ZUN (video game developer)
You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (February 2022) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
Jun'ya Ōta | |
---|---|
太田 順也 | |
Born | |
Other names | ZUN, Hakurei Kannushi |
Occupation(s) | Video game developer, writer, composer |
Notable work | Touhou Project |
Children | 2 |
Jun'ya Ōta (太田 順也, Ōta Jun'ya), known by his
Early and personal life
ZUN was born in
ZUN's first interest in developing video games came during his high school years.[6] While most shoot 'em up games utilise a military or science fiction theme, ZUN wanted a game with a miko main character and a Shinto aesthetic.[7] ZUN was part of his school's orchestra club, and originally wanted to create music for video games. As he did not know anybody else who was making games that he could put his music in, he made his own games for this purpose. Around 2001, he applied to Comiket as a music group under the name of Shanghai Alice Ensemble, but was rejected.[8]
In 2012, ZUN married a mobile game programmer,[9] whom he has a son and daughter with.[10]
ZUN likes to drink beer, and has said that he drinks at least once a day.[11] He has created his own beer (sometimes called Touhou beer), and written reviews for beers in Comptiq.[8] His favourite brand is Kirin.[12]
Career
ZUN attended
After university, ZUN worked as a programmer at Taito from 1998 to 2007. He got the position by showing his interviewer the Touhou games he had created, after which, he was hired immediately. During his career at Taito, ZUN helped work on Greatest Striker, Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color, Bujingai, Graffiti Kingdom and Exit, as well as some other games that were ultimately cancelled.[14] He left as he did not enjoy working at the company, and Touhou was already successful enough for him to make a living from it.[9] However, he did not initially plan for Touhou to become his life work.[15]
While the Touhou games were initially created as a passion project, ZUN found that they were very successful – the first games he sold were Highly Responsive to Prayers and its sequel, The Story of Eastern Wonderland, at the 1997
Design philosophy
ZUN has voiced criticism of the
ZUN works alone, and each Touhou game was created from the ground up, including the engine.[19] The only exception to this are the fighting games, the first of which was Immaterial and Missing Power, created in 2003 with dojin group Twilight Frontier. In the game's afterword, ZUN mentioned that he disliked having to manage other workers, and that he produced things "six times more comfortably" when doing so alone.[20]
In the addendum of Unfinished Dream of All Living Ghost (2023), ZUN lauded the efficiency of generative artificial intelligence (AI) but remarked that "the beasts are the ones building a world of mental enrichment and a palpable sense of life". He referred to the case where the means by which artists create passionately their dojin works, which he calls AI's "opposing symbol of imperfection, organicity, and the importance of 'the process' ...", cannot be comparable to AI works.[21]
ZUN has acknowledged that while the Touhou characters have elaborate stories, little detail is given to them in-game, saying that "danmaku is how the story and characters are communicated."[22] Additionally, he has claimed danmaku is meant to be beautiful and aesthetically pleasing, which is also the main reason why the majority of Touhou characters are female. ZUN believes there is a feminine charm to danmaku, which would be lost with male characters, and that the presence of female characters should not be interpreted as fan service.[23]
References
- ^ Helland, Christopher (2018). Geemu On! A Preliminary Study Of Indie And Doujin Game Development In Japan. Gamenvironments. p. 44.
- ^ "Interview with Touhou Project Founder and Creator, ZUN - Part 1". Otaku Mode. 26 December 2013.
- ^ a b "Wait, did ZUN do nothing but play video games before he entered university? An interview with ZUN, the creator of Touhou Project, about his life". Touhou Garakuta Magazine. Archived from the original on 2021-05-18. Retrieved 2021-05-10.
- ^ ZUN. Bohemian Archive in Japanese Red. p. 163.
- ^ Hidden Star in Four Seasons omake
- ^ Hou, Philip (2020-08-03). "Touhou Project: The Most Popular Game Franchise You Know Nothing About". CBR. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ Davison, Pete (8 June 2013). "Curtains for You: The History of Bullet Hell". US Gamer. Archived from the original on 9 October 2018. Retrieved 18 December 2020.
- ^ a b Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. p. 379.
- ^ a b Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. p. 377.
- ^ "Touhou Project Creator ZUN Gets Married". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2021-04-26.
- ^ "Interview with Touhou Project Founder and Creator, ZUN - Part 3". Otaku Mode. 28 December 2013.
- ^ "ZUN AWA Panel: Recap". Word Of The Nerd. 2013. Archived from the original on 2020-08-04.
- ^ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. p. 357.
- ^ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. pp. 367–370.
- ^ Lopez, Azario (26 August 2016). "Touhou Interview: Creator ZUN Talks Past, Present, and Future of his Touhou Project". Dualshockers.
- ^ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. p. 363.
- ^ Uhl, Will (2014-11-24). "The story of the Touhou sensation". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2021-08-08.
- ^ Mountain of Faith omake
- ^ Mackey, Bob (18 October 2016). "Interview: ZUN on 20 Years of Touhou Project". US Gamer. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ Immaterial and Missing Power omake
- ^ Lemus, Jean-Karlo (August 18, 2023). "Cirno Is Stronger Than AI". Column. Anime News Network. Archived from the original on January 6, 2024. Retrieved January 21, 2024.
- ^ Imperishable Night omake
- ^ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Japanese Game Developers. p. 362.
External links
- ZUN's blog (in Japanese)