March 16, 1963, marked the birth of Eiji Aonuma in Nagano, Japan. He serves as a senior officer within the Entertainment Planning and Development division at Nintendo. His career in the video game industry spans decades, primarily defined by his long-term production and design contributions to the Legend of Zelda franchise, a role he has held since 1998.
Academic Background and Early Career
Aonuma graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts in 1988, holding a master's degree in composition design. His early creative focus involved constructing animated puppets known as karakuri. Following his graduation, he participated in an interview at Nintendo where he presented his university portfolio to Shigeru Miyamoto. Although he lacked prior experience playing video games, he was hired by the company.
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Early assignments at Nintendo focused on graphic design tasks, including the creation of sprites for the 1991 NES Open Tournament Golf. By 1996, he served as the director for the Super NES game Marvelous: Mōhitotsu no Takarajima. Miyamoto subsequently recruited Aonuma to the Zelda development team. He contributed to The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time as both a dungeon designer and game scenario director. His directorial debut for the series occurred with The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.
Franchise Leadership and Development
Following his contributions to The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Aonuma considered transitioning to different projects. Miyamoto persuaded him to remain with the series. Aonuma has since directed or produced a long list of titles, including The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Phantom Hourglass, Spirit Tracks, Link's Crossbow Training, Skyward Sword, A Link Between Worlds, Breath of the Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom. In June 2019, he became a deputy general manager at the Entertainment Planning & Development division, attaining the rank of senior officer by 2023.
Extracurricular Interests and Awards
Outside of his primary duties in game development, Aonuma is a musician. He is a founding member of the Wind Wakers, a brass band established in 1995 that consists of more than 70 Nintendo employees and performs periodically. His contributions to the industry have earned him a lifetime achievement award at the 2016 Golden Joystick Awards. Furthermore, he was distinguished as a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.
Fast facts
- Born: 1963, Nagano, Japan
- Education: Tokyo University of the Arts
- Employer: Nintendo
- First Zelda project: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
- Music: Founding member of the Wind Wakers
- Awards: Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres
- Current role: Senior officer, Nintendo EPD
Questions readers ask
Did Eiji Aonuma play video games before joining Nintendo?
No, he had not played video games prior to his employment at Nintendo. He became familiar with the medium after his girlfriend introduced him to titles by Yuji Horii.
What was Aonuma's initial creative focus at university?
He studied composition design and worked on the creation of animated puppets referred to as karakuri.
Achievements
- Affiliated with Nintendo
- Educated at Tokyo University of the Arts
- Worked as game designer, computer scientist and video game developer
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