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Tōru Iwatani
is a Japanese video game designer who spent much of his career working for Namco. He is best known as the creator of the arcade game ''Pac-Man'' (1980). Early life Iwatani was born in the Meguro ward of Tokyo, Japan on January 25, 1955. While in kindergarten, he and his family moved to the Tōhoku region of Japan after his father got a job as an engineer for the NHK, Japan Broadcasting Corporation. After becoming a junior high student, Iwatani returned to Tokyo and graduated from the Tokyo Metropolitan University High School, before graduating from the Tokai University Faculty of Engineering. Iwatani was self-taught in computers without any formal training in programming or graphical design. He often filled his school textbooks with scattered manga, which he claims had a major influence on the character designs of his games. Career At the age of 22 Iwatani joined the Japanese video game publisher Namco in 1977. Before he had joined, Namco had acquired the rights to the Japanese ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Game Developers Conference
The Game Developers Conference (GDC) is an annual conference for video game developers. The event includes an expo, networking events, and awards shows like the Game Developers Choice Awards and Independent Games Festival, and a variety of tutorials, lectures, and roundtables by industry professionals on game-related topics covering programming, design, audio, production, business and management, and visual arts. History Originally called the Computer Game Developers Conference, the first conference was organized in April 1988 by Chris Crawford in his San Jose, California-area living room. About twenty-seven designers attended, including Don Daglow, Brenda Laurel, Brian Moriarty, Gordon Walton, Tim Brengle, Cliff Johnson, Dave Menconi, and Carol and Ivan Manley. The second conference, held that same year at a Holiday Inn at Milpitas, attracted about 125 developers. Early conference directors included Brenda Laurel, Tim Brengle, Sara Reeder, Dave Menconi, Jeff Johannigm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cutie Q
is a 1979 block breaker/video pinball hybrid arcade game developed and published by Namco in Japan. The player controls a set of paddles with a rotary knob, the objective being to score as many points possible by deflecting a ball against blocks, ghosts, spinners and other objects on the playfield. It was designed by Shigeru Yokoyama, with spritework done by Toru Iwatani. It is the third and final game in the '' Gee Bee'' trilogy. ''Cutie Q'' is described as Namco's first "character game", thanks to its use of colorful and cute character designs, a choice that would be a major influence on Iwatani's next project, ''Pac-Man''. The title was derived from the band Creedence Clearwater Revival's 1968 cover of the song Susie Q, which Iwatani was a fan of. To lower manufacturing costs, it was only sold as a conversion kit for older ''Gee Bee'' and ''Bomb Bee'' arcade units. The game was ported to the PlayStation in 1996 as part of the Japanese release of '' Namco Museum Vol. 2'', w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
GameSpot
''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. In addition to the information produced by ''GameSpot'' staff, the site also allows users to write their own reviews, blogs, and post on the site's forums. It has been owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. In 2004, ''GameSpot'' won "Best Gaming Website" as chosen by the viewers in Spike TV's second ''Video Game Award Show'', and has won Webby Awards several times. The domain ''gamespot.com'' attracted at least 60 million visitors annually by October 2008 according to a Compete.com study. History In January 1996, Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein quit their positions at IDG and founded SpotMedia Communications. SpotMedia then launched ''GameSpot'' on May 1, 1996. Originally, ''GameSpot'' focused solely on personal computer games, so a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokyo Polytechnic University
is a private university in Honchō, Nakano, Tokyo. Its nickname is ''Shadai'' (写大). It was formerly known as Tokyo College of Photography (, ''Tōkyō Shashin Daigaku''). The university was founded as Konishi Professional School of Photography in Shibuya in 1923. The founder, Rokuemon Sugiura VII, was the president of Konishi Main Shop (later Konica) at that time and founded the school to fulfil the wish of Rokuemon Sugiura VI, the previous president. Since 2007, the university has offered courses in manga studies and animation studies. Tokyo Polytechnic is also notable for being one of the few universities in Japan to have a game design department, with its faculty including such notable practitioners as Pac-Man creator Toru Iwatani and Xevious creator Masanobu Endō. The university also operates the Suginami Animation Museum, which focuses on the history and future of the animation industry in Japan. Alumni * Akitaro Daichi *Eikoh Hosoe (photographer) *Yoko Kamio *Takashi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Osaka University Of Arts
is a private arts university located in Kanan, Minamikawachi District, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. The university was founded in 1945 as , changing its name to in 1957, and then to in 1964. The university adopted the current name in 1966. Notable teachers *Toshiyuki Hosokawa *Takeji Iwamiya *Kazuo Koike *Sadao Nakajima *Kazuki Ōmori *Go Nagai * Teruaki Georges Sumioka, Full Professor of Philosophy Notable students *Takami Akai, illustrator *Hideaki Anno, animation and film director *Kiyohiko Azuma, manga author and illustrator *Arata Furuta, actor *Satoshi Hashimoto, voice actor * Tenpei Nakamura, pianist * Katsunori Ozaki, pianist *Kenjiro Hata, manga artist *Toshio Kakei, actor *Koji Kanemoto *Shinichiro Kimura, anime director *Toshiyuki Kita, furniture designer *Takashi Tezuka, video game designer at ''Nintendo'' *Yoshiaki Koizumi, video game designer at ''Nintendo'' *Koji Kondo, video game composer at ''Nintendo'' * Kenji Yamamoto, video game composer at ''Nintendo'' *Meim ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Time Crisis
