is a Japanese video game

event director Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of ev ...

and

scenario writer A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

who works at

Square Enix is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate, best known for its ''Final Fantasy'', ''Dragon Quest'', ''Star Ocean'' and ''Kingdom Hearts'' role-playing video game ...

. He joined the predecessor company Square in 1995. In his role as event planner for ''

Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console. It is the seventh main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Published in Japan by Square, it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertai ...

'', Akiyama was responsible for the story elements and cutscenes involving the characters Red XIII and Yuffie Kisaragi, respectively. During his work as the event director of '' Vagrant Story'', he intended to make the transitions between gameplay and event scenes as smooth as possible. The fully polygonal graphics of the game entailed precise camera movements, character animations and the usage of different lens effects. In late 1999, Akiyama watched Disney's animated ''Tarzan'' film and then pleaded with ''

Kingdom Hearts is a series of action role-playing games developed and published by Square Enix (originally by Square (video game company), Square). It is a collaboration between Square Enix and The Walt Disney Company and is under the leadership of Tetsuya ...

'' director and story writer Tetsuya Nomura to join the game's team. He became the event planning director and one of the scenario writers, taking charge of the ''Tarzan''-themed segment, among others. Akiyama tried to inject Disney-like humor into the game, such as a scene in which

Donald Duck Donald Fauntleroy Duck is a cartoon character created by The Walt Disney Company. Donald is an anthropomorphic white duck with a yellow-orange bill, legs, and feet. He typically wears a sailor shirt and cap with a bow tie. Donald is known fo ...

is flattened by an opening door. He also suggested ''

Final Fantasy VIII is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation console. Released in 1999, it is the eighth main installment in the ''Final Fantasy'' series. Set on an unnamed fantasy world with science fiction elements, t ...

'' character

Squall Leonhart is a fictional character and the main protagonist of ''Final Fantasy VIII'', a role-playing video game that was produced by Square (now Square Enix). In ''Final Fantasy VIII'', Squall is an 17-year-old student at Balamb Garden, a prestigious mil ...

be renamed Leon to maintain suspense before his first on-screen appearance. In January 2002, Akiyama joined the '' Final Fantasy XII'' project as event director in charge of such aspects as camera movements, voice-overs and motions. When Yasumi Matsuno stepped down as the game's director in mid-2005, he expressed his high confidence in the remaining team members, among them Akiyama. Many of the story ideas that Akiyama came up with alongside scenario writer

Daisuke Watanabe is a Japanese video game writer employed by Square Enix. He is mostly known for his work on the role-playing video game series ''Final Fantasy'' and the action role-playing video game, action RPG series ''Kingdom Hearts''. Career Watanabe fir ...

had to be abandoned in order to finish the game on time. For a time, Akiyama was the event planning director of ''Final Fantasy Versus XIII'' (which was later reworked into '' Final Fantasy XV'').

Works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akiyama, Jun Final Fantasy designers Japanese video game designers Living people Video game writers Square Enix people 1973 births