Kazuhiro Ayabe (綾部 和弘, Ayabe Kazuhiro, born 1965) is a Japanese video game developer. He is the founder of the video game company Millennium Kitchen and the creator of the video game series Boku no Natsuyasumi.
Kaz Ayabe | |
|---|---|
綾部 和弘 | |
| Born | Kazuhiro Ayabe 1965 (age 58–59) Hokkaido, Japan |
| Occupation | Video game developer |
| Notable work | Boku no Natsuyasumi |
| Title | Founder of Millennium Kitchen |
Biography
editAyabe was born in 1965[1] in Hokkaido as the youngest of three children. He was interested in design from a young age, developing a hobby of drawing maps of imaginary towns as a child, and eventually moved to Tokyo to study animation at Tokyo Designer Gakuin College.[1] After graduating, he took a job as a graphic artist at the video game developer NMK, later becoming a programmer for the company. He worked on several titles for the company, including Psychic 5 (1987), Esper Boukentai (1987), and Rolan's Curse II (1992), before resigning from the company in the early 1990s. He worked as a freelancer for six months before being hired as a designer and project manager at K-Idea, a game design planning company founded by Shōnen Jump games columnist Hajime Kimura.[2]
In 1997, Ayabe resigned from K-Idea to establish the game studio Millennium Kitchen. There, Ayabe would direct, write, and design the video game Boku no Natsuyasumi (2000), which won a New Wave Award at the fifth Japan Game Awards,[3] and was a finalist for the Excellence Award at the third Japan Media Arts Festival.[4] Since then, Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 (2002) and Bokura no Kazoku (2005) were selected as juror-recommended works at the Japan Media Arts Festival,[5] and Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale (2015) was selected as an honorable mention for Best Narrative at the Game Developers Choice Awards.[6]
Since 2014, Ayabe has been the proprietor of "Kasei Curry" (Mars Curry), a Japanese curry restaurant located in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.[7]
Works
edit| Year | Game | Credit(s) | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Psychic 5 | Programmer | [1] |
| 1987 | Esper Boukentai | Programmer | [1] |
| 1992 | Rolan's Curse II | Programmer, sound | [1] |
| 1993 | Jungle Wars 2 | System assistance | [8] |
| 2000 | Boku no Natsuyasumi | Director, writer, game designer | [9] |
| 2002 | Boku no Natsuyasumi 2 | Director, writer, game designer | [10] |
| 2005 | Bokura no Kazoku | Director, writer, game designer | [11] |
| 2007 | Boku no Natsuyasumi 3 | Director, writer, game designer | [12] |
| 2009 | Boku no Natsuyasumi 4 | Director, writer, game designer | [13] |
| 2013 | Attack of the Friday Monsters! A Tokyo Tale | Director, writer, game designer | [5] |
| 2021 | Shin-chan: Me and the Professor on Summer Vacation | Game designer, writer | [14] |
| 2023 | Natsu-Mon! 20th Century Summer Vacation | Game designer, writer | [15] |
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Barnholt 2013b, p. 42.
- ^ Barnholt 2013b, pp. 42–43.
- ^ "『ぼくらのかぞく』がメディア芸術祭・審査委員会推薦作品に!!" ["Bokura no Kazoku" was recommended by the Jury of the Japan Media Arts Festival!!]. Millennium Kitchen (in Japanese). December 26, 2005. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ "第５回日本ゲーム大賞 受賞作品一覧" [The 5th Japan Game Awards Winners List]. Japan Entertainment Software Awards (in Japanese). Retrieved May 16, 2023.
- ^ a b "綾部 和氏が手がけた「GUILD02」作品の一つ「怪獣が出る金曜日」。子供の頃に思い描いた"巨大怪獣が出る世界"をノスタルジックな雰囲気で構築". 4gamer.net (in Japanese). March 15, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 9, 2014). "The Last of Us, Tearaway, Gone Home lead GDC Award noms". Gamesindustry.biz. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
- ^ "綾部和がプロデュースした『火星カレー』が池袋にオープン！". Millennium Kitchen (in Japanese). April 8, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
- ^ Barnholt 2013b, p. 43.
- ^ "『ぼくのなつやすみポータブル』作者の綾部氏に直撃！" [An interview with Mr. Ayabe, creator of "Boku no Natsuyasumi Portable"!]. Famitsu (in Japanese). June 30, 2006. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
- ^ Barnholt 2013a, p. 16.
- ^ Barnholt 2013b, p. 46.
- ^ Barnholt 2013a, p. 24.
- ^ Barnholt 2013a, p. 30.
- ^ Kuroda, Kenro (July 15, 2021). "新作オラ夏 開発者がこだわる高2から終わらない夏休み". Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Retrieved August 18, 2022.
- ^ Plunkett, Luke (February 8, 2023). "Japan's Nintendo Direct Had A Very Nice Surprise". Kotaku. Retrieved May 22, 2023.
Bibliography
edit- Barnholt, Ray, ed. (June 25, 2013). "Issue 10: Summer". Scroll (10). Bipedal Dog.
- Barnholt, Ray (June 25, 2013a). "My Summer Vacation". Scroll (10). Bipedal Dog: 9–39.
- Barnholt, Ray (June 25, 2013b). "Boy of Summer: The Life and Times of Kaz Ayabe". Scroll (10). Bipedal Dog: 40–50.
- Barnholt, Ray (June 25, 2013c). "Summer Vacation Confidential: The Complete Kaz Ayabe Interview". Scroll. Bipedal Dog. Retrieved May 17, 2023.