Aya Kyogoku

Aya Kyogoku is a producer at Nintendo EPD, known for directing the Animal Crossing series. She is the manager of Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 5 under Hisashi Nogami's supervision. She is one of the few high profile women in the company.

History

Aya Kyogoku started in the industry as a planner for Atlus in 2000, working on the Dreamcast role-playing game deSpiria. She joined Nintendo in 2003 as a script writer. Her first two games with Nintendo were both The Legend of Zelda titles.

Her first work on the Animal Crossing series was on City Folk where she was responsible for all elements relating to the animal's behavior and dialogue. After that, she was selected to direct Animal Crossing: New Leaf alongside Isao Moro, becoming the first woman director at Nintendo EAD. The success of the game led her to be the deputy group manager of EAD Production Group No. 2.

Game Works

• deSpiria (2000) - Assistant Planner
• Wizardry: Tale of the Forsaken Land (2001) - Assistant Director
• The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures (2004) - Script
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2006) - Script
• Animal Crossing: City Folk (2008) - Sequence Director
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf (2012) - Director
• Animal Crossing Plaza (2013) - Director
• Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer (2015) - Producer
• 'Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival (2015) - Producer
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf - Welcome amiibo (2016) - Producer
• Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp (2017) - Supervisor
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (2018) - Original Game Supervisor
• Animal Crossing: New Horizons (2020) - Director

Interviews

• Iwata Asks: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
• Iwata Asks: Animal Crossing: City Folk
• Animal Crossing: New Leaf
• GDC 2014: How to Turn a New Leaf at the Animal Crossing
• Developer Interview: Aya Kyogoku and Risa Tabata
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Retrospective
• USGamer: Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival
• Nintendo Dream: Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
• CNET: Animal Crossing: New Horizons