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A
What's up, everybody? Welcome to a very special kinda funny gamescast afternoon stream here on Twitch TV. Kindafunnygames, YouTube.com kindafunnygames and podcast services maybe around the globe. I'm your host, Greg Miller, alongside the ghost of Yotay herself, Erica Ishi. Hello, Erica.
B
Hi, Greg.
A
How are you?
B
Thanks so much for having me.
A
Thank you for making time. You know, PlayStation came through the inbox. You're like, do you want to talk to Erica? And I'm like, you know what? I do. I do want to talk to Erica. I haven't talked to Erica. What feels like a lifetime.
B
We really, truly were different. Completely different humans. Our lives were different, our careers were different. But yeah, they said, oh, I think you might know Greg. Like, have you. Have you. Do you know about kind of funny and Greg. And I was like, I know Greg.
A
Erica, when did we meet for the first time?
B
I want to say it was 2015.
A
That sounds about right. Right?
B
At an E3. That was the first E3 that I had ever gotten in with a badge that was legit. Now that E3 is gone, I can. I can say it. Yeah.
A
Oh, yeah.
B
My first E3, it was on. I think it was on a day date, but like, you had to check Twitter to make sure that. Certain that. That like the. The doors that weren't being guarded, where they weren't checking IDs.
A
Yep.
B
Then you get in. But this year, that year I was hosting for Indiecade with Geek and Sundry.
A
Yep. Kevin, do we have this photo? I believe this is. You sent this right before we went live. Erica, it's you and me on a couch, 2015. Children. Children, baby. God, what a different time. Nobody knew what was ahead of us. Nobody knew what was coming up next.
B
I could have never. And that's us with Ifyn Wadi. Way of dropout fame.
A
Of course. Yeah, yeah. You know, he never. Never just gone. Nobody knows what happened to him. Didn't also become extremely popular.
B
It's. It's that. And also, you know, we. He and I got to announce on the same day that we were working at Respawn. He wrote on Apex Legends. Around time I got to announce Valkyrie, which is insane. Neither of us could have ever guessed we'd hoped.
A
Erica, there's about a lifetime or two of things to cover. All right. Obviously we're going to talk about Ghost and what it's like to be the star of the PlayStation. First party game of the year. I want to talk a little bit of how we got here because your rise has been incredible. Well deserved, but insane. Before all that, I'll remind you of course that this is a kind of funny gamescast special each and every weekday for sometimes two best friends gather on this table coming to talk about whatever the biggest topics in games are, whether they be reviews, previews or conversations like this. If you like that, pick up a kinda funny membership, YouTube.com kindafunnygames of course you can get on Apple, you can get on Spotify, you can get it over on patreon.com kindafunny to get all of our shows ad free. Of course get your daily dose of me in a podcast series we call Greg Way. And of course get good karma for supporting a small independent business. You already got Games Daily Today that was about PlayStation making big changes. Of course after that was another game which was the Sonic Racing Cross Worlds preview. You're getting your stream right now because that's how we do it. And if you're a Patreon supporter at the $25 or up level, this afternoon is our happy hour where you can hang out with us. Your kinda funny Greg Way of course is live as well. It's me rancid and raving about Nintendo and third party support. Thank you to our Patreon producers, Carl Jacobs, Omega Buster and Delaney the Psalm Twining. Today we're brought to you by Xreal, but we'll talk about that later. For now we're back to Erica. See, I just plowed through the housekeeping for you. Erica. Just get to it so we can keep talking.
B
Impressive. Wow, that was, that was some fast housekeeping.
A
You know, it's just all white noise to folks in the chat like Alex and. Alex and J Man and Jig Guns over there. I don't know that names. I don't like that name. Of course there's a lot going. Erica. We start with this photo from 2015. We start with you sneaking into the industry. Obviously we jump to you being the ghost of Yote. What the fuck happened in this career? Because you were just a normal person. You were just a normal. Talk to the camera, make a YouTube person like us. And I remember when it was like 2017, I think when you're like, oh, I'm gonna do some voice acting, I'm encrypted. The Necro Dancer, like, oh cool, whatever. And then here you are starring in a PlayStation game. Not even a decade later, something happened here and I don't understand.
B
Yeah, truly, Greg, what the fuck? Indeed. I. It's wild because even, because even before I was talk to the screen and trying to keep up with my housekeeping. I was just a huge gamer nerd. I, you know, and it's, it's truly wild. It's like I feel like I got to do the whole Cinderella story of I started out. Yeah, I was sneaking into E3. I remember I went and I bought my own sort of ticket out. Do the first psx, which I believe you were presenting.
A
Of course. Of course. Yeah, yeah, we were big dealers. Yeah.
B
That was you. You interviewed for, for Uncharted 4. It was all the way back in Uncharted 4. Yeah, yeah. And so, you know, I've always been a huge fan of games and I think it was, you know, we've, I think with you and I, we, we've always had a special sort of. We've loved a lot of PlayStation games, a lot of the narrative based games and playing the last of us was sort of the last straw to where I said, okay, I have to get into voice acting for video games specifically because I had, I did a whole child actor thing. You know, I was on an episode of Full House and I did some commercials. I stopped to be at UCLA and you know, get a degree.
A
So did you grow up in la? Was it always like you were surrounded by Hollywood and stuff?
