Hiroshi Minagawa
| Hiroshi Minagawa | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1970 |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Occupation | Director and art director of video games at Square Enix. |
Hiroshi Minagawa (皆川 裕史 Minagawa Hiroshi) is a Japanese game director and game artist who has been working for Square Enix since 1995. Prior to working for Square Enix, he worked for Quest Corporation.
Biography
He is best known as the art director of Final Fantasy Tactics and the art director and character model supervisor of Vagrant Story.
Final Fantasy XII
He became the co-director of Final Fantasy XII (with Hiroyuki Ito) when Yasumi Matsuno, the original producer and co-director, left Square Enix during the development of the game due to sickness.[1] Minagawa also served as the game's visual designer and character texture supervisor. Early on in development, a decision was made to make the clothes of the main characters and other characters different.[2]
Tactics Ogre (PSP)
Following the remake release of Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions, a decision was made to remake Tactics Ogre, and over the course of a year the team who made the original was reassembled for the three year process of developing the game.[3] Minagawa and Matsuno remain close friends and keep in regular contact despite Matsuno no longer working for Square Enix. They recently worked together on Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together for the PSP. One of the reasons the game was on a portable game system and not a console was Minagawas own playing habits of wanting to take his games on the go.[4] A more extensive updating of the games graphics was considered, with fully 3D character models, but developers were concerned about how fans of the original might feel.[5]
Final Fantasy XIV
In December 2010, it was announced that he had been brought into the development team of Final Fantasy XIV.[6] This happened because the development team of Final Fantasy XIV was restructured due to the negative reception of the initial Windows version.[6] The new director, Naoki Yoshida, specifically asked Minagawa to join the team and help with the improvement of the game as he believes that there is nobody better than Minagawa when it comes to designing a graphical user interface.[7]
Game design
When directing a video game, Hiroshi Minagawa creates using the mentality of what it would be like to experience the game as a player.[4] He also cares more about the reception of his games from critics and players than how much they sell.[4]
Gameography
| Release | Title | System | Credit(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Magical Chase | PC Engine, TurboGrafx-16 | Art director, game designer |
| 1993 | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Art director, main graphics design, battle visual effects |
| 1995 | Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together | Super Nintendo Entertainment System | Art director, main graphics design, battle visual effects |
| 1997 | Final Fantasy Tactics | PlayStation | Art director, event director |
| 2000 | Vagrant Story | PlayStation | Art director, character model supervisor, menu & layout artistic supervisor |
| 2000 | Final Fantasy IX | PlayStation | Special thanks |
| 2003 | Final Fantasy Tactics Advance | Game Boy Advance | Artistic supervisor |
| 2006 | Final Fantasy XII | PlayStation 2 | Director, visual designer, character texture supervisor |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions | PlayStation Portable | Supervisor |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy XII International Zodiac Job System | PlayStation 2 | Director, visual designer, character texture supervisor |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift | Nintendo DS | Visual design supervisor |
| 2009 | Gyromancer | Xbox 360, Windows | Special thanks |
| 2010 | Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together | PlayStation Portable | Director, artistic supervisor, graphics design supervisor |
| 2013 | Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn | Windows, PlayStation 3 | Lead GUI designer, lead web designer |
References
- ^ Hirohiko Niizumi (1 August 2005). "FFXII producer steps down". GameSpot. Retrieved 20 March 2011.
- ^ Thomas Nickel (1 August 200r). wie Gorilla "Interview with Hiroshi Minagawa". Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Kim Richards (2011-01-18). "Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together". Eurogamer. p. 2. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ a b c Lauren Wainwright (2011-01-07). "Interview: Tactics Ogre director Hiroshi Minagawa". VG247. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Kat Bailey (2010-12-27). "Tactics Ogre Director Hiroshi Minagawa Aims Straight for the Core". 1UP.com. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ a b "An Important Announcement for FINAL FANTASY XIV Fans". FINAL FANTASY XIV, The Lodestone, Square Enix Co., Ltd. 10 December 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2011.
- ^ "プレイヤーとの約束は必ず守ります。新体制への刷新が行われた「FINAL FANTASY XIV」緊急インタビュー。FFXIVを託された吉田氏はどんな人物なのか". 4Gamer. 28 December 2010. Retrieved 18 March 2011.
