Hidemaro Fujibayashi

Hidemaro Fujibayashi (藤林 秀麿, Fujibayashi Hidemaro, born October 1, 1972) is a Japanese video game designer and director working for Nintendo.[1] He is best known for his contributions to the action-adventure game series The Legend of Zelda, for which he has served as planner, writer and director.[1][2]

Hidemaro Fujibayashi
藤林 秀麿
Born (1972-10-01) October 1, 1972
Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
OccupationVideo game designer, director
EmployerCapcom (1995–2005)
Nintendo (2005–present)

Career

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] He would later direct the Nintendo Switch and Wii U game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.[8] 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 Legend of Zelda, which he described as "novel" and "groundbreaking" for its time.[2]

Works
YearTitleRole
1995Gakkō no Kowai Uwasa: Hanako-san ga Kita!!Planner[3]
1996Yōsuke Ide Meijin no Shin Jissen MaajanPlanner[3]
1998Magical Tetris ChallengeDirector, planner[3]
2001The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of AgesDirector, planner, scenario writer[3]
2002The Legend of Zelda: Four SwordsDirector, planner
2004The Legend of Zelda: The Minish CapDirector, planner, writer
2007The Legend of Zelda: Phantom HourglassSubdirector, story writer,[1] multiplayer director[9]
2011The Legend of Zelda: Skyward SwordDirector, writer[7]
2017The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildDirector[8]
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Expansion Pass Supervisor for game design
2020 Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Scenario supervisor
TBAUpcoming Breath of the Wild sequelDirector[10]

References
  1. "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. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  2. "クリエイターズファイル 第106回". Gpara.com (in Japanese). March 17, 2003. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
  3. "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.
  4. 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.
  5. Capcom Co., Ltd (January 10, 2005). The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. Nintendo of America Inc. Scene: staff credits.
  6. "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. Archived from the original on July 23, 2011. Retrieved June 3, 2011.
  7. Harris, Craig (June 16, 2010). "E3 2010: Eiji Aonuma's "Trapped in the Zelda Cage"". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
  8. Otero, Jose. "E3 2016: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild Might Be The Open World Zelda We Always Wanted". IGN. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  9. "任天堂 VS 週刊ファミ通　『ゼルダの伝説 夢幻の砂時計』通信対戦の模様を動画でお届け！ - ファミ通.com". www.famitsu.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2018-11-03.
  10. Shea, Brian. "Breath Of The Wild's Director Is Returning For The Sequel". Game Informer. Retrieved 12 June 2019.
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