Hiroshi Ono, better known as Mr Dotman died last October 16. We are talking about a practically legendary figure within Bandai Namco, in which he held the position of graphic designer for years. For the company, the creative has created many of his most iconic designs: among the games he has worked on are Dig Dug, Xevious, Pac-Man, Galaga, Mappy and Pole Position.
Hiroshi Ono: Pac-Man designer is dead
Ono joined Namco in 1979, just as the company was preparing to enter its golden age of arcade video games. During his career he created some of the most iconic sprites the company has ever seen for Namco, such as Pac-Man, however, without obtaining almost any recognition, given that at that time the “credits” were not a consolidated practice in the industry.
In the company his creative flair was immediately noticed, it is no coincidence that the creator of Galaga, Shigeru Yokoyama, nicknamed him Mr. Dotman, due to his way of creating sprites from the pixels that compose them. The designer passed away at the age of only 67, after a long period of hospitalization due to a form of autoimmune hepatitis, with which he fought a long battle.
Just last year the editorial staff of Kotaku reported the theft of one of the original works by Mr. Dotman, who has not yet appeared on the web yet, although fans are apparently monitoring several auction sites to find out if the thief intends to put it up for sale.
In any case Hiroshi Ono helped define one of the eras of the video game, his brilliant art and designs. If you love video games, no doubt you have come across some of his most iconic works, perhaps without knowing it. What better time then to try to get to know one of the most influential designers of all time? In this regard, a documentary on Ono’s life is currently in production.