B
Yeah, my parents were both below the line workers. My mom was an editor and my dad pulled focus as a camera assistant. And so they didn't, they couldn't like open door. They couldn't like open doors for me, but they knew which doors to knock on. They were like, oh, this is. You have to like audition and you have to get, try to get an agent. And I was just like a really gregarious child. So they're like, you.
A
No way. I can't picture me.
B
Yeah, it's true. And yeah, I just, I always loved it and I always grew up loving games and loving cartoons. But it's. Games is a very different discipline than on camera acting.
A
Sure.
B
And I think, and it requires honestly a huge, a huge buy in sometimes. At the time that I was doing it, demo reels cost about a thousand dollars to produce and you'd have to get mic equipment, which was like, this was before podcasting, so you could, you'd easily spend a couple hundred dollars on a basic mic. And I was just really, really fortunate that I got into it at a time where, I mean, I, I wanted to be part of this new storytelling medium. Playing the last of us playing things like Mass Effect and these narrative driven games where there were these really juicy roles. Was so exciting to me. And so I resolved to do it and somehow, less than a decade later, I did it. I did it.
A
So when you're going to ucla, are you going for acting or were you doing something different?
B
No, I did mass media communications, which is wild because like in, in a lot of ways I used that so much in my entryway because there's none. Nobody gets into voice acting and especially video games the same way. Yeah, I think a lot of people a generation ahead of me were acting on camera or, you know, voiceovers for cartoons and accidentally fell into games and sometimes fell in love with them. But for me, I was specifically interested in being in games. So I mean, UCLA was getting a, getting a practical college degree.
A
The fallback plan, in case it all.
B
Goes to hell, you know, it's, it was, it was just kind of in the thing to do. I think we devalued education in my family despite the fact that neither of my parents and ended up finishing. They had both dropped out to be in the show business as well. So, you know, I got my degree and then, you know, sort of acting school and classes. I just knew I want to perform, but I didn't. It wasn't until I latched on to video games as even a possibility that things really started clicking for me.
A
So give me the breakdown then. So you graduate UCLA and. But there's this geek and sundry section where you're doing the Internet YouTube thing. Did you think that was going to lead you to the voice acting or was that like the path?
B
For a while I, that was. I, I always knew I wanted to do, act, like to, to perform, to play characters, to tell stories. But while I was in, you know, post graduation, bumming around in la, stealing food from the catering company that I was working at. Nobody tell nobody, nobody.
A
But now they'd be proud. Now they put it on their, their desk, their, their billboards that you stole food from them.
B
Yeah, that's right. Yeah, that's right. UCLA Catering.
A
Shout out.
B
Yeah, shout out. I, you know, I, I was doing, you know, the serious method school I was at. I was taking classes at Strasbourg and also at UCB Upright Citizens Brigade, which I think if you talk to any comedian that comes out of la, we've all gone through the program and sort of been. I was in something called Tournament of the Nerds, which is like still to this day a midnight nerdy show where you sort of comedy debate. It's like, who would win in a fight between these nerdy characters? Sure, I did that. I was in like a Harry Potter themed improv group which is, you know, obviously long since disbanded. But my coach through there was trying to start up some geeky nerdist, like news channel. And so I, they, they needed like, they were like, oh, you like nerdy stuff and you are a woman and can talk on camera. Why don't you do that? And so I was like, oh, okay, sure. Like, I didn't have any hosting experience but I loved games and I was keeping up with all the news anyway. And so I started writing, producing and then directing and hosting this small channel which eventually in the sort of LA nerdy networks, you know, we all kind of went to the same parties and we all like would work out of a lot of the same studios. The showrunner for Geek and Sundry ended up saying, oh, I remember we used to work out of that same little studio in the Valley. And then I ended up joining at Geek and Sundry and then I ended up getting my own show there. And then I became, I worked really hard. I ended up sort of producing and hosting that show for no money for a while just to sort of have a platform to get into, like, to get into III legit and to, to be able to talk to developers and to other voice actors and to sort of like. Because, you know, I mean, it's so funny. You've been in this industry and I remember you, I remember kind of funny always being just this like trusted institution and also straddling that line between fandom and journalism and just like knowing all of the developers. And so it was this heady time we were talking about, you know.
A
Yeah, for sure. So all that's going on and then you say the last of us is what finally is the last straw? Like when you make that decree, what happens next?
B
I sprang for a demo of a voiceover demo and for.
A
Did you feel you already had the classes and the chops and you knew.
B
From a green way classes and chops from I, you know, improv acting, those were all great groundwork. A lot of the sort of technical skills you end up picking up on the job or like I had, I had tutors and you know, Cissy Jones, BAFTA winner, Sissy Jones, I'm well aware.
A
Of course, the love of my life.
B
In Starfield, Andreja, she is a God. And she. And you know, a lot of the incredible famous women of voiceover kind of, you know, they had a workout group and so we would get together, you know, like, like a voiceover workout group and we'd bring in auditions or just like sides and sort of critique each other's performances and provide support. And just in that way, it was so instrumental in even this sort of like, how far away do I get from the mic? What do I like, how do you do an A, B given a B and C? How do you, you know, just all the technical skills. And so I really feel like I had the benefit of being around some of the most talented people in the industry on my come up, which was both incredibly fortunate and also terrifying.