''Time Crisis'' is a first-person on-rails light gun shooter series of arcade video games by Namco, introduced in 1995. It is focused on the exploits of a fictional international intelligence agency who assigns its best agents to deal with a major threat by a hostile organisation, which has ranged from criminals, terrorists, to hostile military outfits, and mostly take place within fictional locations across the world. The arcade series differed from other light gun shooters of its time by incorporating unique mechanics, including the ability to duck into cover to dodge attacks and reload the player's weapon, and forcing players to complete battles in each level within an allotted amount of time. Over time, the series developed to incorporate additional features of gameplay, including two-player co-operative modes on arcade machines, the ability to use additional weapons in combat, and dealing with dangerous events. Alongside arcade machines, the series was also developed for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ridge Racer (1993 Video Game)
is a 1993 racing video game developed and published by Namco. It was released initially on the Namco System 22 arcade system board and ported to the PlayStation console in 1994. It is the first title in the ''Ridge Racer'' series released for arcades and home consoles. The aim is to finish in first place in a series of races. The PlayStation version supports Namco's NeGcon controller. Development took eight months, and the game is based on a trend among Japanese car enthusiasts, which involves racing on mountain roads while drifting around corners. It was also the first arcade video game with 3D texture-mapped graphics, with its System 22 hardware capable of texture mapping and Gouraud shading. The first home version was released in Japan in 1994 as a launch title for the PlayStation; the versions for North America and Europe were released in 1995, also as a launch title for both regions. It was re-released in Japan for the PlayStation The Best range in 1997, and for the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pole Position
In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the race. The number-one qualifying driver is also referred to as the pole-sitter. The pole position, pole sitter, starts the race "at the front of the starting grid. This provides the driver in the pole position the privilege of starting ahead of all the other drivers" Grid position is typically determined by a qualifying session before the race, where race participants compete to ascend to the number 1 grid slot, the driver, pilot, or rider having recorded fastest qualification time awarded the advantage of the number 1 grid slot (i.e., the pole-position) ahead of all other vehicles for the start of the race. Historically, the fastest qualifier was not necessarily the designated ''pole-sitter''. Different sanctioning bodies in motor sport em ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Galaga
is a 1981 fixed shooter arcade video game developed and published by Namco. In North America, it was released by Midway Manufacturing. It is the sequel to ''Galaxian'' (1979), Namco's first major video game hit in arcades. Controlling a starship, the player is tasked with destroying the Galaga forces in each stage while avoiding enemies and projectiles. Some enemies can capture a player's ship via a tractor beam, which can be rescued to transform the player into a "dual fighter" with additional firepower. Shigeru Yokoyama led development with a small team. Initial planning took about two months to finish. Originally developed for the Namco Galaxian arcade board, it was instead shifted to a new system as suggested by Namco's Research and Development division. Inspiration for the dual fighter mechanic was taken from a film that Yokoyama had seen prior to development, where a ship was captured using a large circular beam. The project became immensely popular around the company, wit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rally-X
is a List of maze video games, maze chase arcade video game developed Namco and released in 1980. Players drive a blue Formula One race car through a multidirectional scrolling maze to collect yellow flags. Boulders block some paths and must be avoided. Red enemy cars pursue the player in an attempt to collide with them. Red cars can be temporarily stunned by laying down smoke screens at the cost of fuel. ''Rally-X'' is one of the first games with bonus stages and continuously-playing background music. ''Rally-X'' was designed as a successor to Sega's ''Head On (video game), Head On'' (1979), an earlier maze chase game with cars. It was a commercial success in Japan, where it was the sixth highest-grossing 1980, but Midway Manufacturing released the game in North America to largely underwhelming results. An often-repeated, though untrue, story involving its demonstration at the 1980 Amusement & Music Operators Association trade show, where the attending press believed ''Rally-X' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Libble Rabble
is a 1983 puzzle arcade game developed and published in Japan by Namco. The player is tasked with using two colored arrows, Libble and Rabble, to wrap them around pegs and surround small creatures known as Mushlins to "harvest" them under a time limit. The player can also uncover treasure chests that will have the player searching the stage for items in order to access a special bonus stage. It ran on the Namco Libble Rabble hardware, one of the only games to do so. Described by Namco as a "bashishi game", it was designed by ''Pac-Man'' creator Toru Iwatani and composed by Nobuyuki Ohnogi. Iwatani came up with the idea for the game after an experience at a crowded disco hall, where he envisioned himself tying up people with ropes and throwing them out of the way. It was also inspired by a game he played during his childhood, where the objective was to tie ropes to short metal poles on the ground. The game was known as ''Potato'' in early development as Namco considered making th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
VH-1
VH1 (originally an initialism of Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network based in New York City and owned by Paramount Global. It was created by Warner-Amex Satellite Entertainment, at the time a division of Warner Communications and the original owner of MTV, and launched on January 1, 1985, in the former space of Turner Broadcasting System's short-lived Cable Music Channel. The channel was originally conceived to build upon the success of sister channel MTV by playing music videos targeting a slightly older demographic than MTV by focusing on the lighter, softer side of popular music. Like MTV, VH1 ultimately drifted away from music videos and into reality television programming, albeit with a focus on music personalities and celebrities, and shows targeting African American audiences. VH1 is best known for franchises such as ''Behind the Music'', the '' I Love…'' series, the '' Celebreality'' block, ''Love & Hip Hop'', and ''RuPaul's Drag Race.'' As o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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