{"rewrite":{"id":"r_9ad6b8dbea9c8c63f5c4dfe5","clusterId":"c_31784e30d858bdce0a5b4c41","slug":"the-tower-of-druaga-character-designer-reveals-namco-s-mysterious-creative-center","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"The Tower of Druaga Character Designer Reveals Namco's Mysterious Creative Center","summary":"Yuichiro Shinozaki, the designer who created Gil, Kai, and Druaga for The Tower of Druaga in 1983, discusses his work in Namco's Creative Center-a department that handled corporate identity and advertising rather than game development. The interview accompanies the June 25 release of NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains, a voxel puzzle game featuring classic Namco characters.","whyItMatters":"The interview sheds light on a little-known Namco department that shaped the company's visual identity and produced character designs that remain in use 40 years later.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eYuichiro Shinozaki joined Namco in 1983 and was assigned to the Creative Center, a department under the president\u0026#39;s office that focused on corporate identity and advertising, not game development. His first major assignment was designing the characters Gil, Kai, and Druaga for The Tower of Druaga. Shinozaki recalls that at the time, game companies hired few graphic designers, but Namco was expanding after hits like Pac-Man. The interview was published alongside the June 25 release of NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains, a puzzle game from B\u0026#39;side that turns classic Namco characters into voxel art. Developer Kazunori Minami also participated in the conversation.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"Yuichiro Shinozaki, who designed The Tower of Druaga characters in 1983, reveals he worked in Namco's Creative Center-a department that handled corporate identity, not games. The interview marks the release of voxel puzzle game NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains.","twitterPost":"Yuichiro Shinozaki, designer of The Tower of Druaga's Gil, Kai, and Druaga, discusses his start in Namco's Creative Center-a department focused on corporate identity, not game development. The interview accompanies the release of NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"Yuichiro Shinozaki, the original character designer for The Tower of Druaga, shares his experience working in Namco's Creative Center-a department that handled corporate identity and advertising rather than game development. The interview was published alongside the June 25 release of NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains, a voxel puzzle game featuring classic Namco characters.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"Denfaminicogamer\",\"url\":\"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/interview/260625d\",\"title\":\"Why 'The Tower of Druaga' characters still 'stand sharp' in voxel form 40 years later: The secret behind Namco's golden age 'mysterious backroom department' revealed through 'NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains'\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4321,"outputTokens":623,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1782553471,"createdAt":"2026-06-27T09:38:25.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-06-27T09:40:24.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-27T09:40:24.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_31784e30d858bdce0a5b4c41","canonicalTitle":"『ドルアーガの塔』のキャラが40年後もボクセルで「バチッと立つ」理由は、ナムコ黄金期の「謎の裏方部署」にあった。『NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains』を機に明かされる、設計思想の正体","representativeArticleId":"a_29f13fb6fd872f5db76af3e7","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[\"The Tower of Druaga\",\"NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains\"],\"studios\":[\"Namco\"],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"news\",\"domain\":\"games\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-06-25T03:05:31.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-06-25T03:05:31.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-06-27T09:40:24.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"Denfaminicogamer","url":"https://news.denfaminicogamer.jp/interview/260625d","title":"『ドルアーガの塔』のキャラが40年後もボクセルで「バチッと立つ」理由は、ナムコ黄金期の「謎の裏方部署」にあった。『NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains』を機に明かされる、設計思想の正体"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":["The Tower of Druaga","NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains"],"studios":["Namco"],"people":[],"type":"news","domain":"games","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["Yuichiro Shinozaki joined Namco in 1983 and was assigned to the Creative Center, a department under the president's office that focused on corporate identity and advertising, not game development.","Shinozaki's first major assignment was designing the characters Gil, Kai, and Druaga for The Tower of Druaga, released in 1983.","The interview was published alongside the June 25 release of NAMCO LEGENDARY Mountains, a voxel puzzle game from B'side that features classic Namco characters.","Developer Kazunori Minami also participated in the conversation about the Creative Center and its work."]}