A
I would have to think a little bit intimidating, right? Like, I've done a bunch of stupid VO roles here and like, I'm always embarrassed to be in the booth and I'm just a moron, but I couldn't imagine if I was also then, like, tomorrow I decided I want to do this. I'm going to go be a voice actor to, like, talk to Troy about it, talk to Laura about it. I'd be like, ah, like talking to Michael Jordan. I barely know how to shoot a basket.
B
Yeah, it's, it's terrifying. And also, I think a lot of times, I'm sure it is something that they get a lot. And you know, I've had some people say, like, well, I've heard that a lot of like, I want to be a voice actor. And they go, cool, check out these links, check out these teachers, cut a demo and then you can start looking for agents. And I hope to see you, I hope to see you in the booth. And a lot of times people don't follow up either because they, you know, they don't realize that there is that huge sort of barrier to entry or because they, I don't have, you know, the time and money. It's like I was fortunate in my really most pivotal year before I was booking anything, while I was really kind of struggling in hosting and going paycheck to paycheck. I got to live rent free with a partner, with my partner at the time. And I think that's a thing that sometimes people leave out of, you know, like, stable. You don't have to like, book every single gig because, like, when you're a little more relaxed and you're like, okay, at least I'll have a roof over my head and I'll have my stolen meal from catering. You know, like, you, you're not as, like, they don't, you don't, they don't hear the desperation in your voice while you're auditioning. So it was all those combination of factors and truly being at geek and sundry and being in proximity to the industry. I ended up getting started in indie games. You know, I would go to GDC and, you know, hand up my card, you know, say like, hey, would you come and be on my show? Or could I demo your game? Or, you know, and then it would of course come up that I do voice acting and I have a demo and they could put me in the pile of people to audition. It was. I. I think with very few exceptions, it was. I. I still auditioned for roles, but it would kind of be like, oh, we need a femme voice or like a tough chick. Why don't we call Erica, see if Erica can do this role. And like, by the time that I was booking, you know, there was Dream Daddy and there was Crypt of the Necrodancer and all these indie titles, and I was booking a lot on my own before I got an agent for voice acting.
A
And is that when it. For you? When does it become real? This is my job. This is what I'm doing. This is all I do. And I guess even that's insulting because you still do so much more. I apologize, but you know what I mean.
B
Yeah, no, it's wild. I don't know that it's ever. I still feel like at the end of the day, I'm just a little guy on the Internet. No. Yeah, because I. Because I still kept. It's weird. I feel like my skill. Let's. Let's look at it like a skill tree, if you will.
A
Sounds great. I know those well.
B
I feel like sort of hosting ended up sort of splitting off into, you know, voice acting and then also tabletop and sometimes even still hosting. You know, I ended up doing some Marvel Red Carpets and, you know, I did like a couple video games shows and. But yeah, the, The. I really. I love hosting because I get to talk to the most interesting people and. And get to try, like, see you get to see and try so much in a thing that you're passionate about, for sure. But then the Tabletop, because that was definitely not a thing when we first met. In the same way doing D and.
A
D on an Internet show. Good luck, Travis. See you later.
B
I. And yeah, I think. And they all fell into it too, because that was just their home game that Felicia was like, oh, this would be a good show. And it's. And so Tabletop in D and D and then on voice acting and motion capture even, you know, it's the dream of getting to tell these stories with incredibly talented people and getting to just kind of play. But it's been a weird Circuitous journey. And I really, truly think that being a fan and, like, loving the people that make games has been so instrumental in me being here.
A
Oh. I mean, I have to imagine. Right. I think that's always so cool about meeting people who are primarily voice actors in our space and how much they care about it and how much they know. And to see people like yourself now who have grown up as fans with it. Right. Have seen the change and the respect we have for your Nolan North's. Right. For your Commander Shepherds. These people who mean so much to us, far beyond just their voice, but their performance and their character and what they do, let alone what they are. When you talk to Jennifer Hale and how great a person she is, like, the way that's reverberated out and to see that bring in so many great people, I have to imagine that works for you the same way.
B
Yeah, it's. It's truly been wild because I think, you know, like any newer art form, I think there is, you know, a level of people that sort of are shrink, cross discipline trained. Right. You know, that. That have that sort of traditional acting background. And then they come into it and they can bring that incredible skill set to this new medium and help define it. And then another generation comes up and they're like, oh, well, I. I was a fan of these people. And the trick is to not try and, like, copy their performance. Emulate. Right. But. But like, to. To sort of learn from their skill set and to look at your love of this game and what are the things that I love about video games and video game performances and, you know, like, coming into an audition, even understanding, like, having them not have to explain, you know, what. What? You know what Halo is, like, all the backstory of Halo. I was able to just, like, come in and do it. I got it. I got it. No. And they'd be like, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And call outs. Yeah, I know, but I know the call outs. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know what I. And I know what, you know, like a. I know what all these different things are and to just sort of be like, well, what would I. What would I enjoy as a player? It's been wild.
