Developer highlights
May 3, 2023 1:48:54 GMT -5
Post by toei on May 3, 2023 1:48:54 GMT -5
In which we discuss anybody we want to in the industry. I already do this all the time, might as do it in a more focused way. Hopefully others will want to discuss other developers I don't know much about, from more modern games (PS3/360 era, let's say), Western computer game developers, etc.
Today I wanted to highlight Katsuhiro Hasegawa, often credited as The Hase. Who is The Hase? Just the guy who directed & designed basically like half of the Game Gear library. He started at Sega as a programmer in 1984. The first game he directed was the unremarkable The Last Battle on the Genesis. From that point on, he was basically the key figure in the system Sega set up to supply the Game Gear with software. Between having to support the Genesis at a time when Nintendo still had most of the third party support, all while still being one of the biggest arcade company, their staff was spread thin; they often needed external help to develop Game Gear games, and Master System games for the European market. But more often than not, they didn't want to leave those games entirely up to subcontractors, so they would have people at Sega actually design the game and supervise development, while contracting the coding out to companies like Aspect. From what I can tell, all the 8-bit Sonic games were actually designed by Sega (this is worth pointing out as most sites like mobygames and gamefaqs typically attribute them solely to Aspect and Ancient), though the programming was often outsourced. But it goes beyond that. The most prolific 8-bit game designer at Sega in the '90s, by far, was Hasegawa. Some of the games he directed:
The GG Shinobi (co-designed with Masahide Kobayashi, who directed the sequel)
Sonic Triple Trouble
Batman Returns
Coca-Cola Kid
Tails Adventure
Sylvan Tale
Royal Stone
Legend of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (GG)
Asterix and the Secret Mission
Kenyu Densetsu Yaiba (this is a good Game Gear side scroller, Japan-only)
Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift 2
Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
The full list is longer; he lead 3 to 4 developments a year from 1991 to 1995. Afterwards he became a producer, starting with Zenki, and apparently was a key member of the mobile division as of most recent news. He also worked on the Sega CD strategy game Dark Wizard.
Even though a few of those games are weaker (Ax Battler, Sonic Drift - though I don't think racing games were ever going to be great on the GG or GB), there are many quality titles in there. Probably like 50 to 60% of the good games on the GG were directed, designed or co-designed by him. I don't know of any other system's library on which a single man has had so much impact.
Today I wanted to highlight Katsuhiro Hasegawa, often credited as The Hase. Who is The Hase? Just the guy who directed & designed basically like half of the Game Gear library. He started at Sega as a programmer in 1984. The first game he directed was the unremarkable The Last Battle on the Genesis. From that point on, he was basically the key figure in the system Sega set up to supply the Game Gear with software. Between having to support the Genesis at a time when Nintendo still had most of the third party support, all while still being one of the biggest arcade company, their staff was spread thin; they often needed external help to develop Game Gear games, and Master System games for the European market. But more often than not, they didn't want to leave those games entirely up to subcontractors, so they would have people at Sega actually design the game and supervise development, while contracting the coding out to companies like Aspect. From what I can tell, all the 8-bit Sonic games were actually designed by Sega (this is worth pointing out as most sites like mobygames and gamefaqs typically attribute them solely to Aspect and Ancient), though the programming was often outsourced. But it goes beyond that. The most prolific 8-bit game designer at Sega in the '90s, by far, was Hasegawa. Some of the games he directed:
The GG Shinobi (co-designed with Masahide Kobayashi, who directed the sequel)
Sonic Triple Trouble
Batman Returns
Coca-Cola Kid
Tails Adventure
Sylvan Tale
Royal Stone
Legend of Illusion starring Mickey Mouse
The Lost World: Jurassic Park (GG)
Asterix and the Secret Mission
Kenyu Densetsu Yaiba (this is a good Game Gear side scroller, Japan-only)
Sonic Drift
Sonic Drift 2
Ax Battler: A Legend of Golden Axe
The full list is longer; he lead 3 to 4 developments a year from 1991 to 1995. Afterwards he became a producer, starting with Zenki, and apparently was a key member of the mobile division as of most recent news. He also worked on the Sega CD strategy game Dark Wizard.
Even though a few of those games are weaker (Ax Battler, Sonic Drift - though I don't think racing games were ever going to be great on the GG or GB), there are many quality titles in there. Probably like 50 to 60% of the good games on the GG were directed, designed or co-designed by him. I don't know of any other system's library on which a single man has had so much impact.
