Rieko Kodama, one of the necessary 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 really 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, nevertheless, prompting Sega producer Yosuke Oskunari to substantiate the unhappy information.
Her contributions to Sega’s catalogue of traditional titles and sequence was immense. Starting with the corporate in 1984, she would work on every thing 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 maintain engaged on the sequence by way of its sequels, rising to the position of director by the fourth recreation.
Her different notable works embody Dreamcast traditional 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 finest remembered, although, for her pioneering work as a distinguished 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 had been designed for everybody, not simply historically male audiences.
“I normally don’t assume to make video games strictly for a feminine viewers, myself, however I believe my RPGs entice a bigger feminine viewers”, she as soon as stated in an interview. “Violent, war-themed titles appear to draw an overwhelmingly male viewers. I believe if corporations wish to get extra women to play their video games, they need to maintain this in thoughts.