A
I bet. I mean, I think that's been the fun thing from my side of the screen is knowing you as one of us, you know, just a YouTuber, a host. All these different things. Yeah, okay. Yeah. You know, this game, these independent roles. Da, da, da. And then there was that moment when you got announced as Rook in Dragon Age, the Veil Guard. And that we. We did a clip of it where me and Andy flip out that it's you. We couldn't believe it was you because, like, Andy and I anticipated that game so much. And then to find out it was someone we knew so well was so incredible, let alone the performance you gave in that game. Like, you were my rook and you were awesome in it. And I tell everybody all the time how much I adored that performance, how great it was, the scale, the scope, everything you brought to it. Like, that was for me, that was my very personal moment of like, oh, Erica's no longer one of us. She. She is a voice actor. This is what she does. This is her thing.
B
I. But that's the thing is I'm always gonna be like, part of the crew. Of course way, like, because, I mean, like, you know, it's. It's funny like that all these years later that you And I, like 10 years later, you and I are talking about this and are both professional. Like, we were both on Sony's list of like, hey, you two should talk. Like, we trust you guys to talk about, you know, in a professional manner about our video game. I think that there is always going to be a part of me that is. Feels weird about answering the questions as opposed to asking them.
A
Oh, that's good.
B
Yeah. And, and you know, it's. Being a professional fan, I think is. Is something. It's. I mean, because you are too. Like, that's. You came from it and, and, and you made that. It's just in different aspects of this industry. And, you know, I think Sungwon Proz and I have talked about that as well, about what it's like coming from sort of YouTube land and then being part of the content creators and how suddenly there's stuff that you wouldn't. That you don't necessarily say. And it's not because you're censoring yourself, but because kind of you're actually in that world and you know, these people in real life and you are a part of making and you're like, wow, making games is hard. I shouldn't be such a little shit.
A
The amount of times I remember being at IGN in those first few years and be like, how would a lazy decision not realizing, you know, however bad this video game was, people took years and years of their life trying really, really hard, and this is what happened. I don't like that one bit. Of course you are here to talk about Ghost of Yotei. I want to get to those questions, but I want to remind everybody that they can write in to be part of the show right now with YouTube.com kindafunnygames super chats to ask you questions or just say things like this. Trevor says semi lemon ding dong hype for yote. So there you go. You could do that. Then I have questions stacking up here from Brian from Super Tyler. We will get to those. But first I'll remind everybody that this is a special kind of funny gamescast stream. Remember of course you can support this show and all of our shows by becoming a kinda funny member. Go to YouTube.com kinda funnygames patreon.com kinda funny apple or Spotify and of course you can pick up your membership to get all of our shows. That's more than 80amonth ad free. And of course get your daily dose of Me, Greg Miller and a 15 to 20 minute podcast series that adds up up to more than four hours of podcasting each and every month. Plus you get good karma. But right now you're not using your benefits. So here's a word from our sponsor.
C
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A
Ghost of Yotei it's finally upon us. We are hurtling towards this October 2nd release date. I can't wait. Of course, huge fan of Ghost of Tsushima. Erica, talk to me about your history with ghosts because you're talking about last of us lighting this fire. I assume Ghost of Sushima has to be somewhere in there as well.
B
Yes. So I am a huge Kurosawa fan. My parents were huge Kurosawa fans. My mom paid $100 I think in the 80s to shake to like go to a screening of I think Kage Musha and shake his hand.
A
Oh wow.
B
So like this game Tsushima was huge, you know, because I was also, I played so many hours and I did so much of Witcher 3 and I was like if I could have a samurai game that's like Witcher 3 and I roll around hitting things with my sword, that would be great. And I got it And I, yeah, 2020 was a. Was a rough time for all of us. But I, you know, and so I, I played the game. I played, I loved it. I sort of like during different moves I had like I, I ended up moving and like not picking up my PlayStation for and then I finally picked it up and I would just love running through the fields. And the story was incredible and I mean if you haven't played it, no spoilers. But there was a really devastating moment in that game that really haunted me that I got to confront to the developers about. And that's the beauty of being a fan of a thing before you get to be part of it is you can actually take it up with the creators. But I, we've all known Nate Fox.
A
Is a dirtbag for a long time and I'm glad you got to call him out on it.
B
Listen, listen, I can, I'm. I'm not a coward. I Never go on the Internet and say something mean to somebody because I will say it to their face instead. And so I did. I did chastise him roundly for what he did in that first game. But I was a huge fan, and I could have never dreamed that it would end up this way.
A
So how does it end up this way? Is it an open casting call? Is it a conversation somewhere?
B
It was. It was an open casting call. You know, I auditioned with a lot of other people, I assume.
A
Did the sides tell you it was ghost or. No. Okay.
B
No. For. For most video games, when you get the sides, they are all code named. They are. It's like sometimes you don't even know the. The company. Like, you don't like. They're very, very vague. But another bonus of being a fan of something is that you can figure it out if you're.
A
Wait, they keep saying, I gotta chop through these bamboo reeds to up my levels.
B
Like, what do you mean, Foxes? Yeah, it's. It was. And it was. I think they were sides that never ended. You know, they're frequently sides that never end up being scenes in the game. But, like, they were good sides. The writing was great, and it was set in that period, and it was a video game that was a franchise. And so I figured it out from there. And I think, Yeah, I think. I mean, knowing the more that, you know, as an actor, the better it helps inform your performance. And so I was lucky that I knew, and then I was lucky that. But. But it also, at the same time, did give me a little bit of the yips because, you know, I mean, auditioning to be in something that you love is a lot of pressure, and you. There's the. There's the. There's the temptation to be precious with it, I think.
