Hideki Kamiya, a Japanese game designer at Platinum Games, has been fundamental in the creation of some of videogames' most renowned franchises. Kamiya is well known for making difficult gamers' games and for taking heyday formulas and reinvigorating them by adding stylish gameplay and unique art direction. He has been involved in few games, but all of them have added to his quickly increasing notoriety.
Although he is credited with introducing several new elements to Resident Evil 2 that distinguished it from the first title, his innovations with the intended fourth Resident Evil stood out to the point that the title ultimately had to be released as a completely different franchise1: Devil May Cry introduced gamers to what has become Kamiya's trademark; it incorporated the concept of "style" directly into the gameplay, allowing what was otherwise a fairly standard 3D action game to be imbued with a sense of freshness.
Kamiya was involved in founding the Capcom offshoot Clover Studio, where he directed the critically acclaimed Gamecube platform/beat-em-up Viewtiful Joe. In 2006, Clover Studio released Okami, acclaimed for art direction that raised eyebrows across the industry.
After Clover Studio disbanded, Kamiya founded Platinum Games along with Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami. One of the first games to be developed at the new development house was Bayonetta, another stylish action game in the vein of Devil May Cry.
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