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born January 12, 1968 is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, game programmer and trombone, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since 1989 when he founded it alongside Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori. In 2022, Masuda was appointed to be Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company.
With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated modern composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.
Masuda attended the Japan Electronics College, a technical school in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he studied computer graphics and the C programming language using a DEC Professional. His daughter Kiri was born in September 2002; he named a character in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire after her.
When the company first began releasing Pokémon titles, Masuda worked mainly as the composer, though he did minor programming work as well, and later began directing and producing them. His work on the first games included writing the program to play audio in the games, music, and sound effects. Masuda has been directly involved in the naming and design of many Pokémon. He has stated that one of the hardest aspects of design is making sure that a Pokémon's name and attributes will appeal to a global audience. Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Masuda has been one of the main employees who approve or reject designs for new Pokémon. He served as a member of the Game Freak board of directors.
On September 28, 2018, Masuda revealed that during the early years of developing Pokémon games, "game data was nearly lost in a computer crash". Masuda described it as "the most nerve-racking moment in development", saying "We were developing the game on these Unix computer stations called the Sun SPARCstation 1. We're developing, and they're these Unix boxes, and they crashed quite a bit."
On November 1, 2018, Masuda stated that would likely be his final time serving as director for the main series Pokémon games. The development torch to was passed to Shigeru Ohmori, who had previously assume lead director of Pokémon Sun and Moon. However afterwards, he served as a director for Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, developed by ILCA.
Masuda produced the Japanese ending themes "Pokémon Shiritori" and "Batsugun Type" for Pokémon Journeys with Japanese electronic group Pasocom Music Club.
On June 1, 2022, Masuda left Game Freak to The Pokémon Company, acting as Chief Creative Fellow.
Masuda's musical style draws from a number of sources, particularly classical music and the works of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich. His favorite musical genre is techno, and he has looked to the music of the Super Mario series as an example of video game music that works well. Most of his ideas draw inspiration from simply observing real life and visualizing how he would design or draw outside objects. As a rule, he does not use previous characters as inspirations for new ones, instead creating each new one from independent sources.
Influences and style
Masuda approaches each of his games with the mindset that a beginner should be able to easily play it. In view of this, his games begin in an easily approachable and accessible style, with more layers of complexity being introduced as the player progresses through the game. He believes that handheld systems provide an opportunity for social interaction that cannot be found on non-handheld console systems. He has stated that the continued use of 2D computer graphics has been integral to Pokémon's success.
Works
Bazaru de Gozaru no Game de Gozaru Programmer Sub director, game design, music, sound effects Pokémon Stadium Advisor Pokémon Emerald World director, game design, battle music, plot scenario Pokémon Diamond and Pearl Director, battle music, plot scenario Pokémon Platinum Producer, battle music, plot scenario Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver Producer, music Pokémon Black and White Director, producer, battle music, world & plot HarmoKnight General producer Pocket Card Jockey General producer Pokémon X and Y Director, producer, battle music, world & plot Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire Producer Pokémon Rumble World Game design advisor Pokémon Picross Pokémon Go Music, game design assistance Pokémon Sun and Moon Producer, battle music Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon Producer, battle music Director, general producer, original music, concept Pokémon Sword and Shield Producer Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Supervisor, music Categories: 1968 Births, Japanese Composers, Japanese Male Composers, Japanese Trombonists, Japanese Video Game Composers, Japanese Video Game Directors, Japanese Video Game Producers, Japanese Video Game Programmers, Living People, Male Trombonists, Musicians From Yokohama, Nintendo People, Pokémon People
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