A
But how do you get over that?
B
I. I just sort of did. I mean, it was nice to. Because this character. I didn't know this character. I didn't. There was nothing for me to go off of other than I love the. What they've written. This little glimpse into her and into her life is just really resonated with me. And the way she was described was like a character like nothing. No other character that I've. Definitely no main character that I've ever read before.
A
Sure.
B
And, you know, it was. I just really kind of fell in love with it. And when you're excited and really love and passionate about a character, it really kind of comes through, I think. And at the callback, you know, I straight up asked them and they had a whispered, hurried, whispered discussion, I think, about whether or not to tell me what it was. But yeah, I think just. It was, it felt like there's very few roles that I auditioned for and I'm like, I need this, I need this. I need like. And I feel like I could do this because, you know, I'm always, I'm, I'm an actor. I've got imposter syndrome. I'm a, I'm cowardly and superstitious and yet I, this one just felt so right and I'm so grateful that they felt the same way too.
A
How long do they leave you on the hook for you audition, then there's a callback and then when do you find out, like, what's going on with that?
B
Oh, it's a couple of months, you know, usually between. Because there was audition and then you wait and then there's a callback and then you wait and then you get the role. And there's like contracts that need to be signed and negotiations that have to happen and you don't even, even once the contract is signed, you don't know if they might recast you. They might recast. They might decide like, well, maybe it's not the right fit or oh, there's some sort of higher up executive decision that, that needs to be made and, and you're not a part of it. And so, you know, you kind of remain clenched for a little bit, like.
A
Until you're in the ping pong ball suit, until something's going on.
B
Yeah, I truly was, you know, convinced that they'd like drag me off the Sony lot, you know, like even months into actually shooting it. But, but yeah, it was such an incredible. That team is singular. And I don't know if I, if I ever gave a talk at gdc. I feel like one thing I would want to talk about on my, on my big list of things that I would want to say in front of a bunch of developers, one of them is, is just how vital their communication to me was during the whole process. Like, I, you don't. A lot of times as you, as, you know, since you have done some video game voiceover roles, sometimes you just walk in and they give you a spreadsheet of lines and that's all you get. Like, as you walk in and you just sort of read it cold. But they gave me scripts, they had writers like be able to discuss the story with me. I had a dialect coach. It's. I felt so supported in this in a way that I think a Lot of studios haven't been able to for actors just because, you know, this is still a new young medium. And also that kind of thing is expensive and requires a different pipeline and. And so, you know. But I remember in seeing behind the scenes for. For the Last of Us and other like, very actor forward games about how they were sort of a part of the process and much in the way that an actor would be in an on camera role. And this was sort of like that. Like, it was incredible to what to see the team and to see how they worked and how. How all the pieces seem to really fit together. And there was a distinct pipeline in this dev cycle, which, as you know, is not always the case.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, some things get in the way, but not at Sucker Punch. Not with a PlayStation title, please. Not with this team. They're incredible over there. Except for Nate and Jason. Don't worry about that. Billy Harper, though.
B
You know what you did.
A
Billy Harper from Sucker Punch texts me because I was bugging him for questions about you and he says, tell her I said, hi, guy. And she's the best. Super stoked. She's getting the spotlight today. So there you go, Sucker Punch. Happy to see you out here repping the game.
B
Billy was incredible. And I. Yeah, again, that team. I. Holy cow. I've never gotten to feel that in a game before because, you know, a lot of times for voice acting, you're in, you're out, and then a couple years later you see a game come out and you're like, oh, I think.
A
I think I have a voice in it.
B
Yeah. Sometimes for some jobs, you don't even know what the game is even after you've recorded it. So I feel very, very fortunate that they really kind of did their best to give everybody the tools for success.
A
When was this audition callback process in terms of years and then how long did you work on it and like, when's. When was rap on it and stuff for this?
B
Oh, my goodness.
A
I know. That's a timeline and emails.
B
Yeah. Full disclosure, I'm bad at timelines. Me, myself, I have. I think of it in landmark time.
A
Sure.
B
Like, let's see, like, audition process was before I had even launched my. I am in a podcast with my dear friends Aabria Iyengar, Brennan Lee Mulligan and Lou Wilson. And we were just.
A
No, no. What's the podcast name? You got to promote it. You got to promote it.
B
Podcast name is Worlds beyond number. We are store improvised storytelling podcast and it can be found where all fine podcasts are listened to. It's, it truly is. That's, that's another story that I'm incredibly proud to be part of. But we hadn't even started the campaign, we hadn't announced the company yet. And I remember we were at sort of a getaway retreat, so that might have been two years ago, three years ago. And, and I said, hey, I just got cast in something and I think, think this is, I don't believe that this is real. And I kept saying that. I think up until, you know, around the podcast launch and then a couple of months into podcast launch, I remember we were, I was also filming it at the time and you know, I think pickups, pickups happened sometime this past year. But it's like everything, like the thing is, is. And this is the crazy part again because in a normal development cycle it's like it all kind of happens and then you are a piece of the machine that gets sort of slotted in a lot of times, you know, like early on and then, you know, you don't know anything about it until later. But being part of this from like being the first actor hired and then sort of one of the last actors out of the booth has just been. I've gotten to see so much progress of it. I've gotten to like talk with all of the develop with so many of the developers and Hoo boy, Greg, Hoo boy. It feels like magic. It feels like watching magic. And it is a jump scare seeing my face every time.
