Takashi Iizuka (game designer)

Takashi Iizuka (飯塚 隆, Iizuka Takashi) (born 1970) is a Japanese game director, game producer, game designer, level designer, scenario writer and currently the head of Sonic Team.

Early career

His first collaboration with Sega involved working with STI on Sonic 3 and Knuckles as a designer. Later, he helped supervise Traveller's Tales with the development of Sonic R. In Japan he was lead designer for Nights into Dreams....^[1] He directed and headed up lead design for Sonic Adventure as well (it was his idea for a Sonic role-playing game).

Sega Studio USA

In 1999, he and a small part of Sonic Team moved to San Francisco to establish Sega Studio USA, in order gain feedback from the western market. Over in the U.S. his team worked on the international release of Sonic Adventure. Afterward, his team started to develop their own games, where he was the director and lead designer for Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Heroes, Shadow the Hedgehog, and Nights: Journey of Dreams. In an effort to further broaden Sonic's appeal to western markets, Iizuka gave western developer, Backbone Entertainment, a shot at developing Sonic titles (Sonic Rivals & Sonic Rivals 2) under his team's supervision for the PSP console.

Currently

In 2008 Sega's American division, Sega Studio USA, was absorbed back into Sonic Team Japan. Currently, he is the head of Sonic Team and as of 2010, is serving as producer for all major Sonic the Hedgehog titles.

Notabilities

Game Journalist from Wired described Takashi Iizuka as a difficult man to read, as he tends to slip into corporate speak especially when discussing mixed reception of Sonic games.^[2] His long time colleague and composer, Tomoko Sasaki, however described him as someone who "offered a different and fresh, almost unpredictable, way of thinking" and got along him well from the very start.^[3]

Production history

• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) — Senior Game Designer
• Nights into Dreams (1996) — Lead Game Designer
• Christmas Nights (1996) — Game Designer
• Sonic 3D Blast (1996) — Game Concept Design, Special Stage Design, Saturn Enhancements
• Sonic Jam (1997) — Director
• Sonic R (1997) — Game Design Director
• Sonic Adventure (1999) — Director, Character Game Designer, Chaos Game Designer, Level Designer
• ChuChu Rocket! (2000) — Product Support (Sega of America)
• Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) — Director, Lead Game Designer, Enemy Game Designer, Level Designer
• Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (2003) — Mission Mode Game Designer
• Sonic Heroes (2004) — Director, Level Designer, CG Movie Director
• Sonic Mega Collection — Special Thanks
• Sonic Gems Collection (2005) — Special Thanks
• Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) — Director, Lead Game Designer, Level Designer, Scenario Writer, Movie Supervisor
• Sonic Riders (2006) — Recording Coordinator
• Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) — Special Thanks
• Sonic Rivals (2006) — Director, Concept Design, Scenario Writer, Producer
• Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) — Special Thanks
• Sonic Rivals 2 (2007) — Director, Concept Design, Scenario Writer, Producer
• Nights: Journey of Dreams (2007) — Director, Producer, Lead Game Designer
• Nights into Dreams (PS2 Version) (2008) — Supervisor
• Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008) — Recording Coordinator
• Sega Superstars Tennis (2008) — Special Thanks
• Sonic Unleashed (Xbox 360 & PS3 Version) (2008) — Level Design Special Thanks
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008) — Sonic Character Supervisor
• Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (2009) - Director, Game Designer
• Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) — Special Thanks
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I (2010) — Producer
• Sonic Colors (2010) — Producer
• Sonic Generations (2011) — Producer
• Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II (2012) — Producer
• Sonic Lost World (2013) — Producer
• Puyo Puyo Tetris (2014) — Product Support
• Sonic Runners (2015) — Producer
• Tembo the Badass Elephant (2015) — Supervisor
• Project Sonic 2017 (2017) — Producer

References