Team Shanghai Alice


Team Shanghai Alice is a Japanese dōjin game developer based in Tokyo. Since 1995, the sole member of the group, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has self-published and independently developed the Touhou Project bullet hell series, also collaborating with various circles in the production of related works. Prior to 2002, he used the name "ZUN Soft".

Name

According to ZUN, the name "Shanghai Alice" was chosen to fit the overall theme of the Touhou Project. "Shanghai", to him, is a multicultural city where Western and Oriental styles meet, and "Alice" evokes a feminine or gothic lolita feeling. "Fantasy Ensemble" stems from ZUN's unsuccessful attempt to register the group as a music circle for Comiket 61 in December 2001; he decided to keep the name while applying as a game circle for Comiket 62, where he would release Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.

Productions

Games

Music CDs

ZUN's Music Collection
Akyu's Untouched Score
Collaborations with Twilight Frontier
Team Shanghai Alice consists of a single member, ZUN, who serves as the programmer, writer, artist, and composer for the group's productions. His real name is Jun'ya Ōta; he picked the pseudonym due to its similarity to his given name. He was born on March 18, 1977, in Hakuba, Nagano, and is well known among fans for his fondness of beer and his penchant for wearing flat caps. He has sometimes playfully referred to himself as the "Hakurei Kannushi". In 2012, ZUN revealed that he had recently married a programmer, with whom he has 2 children.
His interest in creating music began in elementary school, when his parents gifted him an Electone as a birthday present. In junior high school, he played the trumpet in a brass band and began composing his own music. In 1995, he began developing a series of bullet hell video games under the name "ZUN Soft" while studying mathematics at Tokyo Denki University. The games, which would become the first five entries in the Touhou Project series, were developed for NEC PC-9800 personal computers and published by Amusement Makers, a student video game development club:
After graduating in 1999, ZUN was hired by as a video game programmer by Taito Corporation. He is credited in the production of several titles:
During this period, he contributed soundtracks to several games developed by his junior classmates in Amusement Makers, notably the Seihou Project, a series of bullet hell games for Microsoft Windows by Shunsatsu sare do?. The series was intended as a counterpart to the Touhou Project, featuring highly similar gameplay as well as cameo appearances by Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, and Yuuka Kazami:
In 2007, he left his job at Taito Corporation to focus on the development of the Touhou Project. Later that year, ZUN provided programming for Uwabami Breakers, a beer-themed bullet hell game published by "The Drinking Party". The game uses the same engine as Mountain of Faith and shares many similar gameplay features, including a "Beer Gauge" that increases shot power based on damage dealt.
In addition to the Touhou Project games, ZUN has provided writing for several official Touhou Project print works, produced in collaboration with various illustrators and publishers:
Rarely, ZUN has collaborated in the production of unofficial Touhou works, creating tracks for two fangames and four dōjin albums:
Since December 2009, ZUN has written the monthly column "Which Came First, Hakurei Kannushi's Games or Beer?", in which he discusses his favorite locations for food and beer, his daily life, game development, and topics related to the Touhou Project. The columns are often accompanied by photos and/or guest artist illustrations; it was serialized in Comptiq magazine until July 2013, and in Comp Ace since September 2013.