Aya Kyogoku | |
|---|---|
京極あや | |
| Born | 1981 or 1982[1] |
| Occupations | Video game director and producer |
| Employers | |
| Notable work | Animal Crossing |
| Title | Manager ofNintendo EPD Production Group No. 5 (2019–present) |
Aya Kyogoku (Japanese:京極あや,Hepburn:Kyōgoku Aya; bornc. 1981) is a Japanese video game director and producer. She is the current manager ofNintendo'sEntertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 5, which oversees theAnimal Crossing andSplatoon franchises. Kyogoku is best known for her work onAnimal Crossing, where she has alternately served as a producer, director, and supervisor since 2008.
Kyogoku began her career in 2000 at the video game companyAtlus before joiningNintendo in September 2003.[1] While at Atlus, she served as an Assistant Planner for the Dreamcast titledeSPIRIA and Assistant Director for thePlayStation 2 titleWizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land before moving to Nintendo.[3][4] At Nintendo, Kyogoku worked as a scriptwriter onThe Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures andThe Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, work for which she won aGame Developers Choice Award.[1][5]
In 2008, she worked as a sequence director onAnimal Crossing: City Folk, where she was responsible for script writing and all elements relating to non-player character behavior and dialogue.[1][6] Kyogoku andIsao Moro jointly served as directors ofAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, the 2012 sequel toCity Folk.[7] Following the mixed critical and commercial performance ofCity Folk, Kyogoku sought to "get back to the series' roots" inNew Leaf.[8] In 2015, Kyogoku produced theAnimal Crossing spin-off titleHappy Home Designer.[9] In 2019, she was named as Manager of Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development (EPD) Production Group No. 5, a position previously held byHisashi Nogami before he was promoted at Deputy General Manager of Nintendo EPD.[1][10] She directedAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, the fifth main series title in theAnimal Crossing series, in 2020.[1] Following the extensive critical and commercial success ofNew Horizons, Kyogoku has received media attention from both video-game and non-video-game media outlets alike, being dubbed “Nintendo’s Rising Star and Secret Weapon.”[11][12]
Serving as the director ofAnimal Crossing: New Leaf, Kyogoku became the first woman to direct a video game at Nintendo Entertainment Analysis & Development (EAD).[1][10] After noting that she was frequently the only woman on development teams, Kyogoku andNew Leaf producerKatsuya Eguchi hired a team that was half female; Kyogoku also encouraged all individuals on the development team to contribute ideas for the game, regardless of their role on the project.[13][14] Kyogoku credits the diversity of the team forNew Leaf's critical and commercial success,[1][14] stating that "when you are trying to create something that will appeal to many types of people, I have experienced how beneficial it is to have diversity on your team"[8] and “it is very exciting to be able to have different types of people on the development team.”[15] When asked for a message to women who would like to work in the game industry during a Nintendo Developer Chat, Kyogoku responded, “if you want to, please join! I’ll be so happy if we can work together.”[15]
Furthermore, Kyogoku has been praised for broadening the series' appeal "beyond the typical teenage-male demographic.”[11] Notably,Animal Crossing: New Horizons expanded visibility and representation through increased character customization options, including skin tone options and gender-neutral hairstyles that the player can switch between freely. Kyogoku explained that these options are "not just about gender," but rather the sentiment that "society is shifting to valuing a lot of people's different identities."[12] She explained further that “we basically wanted to create a game where users didn't really have to think about gender or if they wanted to think about gender, they're also able to."[12]
| Year | Game | Credit(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | deSPIRIA [ja] | Assistant planner[3] |
| 2001 | Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land | Assistant director[4] |
| 2004 | The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures | Scriptwriter[16] |
| 2006 | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | |
| 2008 | Animal Crossing: City Folk | Sequence director[6] |
| 2012 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf | Director[7] |
| 2013 | Animal Crossing Plaza | Producer[17] |
| 2015 | Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer | |
| Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival | Director[18] | |
| 2016 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo | Producer[7] |
| 2017 | Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp | Supervisor[19] |
| 2020 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Director[1] |
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