Yoshitaka Amano

One of the things that really got me interested in video games at a young age was the artwork that went into them. As a kid, I remember spending hours looking at the illustrations and concept art that were spread throughout the booklets that came with the games--particularly those of Final Fantasy games. Anyone who knows anything about Final Fantasy knows that the games' visual designs and graphics are some of the best out there. One of the people largely responsible for the series' prestigious aesthetic is Yoshitaka Amano who has been contributing artwork to the games since Square Enix very first started making them.

While Tetsuya Nomura has more or less taken over the art scene since Final Fantasy VII was made back in the mid-90's, Amano is still involved and is still the series' "title logo designer", among other things. With every new FF title that comes out, there's usually at least half-a-dozen new illustrations of his to go with it.

Amano is by far one of my favorite artists of all time. I fell in love with his work when I was just a kid and as I've gotten older, I've only grown more and more impressed by it. While he has lots of amazing stuff that has nothing to do with Final Fantasy, the series has no doubt helped him spread his wings as an artist. Well, enough of me talking about it...have a look for yourself:

All images were found on GiantBomb.com and are the property of Yoshitaka Amano/Square Enix.

2010/2011

First and foremost, I hope everyone enjoyed their New Year's Eve/Day and that 2011 sends lots of good things your way. Before it gets too late into 2011, I feel it wise to do a bit of reflecting on 2010 and maybe even share a few of my aspirations and plans for the new year. In list form, of course.

I don't know about everyone else, but 2010 was definitely an eventful year for me, but I somehow made it out alive. While my sanity was unquestionably stretched a bit thin at times, there were parts of 2010 that I enjoyed:

• Starting up this blog--it's helped me clarify a lot of my thoughts, opinions, and aspirations. It's also given me something to keep myself busy with.
• Playing lots of cool games like Fallout 3, Final Fantasy XIII, Team Fortress 2, Starcraft II, etc.
• Getting a (temporary) job at GameStop.
• Developing a comprehensive portfolio complete with artwork, gameplay overviews, and character descriptions.
• Joining and becoming an admin for the awesome gaming community, Addiction to Gaming.
• And last but not least, applying to and being accepted at Tribeca Flashpoint for their game development program.

As for 2011, I have a few exciting goals and plans on the horizon:

• Keep up with this blog and get even more familiar with video games and the industry as a whole.
• Continue to work on my portfolio and further develop my game ideas.
• Acquire a PS2/PSP.
• Play more games and keep up with big releases...study said games.
• Move to the city and start taking classes at Flashpoint in downtown Chicago, this September.

Lastly, having been out of a console for a large part of the year, I have a list of the games of 2010 that I missed out on but plan on getting to in the very near future:

• Bioshock 2 (and the first Bioshock, for that matter)
• Fallout: New Vegas
• Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood (and the first two Assassin's Creed games)
• Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep
• God of War III (as well as God of War and God of War II)
• Red Dead Redemption
• Heavy Rain
• And probably many others.

Well, that's about all for this post. I hope every one has a happy new year and expect some sort of game review from me soon.