A
I mean that's a. Your face is all over the PlayStation Network right now.
B
Everywhere I look, I, and it still hits, it's still wild to me. I still don't believe it, you know, because I, I, you know, when you, when you go to the studios, to Santa Monica, you know, you see the big murals of all of the care. Oh, you know, there's, there's, there's all these big murals of all these iconic characters.
A
Here's Ratchet and here's Clank and here's Kratos and then here's Erica.
B
And then you know, I went and visited Sucker Punch and there's a life sized Jean statue which is incredibly photorealistic. The pores, the hairs on his face like stunningly uncomfortably real. And it looks exactly. I've gotten to meet Dice Daisuke who is a phenomenal actor. I got to see him live on stage here in la, but it looks exactly like him. And they're like, haha, we're gonna do one of you. And I'm like, ha ha. What.
A
Here's the question I have when we're talking about Atsu and your performance in. In the. In the story, and I know this is one you're gonna have to do gymnastics on because I don't want you to spoil the story for me, but when we see the trailers during the PlayStation Directs, right, and they come out and they're like, here's the state of play. Here's the thing I. The one. I don't want to say knock, but the thing I see is like, oh, well, the story looks pretty standard. A revenge tale, A samurai revenge tale. And you had just said when you were talking a while back now, but when you were talking about getting this role and what you read, you had never read a character story like this. Do you think that's. Is that on? What are we missing? Without spoiling it, I guess in terms of people who are like, oh, it's just a samurai revenge story, whatever. It's all the movies your mom went and saw, right?
B
Well, first of all, she's not a samurai. And second of all, it was not as much the story because they really give you very little with the story, you know, especially in the. In. In the sides, because sometimes they don't even have it, you know, and they definitely don't want it to get at. To leak. What I got was a character who was really complex and just really different than I. I've gotten to see a lot of main female characters, you know, in games or movies or, you know, there's, I think, definitely the whole thing of like the hot assassin. You know, I think it's like you're an assassin. A lot of films, it's like, like you're cool and you're pristine and like, you have crisp suits, you know, and, you know, I think it. This didn't feel like that. And yeah, without. Without spoilers. It's just this sort of like, really grounded feeling of a character. I mean, obviously it's based upon sort of like a heightened jidai geki samurai films, which is there's, you know, these archetypes and these sort of tales, almost mythic tales. That. That's why, like, oh, that was one thing I loved from the first game was these mythic. The mythic tales were a lot of them very similar to traditional Japanese folklore and, and to these stories from Kurosawa and. And the. The legacy of samurai films. But there's something so visceral about them and, and about the characters and the way that they're portrayed and the way that you get to Be in them when you're playing. And, and that was something that I was so fascinated by because, yes, like stories, there's, there's oldies but goodies for a reason, you know, I mean, like, I, I also, I love Lady Snowblood, you know, but I also loved Kill Bill. And you know, I think that I will never get tired of a really well told classic story.
A
Yeah. Yeah, it's funny you talk about that and you know, the pristine movie you'd see versus what we've even gotten a taste of here with the broken mask and mud on the outfits and just.
B
We'Ve got a, like, we've got a miike mode which is like extra blood and guts and mud. I didn't even know about the modes. I'm freaking out about those because, yeah, like, both of those filmmakers are huge. I'm a huge fan of them, you know, and just the fact that we can incorporate their visions into this because that's the thing about good classic stories is that I want to hear every great artist's take on it.
A
Well said. So what does it feel like right now? I mean, we are basically a month from launch. You know, October 2nd, coming up really, really quickly. Like, is it an ever present thing in your life where you're like, oh, this is happening. Are you so busy on other projects in your day to day that you're not even thinking about it? Like, where are we at with any of that?
B
It's so funny because, yeah, I'm very, very fortunate to have a lot of other things in my life. Like the Skill Tree went crazy over on the Dungeons and Dragons side, much to my shock. So there's projects going on and then other voiceover projects. But at the same time, you know, the thing that I do right now, my cool down activity is I, Greg, I am obsessed with blueprints.
A
Oh my God, of course you are.
B
I have a journal. Like, it's for my friends at the Help network. Thank you. Julia gave me like a notebook and it's presumably for like putting your notes in as an actor, but it is filled, filled with like a fountain pen, scribbles and tabs and like it looks like a string board, like a conspiracy string board. But I'm playing it on my PlayStation and every time I turn it on, my friend, while he was visiting had turned it to the bat. My PlayStation background is. Is me.
A
Yeah.
B
In Ghost of Yote.
A
Sure. Your friend turned it.
