Kenij Eno, unorthodox game creator, passes away

Kenji Eno, designer of the Sega Saturn titles D and Enemy Zero starring digital actress Laura, passed away on Wednesday from heart failure. He was 42.

A musician with a passion for game scores, he wrote original music for Sega Rally 2 and D. He later convinced film composer Michael Nyman to compose for games after a single chance meeting.

Eno hand delivered Nyman's soundtrack to Enemy Zero, with the game and a crate of extras, to twenty customers who purchased the exorbitantly priced special edition of the title. The publicity stunt made it into the Guinness World Records for "Most Exclusive Limited Edition."

Below, Eno covers "Ruby Ring" by Akira Terao with his band Norway, followed by a Christmas rendition of the Dragon Quest Overture
by Koichi Sugiyama. Also, One-Dot Enemies for iOS devices
can be downloaded digitally from the iTunes Store, among the designer's
last published works.

An obituary and expansive 2008 interview by Shane Bettenhausen and James Mielke can be read on 1UP.com, which, incidentally, announced today that the website is closing.

1UP - Game Industry Loses an Exceptional Individual

1UP - Japan's Wayward Son