Fumito Ueda
From WikiUeda
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Fumito Ueda (上田 文人 , Ueda Fumito) is the director, lead designer, and head of Team Ico. He is best known for Ico and Shadow of the Colossus on the Sony PlayStation 2. Ueda is currently working on a untitled third project for the PlayStation 3.
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[edit] Biography
Ueda was born in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan in 1970. As a child, he stated that he was always fasinated by movement, spending his childhood catching small animals and watching and creating animation. "Basically, I seemed to be interested in things that moved." Art was among his favorite subjects in school and later admitted that, had he not become involved with the gaming industry, he would've likely become a classical artist.
He decided to become a part of the videogame industry two years after graduating from the Osaka University of Arts in 1993. He owned a few Commodore Amiga computers (an A500 and later an A4000), and created a few prototype models for Ico using Lightwave 3D (a software that was exclusive to Amiga computers until 1994).
Before working with Team Ico, Ueda worked with the now-defunct video game company, WARP. He worked as an animator on a survival horror videogame for the Sega Saturn called Enemy Zero (1997).
[edit] Style
Ueda's games are characterized by several distinct features. Both Ico and Shadow contain large-scale architecture in the midst of sprawling, desolate environments. Both games also feature partial high dynamic range rendering (HDRR): interior areas look darker from the outside, and outdoor areas look brighter from the inside. The games (especially Shadow) utilize bloom lighting as well; light from especially bright sources is drawn slightly over surrounding foreground materials. In terms of storyline, the player is given only a slight amount of exposition at the outset, and only a little more is revealed by the end of the game. It is largely up to the player to determine where the characters came from, as well as the circumstances that inspired the plot.
[edit] Quotes
- "I often import games from abroad and play them. On such occasions, my imagination is sometimes stimulated more as I don't understand the language."
- "I was attracted, not by the idea of playing within a well-constructed set of rules, but by the idea of playing, experiencing, and adventuring within a real world. As a child, what appealed to me more than 'the fun of playing games' was the emotion conveyed by the works I experienced, and the way these works brought their worlds to life."
[edit] Interviews
- Guardian Unlimited (August 18, 2005)
- CVG (January 19, 2006)
 Main Article • SCE | Shadow of the Colossus >> | |
| Characters: | Ico (Kazuhiro Shindou) • Yorda (Reiko Takahashi) • The Queen (Misa Watanabe) | |
|---|---|---|
| The Castle: | Yorda's language • Shadow creatures • Saving • Bonuses not in U.S. version | |
| Production Staff: | Fumito Ueda • Kenji Kaido • Michiru Oshima (Melody in the Mist) • [Full Credits...] | |
| Other Media: | Castle in the Mist (Miyabe Miyuki) • Offical Guide Book | |
| << Ico |  Main Article • Nico • Official Artbook • SCE | [Untitled Third Project] >> |
| Characters: | Wander (Kenji Nojima) • Agro • Mono (Hitomi Nabatame) • Dormin (Kazuhiro Nakata, Kyoko Hikami) • Lord Emon (Naoki Bando) • Shadow creatures | |
|---|---|---|
| Colossi: | Valus • Quadratus • Gaius • Phaedra • Avion • Barba • Hydrus • Kuromori • Basaran • Dirge • Celosia • Pelagia • Phalanx • Cenobia • Argus • Malus | |
| The Forbidden Lands: | Shrine of Worship (Secret Garden) • Save shrines • Fruit trees • White-tailed lizards (and other animals) • Time Attack • Hard Mode | |
| Production Staff: | Fumito Ueda • Kenji Kaido • Kow Otani (Roar of the Earth) • [Full Credits...] | |
| Viral marketing: | Giantology • Iran Skeleton • Tsunami Giant • Underwater Statue • Siberian Ice Giant • Peru Statue | |
