Naoto Ōshima (大島 直人 Ōshima Naoto) (January 26, 1964-) is a Japanese national and former Sega employee who designed the characters of Sonic the Hedgehog and Doctor Ivo Robotnik (Doctor Eggman). However, Yuji Naka and Hirokazu Yasuhara often get the credit for their work on the Sonic series, because of their close association with the Sonic name. Ōshima gained renown at Sega's Sonic Team for creating characters and playing integral roles in the development of games like Phantasy Star, Sonic CD, Nights into Dreams..., and Sonic Adventure.
After leaving Sonic Team, he formed an independent game company called Artoon, of which he is currently president. There he went on to work on such games as Pinobee and Blinx: The Time Sweeper, and in 2004, the sequel to Blinx, Blinx 2: Masters of Time & Space.
He is occasionally credited under the nickname "Big Island", which is a literal translation of his family name.
Production history
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- Wizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord (1987) — Graphic Programmer
- Kujakuo (1988) — Designer
- Phantasy Star (1988) — Designer
- Phantasy Star II (1989) — Designer
- Wizardry II: The Knight of Diamonds (1990) — Graphic Designer
- Wizardry III: Legacy of Llylgamyn (1990) — Graphic Designer
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) — Character Design
- Fatal Labyrinth (1991) — Designer
- Sonic Eraser (1991) — Special Thanks
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) — Original Character Design
- Wizardry V: Heart of the Maelstrom (1992) — Graphic Designer
- Sonic CD (1993) — Director
- SegaSonic the Hedgehog (1993) — Special Thanks
- Knuckles' Chaotix (1995) — Original Character Concept
- Hyper Athlete (1996) — 3D Background, Camera Work
- Sonic 3D Blast (1996) — Advisor
- NiGHTS into Dreams (1996) — Director, NiGHTS Designer
- Christmas NiGHTS (1996) — Director, Visual Designer
- Sonic R (1997) — Graphic Advisor
- Sonic Jam (1997) — Supervisor
- Burning Rangers (1998) — Director, Character Designer, Graphic Artist
- Sonic Adventure (1998) — Story Event Motion Designer, Story Event Coordinator, CG Movie Producer, Opening Movie Editor
- Silent Hill (1999) — Effect Programmer
- Kessen (2000) — Special Thanks (Sound)
- Pinobee: Wings of Adventure (2001) — Director
- Blinx: The Time Sweeper (2002) — Director
- The King of Fighters EX: Neo Blood (2002) — Art Director
- Silent Hill 3 (2003) — Effect Programmmer
- Blinx 2: Masters of Time and Space (2004) — Director
- Yoshi Topsy-Turvy (2004) — Producer
- Silent Hill 4: The Room (2004) — Camera Programmer
- Go fight cheer squad (2005) — Motion Capture
- Yoshi's Island DS (2006) — Producer
- Blue Dragon (2006) — Executive Producer
- Lost Odyssey (2007) — Special Thanks
- Away Shuffle Dungeon (2008) — Character Designer
