Ikumi Nakamura Explained

Ikumi Nakamura
Native Name:中村 育美
Native Name Lang:jpn
Birth Date:October 8, 1985
Birth Place:Japan
Years Active:2004–present
Occupation:Video game artist, director
Children:1

is a Japanese video game artist and director. She is best known for her work at Tango Gameworks as an artist on The Evil Within (2014) and The Evil Within 2 (2017), and as creative director for , before leaving the company mid-development. She also did artwork for Ōkami (2006) at Clover Studio, and Bayonetta (2009) at PlatinumGames. She now heads her own independent game studio, Unseen.

Early life

Ikumi Nakamura enjoyed horror media with her father growing up. They watched horror films together, and enjoyed playing the Resident Evil and Devil May Cry series, both produced by Capcom. She developed an appreciation for the studio and dreamed to work there when she was older. While studying at university, her father died in a motorcycle accident. His death reinforced her desire to work at Capcom. She attended an art school in Tokyo, and later studied game design at the Amusement Media Academy.

Career

Capcom

After applying twice, Nakamura was hired by Capcom in 2004.[1] She joined the internal development team Clover Studio and created background art for Ōkami (2006).[2]

PlatinumGames

Nakamura followed her Capcom colleagues when they left to form PlatinumGames.[1] Early on at the studio, she pitched an idea for an original Nintendo DS game. After Nintendo did not take interest to the project, it was canceled.[1] She served as a concept artist for Bayonetta (2009), and briefly worked on Scalebound as art director before leaving the company.[1]

Tango Gameworks

In 2010, Nakamura left PlatinumGames to join Shinji Mikami's new studio Tango Gameworks.[1] She served as artist for The Evil Within (2014) and The Evil Within 2 (2017),[3] and as creative director for . Her presentation introducing the game at E3 2019 was widely heralded as a highlight of the press conference for Bethesda Softworks, Tango Gameworks' parent company.[4] However, Nakamura left the project and the company mid-development in 2019 due to her declining health. The stress of developer-publisher politics and the publisher's ultimate control over Ghostwire: Tokyo left her unable to sleep and struggling with daily nightmares.

Unseen

After leaving Tango Gameworks, Nakamura did consulting and freelance jobs. In March 2021, she announced that she had started a new small independent game studio.[5] [1] The studio, Unseen, was formally revealed the following year.[6] Nakamura expressed her intent for Unseen to create new intellectual properties (IPs) that can function across entertainment media. She also expressed her desire to continue working on games based in mystery, horror, sci-fi, and the supernatural. The studio's first game, Kemuri, was revealed at The Game Awards 2023.[7]

Personal life

Nakamura lives in Tokyo. She had a child in 2020.[8]

Works

YearGameRole
2006ŌkamiBackground production
2009BayonettaConcept art
2011Cinematics
2012Street Fighter X TekkenPainter
2014Ultra Street Fighter IV
The Evil WithinLead concept artist
2016Street Fighter VCharacter concept art
2017The Evil Within 2Additional art
2022[9] Initial creative director
2022Gungrave G.O.R.E.Art advisor

External links

Notes and References

  1. Hester. Blake. September 29, 2021. The Life And Career Of Ikumi Nakamura. 2021-09-30. Game Informer. en. 2021-09-30. https://web.archive.org/web/20210930005441/https://www.gameinformer.com/2021/09/29/the-life-and-career-of-ikumi-nakamura. dead.
  2. News: Grayson. Nathan. 10 June 2019. Ikumi Nakamura Deserved Her E3 Moment. Kotaku. 27 March 2021. 31 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210331010521/https://kotaku.com/ikumi-nakamura-deserved-her-e3-moment-1835383313. live.
  3. Web site: Ikumi Nakamura. 27 March 2021. VGC. 15 April 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20220415035946/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ikumi-nakamura/. live.
  4. News: Hernandez. Patricia. The internet is ready to die for Ikumi Nakamura, the most genuine person at E3. Polygon. 27 March 2021. 7 June 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20230607202832/https://www.polygon.com/e3/2019/6/9/18659141/ikumi-nakamura-bethesda-e3-2019-ghostwire-tokyo-presenter. live.
  5. News: Oloman . Jordan . Fan Favorite Ex-Bethesda Director Ikumi Nakamura Opens Indie Studio . 27 March 2021 . IGN . 24 March 2021 . 26 March 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210326011937/https://www.ign.com/articles/fan-favorite-ex-bethesda-director-ikumi-nakamura-opens-indie-studio . live .
  6. Web site: Skrebels . Joe . March 9, 2022 . Fan Favorite Ex-Bethesda Director Ikumi Nakamura Introduces New Studio, Unseen . . March 10, 2022 . March 30, 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220330073331/https://me.ign.com/en/pc/195367/news/ikumi-nakamuras-new-studio-will-likely-focus-on-horror-sci-fi-and-supernatural-games . live .
  7. Web site: Stewart . Marcus . 2023-12-07 . Ikumi Nakamura Reveals Her Studio's First Title, Kemuri . https://web.archive.org/web/20231208054225/https://www.gameinformer.com/the-game-awards-2023/2023/12/07/ikumi-nakamura-reveals-her-studios-first-title-kemuri . dead . 8 December 2023 . 2023-12-08 . Game Informer . en.
  8. 1280925324868370433. nakamura193. “Are you alive?” Yes, I am! I released my new project which went live on June 1st. This will be the longest ongoing project I’ve ever taken on and I know it will bring the deepest joy and happiness to the world. I’m grateful to be able to help humanity live long and prosper.. Ikumi Nakamura.
  9. Web site: Scullion. Chris. March 21, 2022. Ghostwire Tokyo's former creative director only has a small mention in its credits. 2023-02-15. Video Games Chronicle. en. 2023-02-14. https://web.archive.org/web/20230214233512/https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ghostwire-tokyos-former-creative-director-only-has-a-small-mention-in-its-credits/. live.