Ikumi Nakamura, first GhostWire: Tokyo creative director who made a huge splash with his brief appearance at E3 2019, he’s finally ready to talk about opening his own game development studio after leaving Tango Gameworks in 2019. Properly, he did so while exploring some creepy, abandoned buildings.
During her interview with Cutscenes, a new YouTube channel created by an independent documentary filmmaker Archipelago and the Japanese games site GameSpark, Nakamura explains that the decision to give up her position at Tango Gameworks came out of concern for her health. While it was hard to get away from the finish GhostWire: Tokyo, a game that her child considers in a way, Nakamura felt she had to get out of the situation before it was too late.
“You can’t play games if you’re not healthy,” says Nakamura. “I started to wonder if there is a way for me to play games while I feel better. I was running away in a way. However, I think running can be very positive. Rather than mastering things on my own, I think running for something better is the healthiest choice. ”
Nakamura mentions that after leaving Tango Gameworks, she was flooded with messages, from encouragement notes to job offers. Eventually, she accepted several invitations from studios around the world to simply visit their office and see how they were organized. Nakamura says this helped her get an idea of how she might want to run her own studio one day, knowing she intends to move into this new business.
“It was a chance for me to travel and learn what made a good work environment,” Nakamura explains. “I decided to use this experience to open my own small studio and build my IP. I want to try my hand at an IP in that studio again; That’s what I’m working on right now. It is stimulating to learn about new cultures. Of course, there is a language barrier, but even for someone like me who can’t speak English, I want to talk to people who are curious to learn and understand each other. If I can form this type of team to work on a new game, I feel we can bring something new to the players. ”
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Although she couldn’t share much about what kind of game her studio does, Nakamura was open about her experiences as a woman in the gaming industry. After seeing how badly women are treated in the male-dominated game development world, she intends to achieve “full gender equality” in her new company and hopes to see more Japanese studios follow suit.
“In my personal opinion, I feel that stories written by women are more considered and easier to access,” adds Nakamura. “I also feel that there is more diversity in their characters. For men, they are simpler and easier to understand in this regard. I tend to feel that stories written by women are more in sync with their time. In the end, no one can do everything. It’s about finding each person’s talents and capitalizing on them accordingly to make a great game. ”
With a resume that includes contributions to Okami, Bayonetta, and Evil in, Nakamura is one of the unknown creators in the gaming industry and it is great to know that she intends to organize her new studio given the health of its workers. Be sure to check out the full interview above for more discussions about her developing history and the events surrounding her appearance at E3 2019, as well as an excellent location photo.