Koei Kikuchi

Lead
VFX Artist

What you do at Tango?

I’m a VFX artist, so I design and create the visual effects that show onscreen during the game.
More and more of my work has been slowly moving toward management and organization since I became a team leader, but I’m still out there on the front making effects as an artist.

How do you describe Tango’s development environment?

We’ve got a lot of colorful characters on our team, and they all add a bit of their own flavor to things. I think that’s a good way to describe it? It’s an environment where people from all different nationalities and personalities come together to collaborate on a project while respecting each other’s tastes and opinions.

What do you think makes Tango unique as a game studio?

I think the respect that everyone has for each other is really something special about Tango. Of course some people are officially higher or lower ranking than others, but nobody really thinks that way, if you know what I mean. Everyone fulfills their own role, and there’s really just a singular feeling of all being in it together. There’s not a single person who I would really call “arrogant” or anything on this team. We’re a very humble bunch (laughs).

What are your thoughts about the type of people who work at Tango?

It’s like a big group of comrades-in-arms. Everyone is kind of on the same level, so it’s easy to go to people to ask for things, just like it’s easy for people to come to you, too. And since we have a lot of experienced industry veterans on the team, that makes it easy to discuss things and get your point across, and you can generally trust their opinions, too.

Looking to the future, what are you excited for when working at Tango?

Since we’re just now all starting up together on a new page in the studio’s history, we’re at the place in development where we’re looking forward to seeing where things will go from here. I’m also looking forward to seeing how Tango will transform thanks to our incoming new members. It’ll be an interesting science experiment!

What’s something you’d like to tell someone interested in the company or working with your team?

Let’s make fun games! That sounds obvious, but it’s the very hardest thing. Putting your all into smashing through that challenge head-on is the best feeling, and at Tango that’s important to us.