Keiji Inafune: Mega Man, Soul Sacrifice, Yaiba: Ninja Gaiden Z

by Andrew Schartmann, Carly A. Kocurek (Editor), Jennifer deWinter (Editor)

Overview

This book explores Keiji Inafune's unique and controversial approach to video game design by breaking down his prolific output into seven key concepts.

Keiji Inafune is a polarizing figure in the video game community. While some view his work on Capcom's Mega Man series as a pivotal contribution to the gaming industry, others question his very claim to the title of game designer. No matter one's stance, however, Inafune's work inspires passionate discussions about video game design and its history.

In this book, Andrew Schartmann explores seven core principles that permeate Inafune's output and constitute his creative “voice.” He also draws on Inafune's controversial persona to probe the very definition of “video game designer”-a term problematized by the collaborative aspect of game design and the industry's Wonka-esque obsession with secrecy. With high-profile games like Mega Man, Street Fighter and Resident Evil, Inafune's repertoire provides an ideal lens through which to explore the nuts and bolts of game design and the many forces that shape it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798765120569
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	02/20/2025
Series:	Influential Video Game Designers
Pages:	160
Product dimensions:	5.45(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Andrew Schartmann is a faculty member at the New England Conservatory, USA. In 2017, he was named Audio Director of Yale's Play4Real lab, where he produces sound and music for virtual-reality video games. He taught previously at McGill and Yale, USA, and currently serves as the Associate Editor of DSCH Journal.

Carly A. Kocurek is Assistant Professor of Digital Humanities and Media Studies at Illinois Institute of Technology, US, and researches the history and cultural practices of video gaming in the United States, and teaches courses on game studies, media studies, and digital humanities. Her current manuscript chronicles the development of early video game culture and gamer identity around the video game arcade during the 1970s and 1980s.

Jennifer deWinter is Assistant Professor of Rhetoric and Interactive Media and Game Development at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, US, where she researches computer production and global circulation. deWinter is particularly interested in the cross media vampirism of entertainment media, with a focus on computer games and Japan. She is currently co-editing a book on the intersection of technical communication and games and is working with Steven Conway on a book about video game policy.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgements

1. Businessman or Creator?
2. Invention and Reinvention
3. International Gaming
4. An Industry's End?
5. Inafune's New Co(m)cept

Gameography
Works Cited
Index

Editorial Reviews

Schartmann takes an intriguing look at Keiji Inafune, one of the Japanese games industry's most influential, and controversial, figures. The book effectively analyses Inafune's contributions to many of gaming's most well-known series while also attempting to disentangle his dual roles as both a game designer and businessman. A valuable read for anyone interested in a more in-depth look at the Japanese games industry and its relationship with the West.” —Ryan Scheiding, Assistant Professor of Digital Media (Game Design & Game Studies), Georgia Institute of Technology, USA

From the Publisher