuhara". Game Informer. Vol. 13 no. 124. August 2003. pp. 114–116.

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