Rieko Kodama, one of the crucial vital builders within the historical past of each Sega and the broader role-playing style, has died on the age of 59.
As IGN report, she truly handed away again in Might, however her dying was not introduced publicly by the corporate on the time. Followers lately found a tribute to Kodama within the credit part of the Mega Drive Mini 2, nonetheless, prompting Sega producer Yosuke Oskunari to substantiate the unhappy information.
Her contributions to Sega’s catalogue of basic titles and sequence was immense. Starting with the corporate in 1984, she would work on the whole lot from design to pixel artwork, and spent the her early profession on sequence like Alex Kidd and Fantasy Zone.
She was then the principal artist on the unique Phantasy Star, and would preserve engaged on the sequence by its sequels, rising to the function of director by the fourth recreation.
Her different notable works embrace Dreamcast basic Skies of Arcadia, which she once more led improvement on, whereas she additionally contributed as an artist to video games like the primary two Sonic titles and Altered Beast.
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Kodama could also be greatest remembered, although, for her pioneering work as a outstanding lady in video games improvement, for which she has been labelled “The First Woman of RPGs” (and certainly was awarded the Pioneer Award at GDC 2018), and leaves behind a legacy of characters and video games that have been designed for everybody, not simply historically male audiences.
“I often don’t suppose to make video games strictly for a feminine viewers, myself, however I feel my RPGs appeal to a bigger feminine viewers”, she as soon as mentioned in an interview. “Violent, war-themed titles appear to draw an overwhelmingly male viewers. I feel if firms wish to get extra ladies to play their video games, they need to preserve this in thoughts.
