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Former Ghostwire Tokyo creative director Ikumi Nakamura opens her own studio and plans a game ‘full of dark jokes’

DonJorginho

Banned
Prior to E3 2018, Ikumi Nakamura was probably a name most people didn't know. However, following her expressive presentation before revealing Ghostwire Tokyo, she quickly became a beloved industry figure. Not long after, she resigned from her post as creative director on the project. The question since that surprising turn has been, what's next?

After a period of traveling and visiting other teams, many thought she would end up in one of Sony's first-party studios. However, the film linked below, which chronicles Nakamura's career to date, reveals she's not joining any established developers. She has opened her own independent studio.

As it happens, she quit Tango Gameworks because she had been "ill for some time" while working on the game, and wanted to find a way to "make games while feeling better". Despite thousands of invitations to visit or join other teams, Nakamura instead is now creative director on a new game at her own studio.

So, what will this new title be like? She admits she's drawn to "horror or the grotesque", but that a key aim on this project is to "stop making games too seriously". The game will apparently be "full of dark jokes".


 
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DonJorginho

Banned
Seems like a lovely person, but I'm not expecting much from her when it comes to games.
She has worked on a good amount of titles surprisingly, will be interesting to see how she copes leading a studio though.

She has now been in the industry for 16 years, having started out as an artist on Capcom’s Okami before working on Bayonetta and the cancelled Scalebound at PlatinumGames.

She then spent almost a decade at Tango Gameworks, which was founded in 2010 by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami.

During that time, she worked on 2014’s The Evil Within, its 2017 sequel The Evil Within 2, and most recently GhostWire Tokyo.
 

DonJorginho

Banned
This could be really interesting. I wish her the best on this because it is nice to see more risk-takers in the gaming industry. Is it coincidence that she quit right around the Microsoft/Bethesda acquisition?
Who knows, she cited reasons of fatigue and wanting to find a less stressful way of making games for why she left Tango.

She visited loads of Sony first party studios in recent years so maybe some kind of deal will be struck like the Jade Raymond deal.
 

ripeavocado

Banned
Good luck to her but the way she has behaved on twitter make me think that the new studio has dim chances to be successful.
 

sloppyjoe_gamer

Gold Member
"Dark jokes"......somewhere an era poster is doing this

scared oh no GIF by Portlandia
 
J

JeremyEtcetera

Unconfirmed Member
She was acting like a spoiled brat all across twitter after her departure from Tango, so many cringe tweets with or towards industry professionals.
Many people have stopped following her because of this.
0c330e6d4e47b9e7fa40fd6f5cf8f73b.gif
 

ripeavocado

Banned
Some example tweets proving your unflattering description of her would be wise, otherwise you're just engaging in backyard gossip.

Guys go check her profile, it is all public, I don't have time to waste go look into months old tweets, there was nothing specific, it's just a personal opinion based on public available info she has put on the internet herself.

I don't have anything against her, I hope she succeeds but that's the impression she gave me with her tweets.
 
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I think she's just wonderful all around and wish her the best luck. Hard to argue with a aim to make a game while feeling better, in an industry filled with overwork and crunch, that's something that should be celebrated.


But mostly I just want her to have another chance to go on stage and advertise a game... "It's spooky!"
 

Terenty

Member
Wishing her all the best, will be looking for her next project. Love me some Nakamura humour.


Am i the only one who think these pics are highly insensitive towards transgender(real) women? I mean is she trying to show that she's somehow different to transgenders even though we know she's not?
 

Faithless83

Banned
"The game will apparently be "full of dark jokes".
I'll buy two copies then.

Edit: as everyone and their mother already made the "she'll be cancelled" joke.
 
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