Game Developer Memorials Project

[CaptainCommando]

Hi folks. In addition to my interest in videogame music, I also help out with the IGDA on the Game Preservation SIG. One of the things I do is run the Game Developer Memorials Project, designed to remember the lives and work of deceased game developers. I recently noticed on the Slightly Dark forum that Kentaro Haneda passed away two years ago.

Does anyone have information they would like to help contribute to his Memorial?

http://www.igda.org/wiki/Memorials/Kentaro_Haneda

Likewise, if you know of any other game developer, particularly composers, who have passed away, please let us know of them as well.

Thank you for any help you can give.

-Devin Monnens

[Datschge]

I'd suggest Akihiko Mori who was a rising star at the sound company Mint in 1994 with "Shien the Blade Chaser", turned out to do pretty much all of the company's output after that doing the sound design, composing "Seifuku Densetsu Pretty Fighter", "Wonder Project J", "Mystic Ark", "Kidou Senshi Z-Gundam: Away to the Newtype", "Gokinjo Bouken Tai" and "Wonder Project J 2" and arranging "Shonen Ninja Sasuke", "Bounty Sword" and "Lennus 2" until 1996 only to decease of cancer right thereafter.

[Cedille]

Hidehito Aoki was also dead.

[Gigablah]

I did a manual query of the database for artists with defined dates of death:

Manabu Saito - passed away Oct 1, 1992 at only 22 years of age. Thanks to EGG MUSIC much of his compositions were made available.
Takeo Miratsu - passed away Sep 5, 2006 due to liver cancer
Hiroshi Miyagawa - passed away Mar 21, 2006. He previously collaborated with Kentaro Haneda, albeit on anime scores.
Takanori Arisawa - passed away Nov 26, 2005 due to bladder cancer
Ingo Nugel - passed away March 5, 2007 from lymphoma. His wiki page has more on his discography.

[CHz]

Akihiko Mori is one of my very favorite composers.

Couple more:

Richard Joseph - passed away March 4, 2007, from lung cancer.
Saga Kazami - passed away Jun 28, 2007.

[the_miker]

Eri Kawai - the "voice" behind many of Yasunori Mitsuda's works.

-Mike

[Ramza]

wait...does anyone know how Kawai died? That's awful, I had no idea that happened!

EDIT - go wikipedia. Boo to cancer.

[Chris]

Kawai was extensively reported, but Aoki was quite a shock to me. Also, Shinobu Ogawa died last year. He was the main composer at Telenet Japan, which were very significant prior to the PSX era. I strongly suspect there are other VGM composers that have died that we don't know about as they hardly get reported otherwise.

[CaptainCommando]

Thank you guys for your help! I'll be sure to credit VGMdb as we build the project.

The large number of deceased composers makes me think there is an incredibly large number of developers from other areas left undocumented. It's amazing how many of these have been in recent years, too.

Send me a PM or email if you are interested in writing a biography/memorial on anyone for the project. I understand many people will have little information, especially the Japanese composers. However, every bit helps.