Takashi Oda (小田 隆志 Oda Takashi) is the creative director of the House of the Dead series, as well as the current planning manager for Sega R&D (formerly Sega AM1).[1]
Biography
Childhood and employment at Sega
Takashi Oda was born in Fukuoka, Japan in 1967. An avid arcade player growing up, he initially went to college for architecture and interior design. His friend, who was a graduate and Sega employee, inspired him to join Sega in 1992. Oda helped develop Astronomicon, an attraction for the Sega-affiliated theme park Joypolis in Osaka, Japan, before directing the arcade games Puzzle & Action: Treasure Hunt and Motor Raid.[2]
The House of the Dead series
As part of Sega AM1, Oda led development on a light gun game after sister group Sega AM2 released Virtua Cop in 1994.[3] AM1 decided upon a horror theme to distinguish themselves, choosing zombies as the main enemies for realism.[3] Oda stated that the team "[knew] they didn't want children playing this game".[4] He was influenced by the 1996 crime thriller film Seven[3][5] and the manga Black Jack, the latter of which had morally gray characters and storylines. The project, ultimately named The House of the Dead, was released in 1996 to critical and commercial success.
Oda directed three sequels: The House of the Dead 2 in 1998; The House of the Dead III in 2002; and The House of the Dead 4 in 2005. Another sequel, The House of the Dead 5, was shelved in 2012. After a hiatus, he directed Sega's second attempt at producing a fifth game, House of the Dead: Scarlet Dawn, which was released in 2018.[2]
Despite considering the cancelled House of the Dead 5 project a sixth "phantom" entry in the series, Oda instead wants to focus on future games, which may consist of three more mainline entries and a first-person shooter.[2]
Other work
Oda is not involved with The House of the Dead spin-off games; he lets their development teams create their own stories.[2] However, he was credited as a "creative supervisor" for The House of the Dead: Overkill, making story suggestions and sharing some "rules" of the House of the Dead series with developer Headstrong Games.[5]
He has also helped develop other arcade games, including Vampire Night, Rambo, Motor Raid, Brave Firefighters: Real Life Heroes, and Harley-Davidson: King of the Road.[5]
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References
- ↑ "セガ第一研究開発本部 〜 セガの考えるゲームプランナーとは？ R&D1運営室 企画統括マネージャー 小田隆志氏の場合 [SEGA First Research and Development Headquarters-What is SEGA's idea of a game planner? In the case of Takashi Oda, Planning Manager, R&D1 Administration Office] (Japanese). Career Laboratory (April 16, 2014). Archived from the original on April 11, 2020. Retrieved on September 7, 2020.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "代表作：『ザ・ハウス・オブ・ザ・デッド』シリーズ ディレクター" (Japanese) pp. 1-2. SEGA Interactive Inc.. Archived from the original on October 10th, 2019.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Interview: The House of the Dead", Sega Saturn Magazine, issue 23, September 1997, page 58.
- ↑ "The House of the Dead-1997 Developer Interview". shmupulations.com. “"Oda: "I did that because our target audience was adults and up. From the start of the project we knew we didn’t want children playing this game."”
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Kori (September 7, 2012). "Website of the Dead’s Exclusive Interview with Takashi Oda". The Website of the Dead. Archived from the original on April 19, 2020.
| v • eThe House of the Dead games | |
|---|---|
| Main series | The House of the Dead (remake) · 2 · III · 4 (Special) · Scarlet Dawn |
| Spin-offs | Zombie Revenge · The Typing of the Dead (2 · Overkill) · The Pinball of the Dead · English of the Dead · The House of the Dead: Overkill (Extended Cut) · EX · Darts of the Dead · Scarlet Dawn (Battle Genesis · THE ATTRACTION) |
| Prototypes | The House of the Dead (arcade prototype · Sega Saturn prototype) · 2 (Original Sin prototype) · Scarlet Dawn (location test builds) |
| Compilations | 2 & 3 Return |
| Mobile games | Mobile · Nightmare · Zombie Utsu: Flick of the Dead · Overkill: The Lost Reels |
| Non-HOD games | Vampire Night · Sega Golden Gun · Sonic and Sega All-Stars Racing |
| Developers | Sega · Namco · Forever Entertainment · MegaPixel Studio · TA Publishing |
| Staff | Takashi Oda · Benjamin Anseaume · Zbigniew Dębicki |
