Ojiro Fumoto, also known by his pseudonym Moppin, is a Japanese indie game developer. He is best known for developing the games Downwell and Poinpy, as well as his contributions to UFO 50.
Career
editFumoto had graduated in opera singing at the Tokyo University of the Arts in 2014.[1] However, after reading about Rami Ismail's "game-a-week" article on Gamasutra, Fumoto canceled his studies in order to further pursue game development.[2] After completing his thirteenth project, Fumoto decided to flesh out the idea further, eventually turning into Downwell. The game was met with critical acclaim, and received many awards such as Destructoid's best Mobile Game of 2015 award.[3][4]
Fumoto announced in January 2018 that he had started working for Nintendo, saying "I'll do my best".[5] It is believed that his success with Downwell was a large factor in his hiring.[6] Fumoto previously stated that "[i]t was super fun developing games as indie" and that he "[could not] wait to see what it's like to develop games as part of a bigger team."[7] At the beginning of 2019, Fumoto announced he had quit his job at Nintendo and returned to indie development.[8]
His next game, Poinpy, was designed partly in response to the reception of Downwell.[9] It was released in 2022 to positive reviews. Sometime between 2017 and 2024, Fumoto also contributed development work to the mass game compilation UFO 50. He spent a half-year on the development team, directing Seaside Drive and working on various other games.[10] UFO 50 released September 18, 2024 to critical acclaim.
Works
edit| Date | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Downwell | Director | |
| 2019 | Ring Fit Adventure | Minigame design | |
| 2020 | Spelunky 2 | Voice talent | |
| 2022 | Poinpy | Director | |
| 2024 | UFO 50 | Director of Seaside Drive | Various additional development |
References
edit- ^ Ellison, Cara (11 April 2014). "The Japanese Developer Of Downwell Used To Be An Opera Singer". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Crecente, Brian (23 March 2015). "Here's the one-dev, 8-month, 'gunboot' game that won over PAX East". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ "Nominees | The Game Awards 2015". The Game Awards. Ola Balola. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 14 November 2015. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
- ^ Ellison, Cara (31 October 2014). "Embed With... Ojiro Fumoto". Embed with Games. Archived from the original on 18 October 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015.
- ^ Kerr, Chris (23 January 2018). "Downwell creator Ojiro 'Moppin' Fumoto has joined Nintendo". Gamasutra. UBM TechWeb. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ Tucker, Kevin (23 January 2018). "Downwell Developer Ojiro Fumoto Joins Nintendo". Shacknews. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ Sarkar, Samit (23 January 2018). "Downwell creator joins Nintendo". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ Fumoto, Ojiro [@OjiroFumoto] (January 1, 2019). "I was working at Nintendo for most of 2018 but I quit at the end of the year to pursue being an indie dev again. Working there was an incredible experience but ultimately I found my passion to simply be making a thing I want to make. So yeah, I'll get working on that this year!" (Tweet). Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Kyle Hilliard (19 July 2022). "You Might Be The Bad Guy In Poinpy According To Its Creator". GameSpot. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
- ^ Castle, Katharine (28 February 2024). "After seven years, Spelunky creator's retro compilation UFO 50 will release in the second half of 2024". Rock Paper Shotgun.