Award a ‘thank you to Kodama-san and all creators who work so hard’
Rieko Kodama is widely considered as the first lady of RPGs. Having worked with Sega for nearly 40 years now, Kodama has helped bring to life such series as Phantasy Star, Alex Kidd, and Skies of Arcadia. To say her work is classic is underselling it. For the 19th annual Game Developer’s Choice Awards, Kodama-san will be receiving the “Pioneer Award” for her contributions to the industry.
In a statement given to Gamasutra, GDC’s general manager Katie Stern wrote, “After decades spent developing some of SEGA’s most indelible classics, Kodama-san could easily rest on her laurels, but instead has dedicated herself to creating games that transcend gender and generations to give us countless hours of joy. This award is a ‘thank you’ to Kodama-san and all creators who work so hard to achieve greatness.”
The ceremony will be taking place on March 20, 2019, at 6:30 pm PST. It will be held at the San Francisco Moscone Center as a part of the 2019 Game Developers Conference. Anyone with a pass to GDC 2019 will be able to attend. If you’d like to learn more about Kodama-san’s career, you can check out an interview I had with her last year by clicking this link.
Trailblazing Sega dev Rieko Kodama to be honored with Pioneer Award at GDC 2019! [Gamasutra]
