Akira Ueda
Japanese Game Designer, Director and Background Visual Artist
Akira Ueda is a Japanese game designer, director, graphic artist and composer. He gained experience at Square, Love-de-Lic and Grasshopper Manufacture, and currently develops games through audio inc., the company he founded.
Career
Ueda joined Square in 1990, where he primarily worked on background and map design. His notable credits include Secret of Mana and Super Mario RPG.
In 1995, he participated in the founding of the independent game development company Love-de-Lic alongside his colleague Kenichi Nishi, Kazuyuki Kurashima and others. There, he applied the background and map design experience he had gained at Square to the development of the studio’s early games. Love-de-Lic became known for its original worlds and ideas that went beyond conventional game design.
In 1999, Ueda left Love-de-Lic and joined Grasshopper Manufacture. While continuing to work on background and map design, he directed Shining Soul II, expanding his work into game direction.
He subsequently directed Michigan and the Nintendo DS title Contact. In addition to directing Contact, he contributed to its initial planning, scenario, UI design, and background and map design.
After leaving Grasshopper Manufacture in 2005, Ueda founded audio inc. in January 2006. At the company, he works on game planning, design and graphics, and has released games primarily for the Nintendo DS. One of his representative works is Sakura Note: Ima ni Tsunagaru Mirai.
Selected Credits
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Final Fantasy IV | Sound Effects |
| 1993 | Secret of Mana | Background and Map Design |
| 1996 | Super Mario RPG | Background and Map Design |
| 1997 | moon | Background and Map Design, Planning |
| 1999 | UFO -A day in the life- | Background and Map Design |
| 2001 | Flower, Sun, and Rain | 3D Map Design |
| 2002 | Shining Soul | Development Director, Background and Map Design |
| 2003 | Shining Soul II | Director, Planning, Scenario, Background and Map Design |
| 2004 | Michigan | Director (Support) |
| 2006 | Contact | Director, Initial Planning, Scenario, Background and Map Design |
| 2007 | デルトラクエスト 7つの宝石 | Director, Background and Map Design |
| 2008 | 魔人探偵脳噛ネウロ ネウロと弥子の美食三昧 | Director, Background Design |
| 2009 | Sakura Note: Ima ni Tsunagaru Mirai | Director, Planning, Background and Map Design |
| 2012 | Paper Mario: Sticker Star | Level Design |
| 2013 | 電波人間のRPG2 | UI Design |
| 2013 | KORG M01・M01D | UI Design |
| 2013 | NEUMAN KEYBOARD | UI Planning and Design for a Prototype Synthesizer Panel |
| 2017 | まなビューア（デジタル教科書） | UI Planning and Design |
| 2024 | Original RPG (in development) | Director, Initial Planning and Scenario, Background and Map Design |
Selected Works as Director
- Shining Soul II
- Contact
- Sakura Note: Ima ni Tsunagaru Mirai
Ueda began his career in graphic production, focusing on background and map design, and gradually expanded his work into game direction, planning and scenario writing. Through his experience at a major game company, independent development studios and his own company, he has worked across a variety of settings within the Japanese game development industry.
Location:
🇯🇵 – Tokyo