B
Yeah, I'm sure my friend, while we were playing Split fiction. Yeah. And every time I turn it on, it Is like, I kid you not, a jump scare and a reminder. And I was working on this very closely for almost for about three years and. And so it's. I've never had a lead up like this before because usually again, like you go in the booth, you do your thing and you walk away from it for a while. And this has been ever present in my life both, you know, online, now that it's been announced and you know, in terms of emailing of, you know, getting to, to set up opportunities like this. And then also just, it really has informed so much of my other storytelling. The, the feeling of just honesty and, and vulnerability in this character that I, I've never gotten been given the tools before. I feel like to really spread my wings and fly. And so yeah, it's been there whether it's, you know, just up here in my head or on my dang PlayStation background. Again, crazy that your friend put up. Of course that my friend put up.
A
What do you want gamers to know or be in the headspace of before when they sit down and hit the options button to start this game?
B
Well, first of all, know about what your gamma adjustment should be like on your tv. Very, very important. I. This is a. This is a hotly contested topic and I'm going to say, yes, it does matter. But second of all, I think this has been such a landmark year for incredible games and it's an honor to be in like such. It is an honor to be in this game in this time and I really want people to know how much love was put into this. I got to see all of the developers during my whole journey with them for almost three years now, and how much they care about it, how much they care about telling a moving, powerful story, how much they care about making something fun and how much I care about this story and about the ghost of stories. This has been the greatest honor of my life. I feel like Cinderella, you know, just. I was just a little guy and I got chosen to be part of this incredible narrative in this industry that I specifically wanted to be a part of. So I think I want people to know how much care went into this and to know that and, and for hopefully for it to empower them to be able to tell the kind of stories that they want to see in the world.
A
Fuck yeah. Erica, you're awesome. You deserve it. I hope you know that. I hope that doesn't get lost on you. How much you deserve is how good you are at this. A better interviewer would end the podcast there, but I still have super chats to get through, so we're going to make sure we pay the bills around here. A lot of people, A lot of people have written in and I'll let you know. If you are not a Worlds beyond number fan, there will be references that are long lost on you, but they're here and that's what we're doing. All right, let's get on their subreddit number or dropout. Brian Murphy immediately starts a hoo hoo. Crackle, crackle. Erica, you're one of the best voice actors out there and the best witch of the world's heart. Pitch. Pitch your DND video game and the character you would be in it.
B
Like, I wonder if it means. Oh, thank you so much. Ohuhu. Crackle, crackle. This is the call the, you know, the, the shout out or the. What is it? Call and response of. Of our. Our podcast Talk Back. You know, it's so interesting. I think for a long time I wanted there to be like a DND movie where, you know, like Jumanji style, right? Where, where, you know, they're the, you know, you, you, you have the players and they, they are playing the game. And so you get, you get back and forth. I had a whole pitch for like, a D and D movie that I would want. I saw the actual D and D movie, and it's great. You know, I, I saw it twice in theaters. I really enjoyed it. But I think that I would want a video game, D and D game to all to be that where, you know, like, I guess, sort of elements of, you know, early Assassin's Creed, but probably less on the normal side, I think, on the mundane side. I want there to be, okay, so open interior, a parent's basement. You know, we're all sitting there and, you know, you get to create your character as these characters and you understand what these characters mean to the players that are playing them. And I would want to play a character that is, I think, probably, you know, like my first D and D character, which was making like a cool, grim, dark assassin guy who's got knives and a tragic backstory, and then sort of like, have that character develop and start to make mean something to this player. And like, they get to work things out through that because, like, playing D and D and playing games is you work out so much of your stuff and play out so many scenarios that you wish you could play out in real life, but you have a reset button for.
A
Yeah, yeah, yeah. It reminds me so much of life is strange. True Colors. Remember, there's that whole section where you come in and you do the role playing game through the. But you already are the character you were, and it's. That's fun. I like that a lot. Yeah, you got something there. I appreciate that.
B
Yeah. Yeah.
A
Super. Tyler super chats and says congrats on wrapping the wizard, the Witch and the Wild One, Book one. Can't wait to see you. Be kind, question mark in parentheses and cunning in yote. I. How. How kind is Atsu? I don't think. I don't. I'm not expecting a kind person here.
B
Not. I mean, I. I don't know. I probably, you know, no spoilers.
A
Exactly.
B
But Atsu is. I think in some ways it was very funny because I think we just finished the. We call it book one, the first sort of book of this one campaign run by Brennan Lee Mulligan. And this character that I play is, you know, sort of. She's a witch and she's very kind and she has a fox familiar, which was, you know, sort of like a happy, weird happenstance because, as we know, foxes make an appearance in Tsushima, but it draws from a lot of the same shared mythology. There's like a lot of sort of Shinto influence, Ghibli and Japanese folkloric storytelling influence, but these characters could not be more fundamentally different. So, yeah, yeah, it's. Yeah. And. And both of the. Both of these projects started around the same time and then now have sort of concluded. My. My work on them has been concluded at the same time.
A
Look at that.
B
It's been a weird point for me as a storyteller where it's like, well, this incredibly fruitful and satisfying storytelling in my life has come to a close right now. Like, what do I get to do next?
A
Yeah. Is it all excitement or is it like a little bit bitter? Is it bittersweet to say goodbye?
B
It's very. It's very bittersweet. Especially because, you know, at least knowing that it's like an anthology, there's no guarantee that I'll ever see Atsu again, you know, But. But also at the same time. The Japanese have a saying, mono no aware, which means literally, it means things end. But it is sort of the connotation that things are beautiful because they end.
A
Sure.
