Introduction
Rieko Kodama, also known as Phoenix Rie, was a Japanese video game artist, director, and producer employed by Sega from 1984 until her death. She is primarily known for her work on role-playing video games including the original Phantasy Star series, the 7th Dragon series, and Skies of Arcadia (2000). She is often recognized as one of the first successful women in the video game industry.
Early Life and Career
Rieko Kodama was born in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, in May 1963. She enjoyed playing arcade games as a child. In high school, Kodama was interested in designing advertising materials. After entering college, she felt indecisive between pursuing studies in art or archaeology, since she carried an interest in Egyptology. In her indecisiveness, she failed in all of her classes. She remembered her original interest in advertising and decided to dedicate herself fully to her art passion, enrolling in an advertising design program at a trade school. She grew an interest in graphic design and wanted to pursue doing her own work rather than trumpeting works of others as in the advertising business. The video game industry caught her attention as an emerging field.
Kodama was hired by Sega in 1984 through one of her colleagues who was already employed there. She originally thought she was going to be working on advertising and graphic design but after seeing the game development department, she felt that would be fun as well. She learned how to create graphics from Yoshiki Kawasaki, the sprite artist behind Flicky (1984).
Cause of Death
According to a Sega statement to IGN , Kodama passed away in May 2022 at the age of 58-59 years old . No cause of death was given.
Legacy
Kodama worked on numerous significant projects for Sega throughout her 35-year career, including some of the studio’s most well-liked games. She received the Pioneer Award at the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards in recognition of her lifelong contributions to video games.
Conclusion
Rieko Kodama’s contributions to the gaming industry are immeasurable. Her work has inspired countless others and will continue to do so for years to come. Her passing is a great loss to the gaming community.
