Hidemaro Fujibayashi
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese video game designer working for Nintendo
. He is best known for his contributions to the action-adventure game series The Legend of Zelda
, for which he served as planner, writer and director. Before he entered the video game industry, Fujibayashi had designed layouts of haunted attraction
s for Japanese theme parks. At that time, he had considered finding an occupation involving production, and came upon a job opening from a company that developed video games. 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. 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. Later, he became part of the company's Production Studio 1, and designed and directed the puzzle game Magical Tetris Challenge
.
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
. 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
. Fujibayashi eventually became the director, participated as planner and scenario writer, and devised a system to link the two games for consecutive playthroughs. 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
. Following his switch to Nintendo, Fujibayashi became subdirector and story writer for the Nintendo DS
game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
. Afterward, he made his directorial debut for a home console Zelda with the Wii
game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
. 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 constantly throughout the game and at every available second whether the player needs to hear it or not. He has a special fondness for the first The Legend of Zelda, which he described as "novel" and "groundbreaking" for its time.
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
. He is best known for his contributions to the action-adventure game series The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda, originally released as in Japan, is a video game developed and published by Nintendo, and designed by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. Set in the fantasy land of Hyrule, the plot centers on a boy named Link, the playable protagonist, who aims to collect the eight fragments...
, for which he served as planner, writer and director. Before he entered the video game industry, Fujibayashi had designed layouts of haunted attraction
Haunted attraction
A haunted attraction is a form of entertainment that simulates the experience of entering a haunted location that might be inhabited by ghosts, monsters, criminals, humorous characters, and other such creatures...
s for Japanese theme parks. At that time, he had considered finding an occupation involving production, and came upon a job opening from a company that developed video games. 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. Fujibayashi eventually joined Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
in 1995, where he gained experience as planner for the interactive movie
Interactive movie
An interactive movie is a video game that features highly cinematic presentation and heavy use of scripting, often through the use of full-motion video of either animated or live-action footage.-Philosophy:...
Gakkō no Kowai Uwasa: Hanako-san ga Kita!! and the mahjong
Mahjong
Mahjong, sometimes spelled Mah Jongg, is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players...
game Yōsuke Ide Meijin no Shin Jissen Maajan. Later, he became part of the company's Production Studio 1, and designed and directed the puzzle game Magical Tetris Challenge
Magical Tetris Challenge
Magical Tetris Challenge, known in Japan as Magical Tetris Challenge Featuring Mickey, is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and PlayStation . It was released on January 14, 1999. It is a version of Tetris featuring Disney characters. It was also released in the arcades on the Seta's...
.
Fujibayashi's first involvement with the Zelda series was with the Game Boy Color
Game Boy Color
The is Nintendo's successor to the 8-bit Game Boy handheld game console, and was released on October 21, 1998 in Japan, November 19, 1998 in North America, November 23, 1998 in Europe and November 27, 1998 in the United Kingdom. It features a color screen and is slightly thicker and taller than...
games The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are two action-adventure games in The Legend of Zelda series, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo. They were released on February 27, 2001 in Japan, May 14, 2001 in North America, and October 5, 2001 in Europe for Nintendo's Game Boy Color...
. 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
Shigeru Miyamoto
is a Japanese video game designer and producer. Miyamoto was born and raised in Kyoto Prefecture; the natural surroundings of Kyoto inspired much of Miyamoto's later work....
. Fujibayashi eventually became the director, participated as planner and scenario writer, and devised a system to link the two games for consecutive playthroughs. During his time at Capcom, he also directed and planned the Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
games The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords and The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, known as in Japan, is the twelfth game in The Legend of Zelda of video games, developed by Capcom, with Nintendo overseeing the development process. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 in Japan and Europe and 2005 in North America and Australia...
. Following his switch to Nintendo, Fujibayashi became subdirector and story writer for the Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS
The is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
game The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass
is the fourteenth game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. It was released after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii and before The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS...
. Afterward, he made his directorial debut for a home console Zelda with the Wii
Wii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
is an action-adventure game for the Wii console and the sixteenth entry in the Legend of Zelda series. Developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, it was released in Europe on November 18, 2011 in North America on November 20, 2011, in Japan on November 23, 2011, and on November...
. 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 constantly throughout the game and at every available second whether the player needs to hear it or not. He has a special fondness for the first The Legend of Zelda, which he described as "novel" and "groundbreaking" for its time.
Works
| Year | Title | Platform | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Gakkō no Kowai Uwasa: Hanako-san ga Kita!! | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Planner |
| 1996 | Yōsuke Ide Meijin no Shin Jissen Maajan | PlayStation, Sega Saturn, 3DO | Planner |
| 1998 | Magical Tetris Challenge Magical Tetris Challenge Magical Tetris Challenge, known in Japan as Magical Tetris Challenge Featuring Mickey, is a puzzle game for the Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color and PlayStation . It was released on January 14, 1999. It is a version of Tetris featuring Disney characters. It was also released in the arcades on the Seta's... |
Nintendo 64, Game Boy Color | Director, planner |
| 2001 | The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages are two action-adventure games in The Legend of Zelda series, co-developed by Capcom and Nintendo. They were released on February 27, 2001 in Japan, May 14, 2001 in North America, and October 5, 2001 in Europe for Nintendo's Game Boy Color... |
Game Boy Color | Director, planner, scenario writer |
| 2002 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords | Game Boy Advance | Director, planner |
| 2004 | The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, known as in Japan, is the twelfth game in The Legend of Zelda of video games, developed by Capcom, with Nintendo overseeing the development process. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2004 in Japan and Europe and 2005 in North America and Australia... |
Game Boy Advance | Director, planner |
| 2007 | The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is the fourteenth game in Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. It was released after The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Wii and before The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks for the Nintendo DS... |
Nintendo DS | Subdirector, story writer |
| 2011 | The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword is an action-adventure game for the Wii console and the sixteenth entry in the Legend of Zelda series. Developed by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, it was released in Europe on November 18, 2011 in North America on November 20, 2011, in Japan on November 23, 2011, and on November... |
Wii | Director |