Sometimes the video game industry can wear someone out. Making the same kind of games year after year with barely any rest can totally get to you. At least, that’s the story revolving around Ikumi Nakamura.
The video game pioneer recently departed from her job as a designer for Tango Gameworks, where the project Ghostwire: Tokyo is still in the works. But according to a new documentary called Cutscenes: Ikumi Nakamura – Remnant Tour, there was a pretty good reason behind that.
It was recently revealed in the doc that Nakamura is hard at work on launching her own studio, where she gets to make games on her own terms. Not that she’s bitter about what she’s
worked on in the past. However, it eventually got to her to the point that she had to step away.
“I started wondering whether there wasn’t a way for me to make games while feeling better,” Nakamura explains. “I took the decision to quit before it was too late. I was running away in a way. However, I believe that running away can be very positive. Rather than stacking things upon oneself, I think that running away for something better is the healthier choice.”
But with her own studio, Nakamura is looking to put trust into her employees, rather than burn herself out doing everything again. "I used to be the type of director who stepped too much into each department. I want to try and control this and be able to entrust my team more,” she said.
Not only that, but she wants to have fun again with development. “One thing I’m aiming for is to stop making games too seriously. If I had to compare myself to a Marvel character, I would go with Deadpool, who’s left out of the Avengers. I want to make a game full of dark jokes.”
And, yes, she brings up her E3 2019 appearance as well, where she discusses the moment she “blew up” on the Internet.
We certainly wish Nakamura the best of luck in her next steps in the industry. Here’s to more giddy happiness! You can watch the mini-documentary below.
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