B
But that being said, I did have a good sort of champagne cry. You know, when both projects were done, I was just like, what if I never make anything that's spiritually satisfying again? What if everyone hates all my work forever?
A
Now you're just doing McDonald's commercials. Get to it.
B
Listen, I wish I could.
A
I was going to say no shade. I'm just seeing. I. Yeah, Brian, the lead guy from Secession, he does the commercials. I like him a lot. When you mentioned it earlier, I hit up the one, the only, Sissy Jones. And I said, eric is talking about you on a podcast. What questions do you have for her? Responded, ooh, ask her when she knew she was a witch.
B
So interesting that like, again, yeah, I chose to play a witch in. And we made a whole custom character which you can find on the Worlds beyond number Patreon. But Sissy, I think was one of the earliest people to sort of introduce that whole, you know, the, that witching, that witchy coven of like talented, powerful and, and righteously angry women into my life. And it's, it's, it's powerful, I gotta say. You know, that energy, like I am a very sort of. I'm an atheist, agnostic, skeptical person, but also I cannot deny the power in a room when a group of incredible women gets, gets witchy.
A
When they get witchy, there's nothing better. There's nothing better.
B
You've been proximal to that scenario, Greg. It is frightening. Frightening in the best way for me. But, you know. Yeah, I think honestly, having cool, amazing women around me and supporting me and leading me has like, it's made all the difference in the world.
A
While we're here, talk to me a second about Worlds beyond number. When did you realize, oh, holy shit, this is going to be a big deal? Because like there are, you know, there's a lot of D and D campaigns and there's so many things, blah, blah, blah, but like, you guys crush it on Patreon. I'm on your page right now. You have nearly 72,000 members. Like, outrageous. Congratulations. When did you realize, oh, this is a big deal? Not a big deal. That's not the right. But we're, you're, you're doing better than you thought you were.
B
Yeah, actually it's very funny because in the abstract we knew that it would be some amount of successful because, you know, all of us have sort of it. This is kind of like a. One of those music super groups where different people from like known people from different projects all come together and make something that they love. But I did not know. I think it was literally 24. Within 24 hours we had something like 14,000 patrons.
A
Yeah.
B
And I, I, you know, was talking to somebody and they were like, that's a big deal. And I was like, yeah, that's that's a lot of people, right? And they were like, have you done the math on that? I was like, yeah, I've done them. Oh, oh, no, I didn't do the Right. I'm bad at math. So suddenly, you know, they, they had to napkin math it for me at that. At which point I was like, oh, oh my God. Like, it is, it is life changing. Like, honestly, to get to have. And you know, I mean, like, you're on Patreon, suddenly it means that you have so many. You can make the things that you want to make.
A
Patreon changed our lives. We wouldn't be here without this.
B
The sad and crass truth about making art in capitalism is that you need somebody to pay you for it. And if you don't have somebody paying for it or like a reliable source of somebody paying for it, then you have to make a lot of compromise, a lot more compromises. And the fact that, yeah, it was so. It was popular. It was, it was commercially viable so fast.
A
Yeah.
B
Was number one, a surprise. And number two, not something I planned on. And number three, it did. It changed my life. A fino. Because I had been fortunate enough to. I think it had been a lot of, you know, goodwill and, and, you know, sort of being known in this space had built up over the years, but this was the first time that I actually got to benefit from it and sort of seize the means of production, if you will. Yeah, yeah. Because most of the time you're going in and you are an. And don't get me wrong, a lot of the jobs that I, that I have pay very well, but they're not steady and they are, you know, and if there's like record profits or something, you don't tend to see any of that. Except for at dropout, which is insane. They do profit sharing and that's crazy. But yeah, this was the first time where I was like, oh, there's a direct correlation between people wanting to hear the art that I do and me being able to. To support myself in just like a really reliable way. And that still actually hasn't kicked in. It's still kind of percolating there. But we've had to sort of realize that this was our passion project. But now also maybe it can be something that we, you know, expand upon and dedicate more of our time to because everybody involved is also like, Brennan runs things that drop out and Lo is the on camera announcer for Kimmel and Aabria has an empire like is the dm. And so everybody has These other jobs. But that worlds beyond number is the thing that we want to do together for the rest of our life. So we got business married about it.
A
I love that. I love that. It's like you're the Justice League. You all have your own little adventures, but then you come together, do this thing.
B
Yeah. Oh, God.
A
If Sucker Punch wouldn't have started making these goofy ass ghost games, maybe there could have been like an infamous Justice League. But Nate left me in the dust on that one, didn't he? C.J. splits on super chats and says, would Erica be offended if I did my first playthrough in Japanese? They have lip syncing now.
B
I wouldn't. I wouldn't be offended.
A
She'll be offended. That's. I'll be an offended face. That's an. I'll be offended.
B
It's funny because I. The voice actress who, who's doing my dubbing is, Is such like, I'm a fan of her work and she does such a phenomenal job. And yeah, they. They have like, the lip sync is wild in. In. In a way that I don't think any game has ever been able to be before. And because, you know, it was important to them to have that full Kurosawa experience. It's still going to be my face and my performance, which hers is based on, so I'm not gonna be insulted. And. And also, you know, I definitely want to do a playthrough with her because again, I grew up with Kurosawa, and also I've been learning Japanese and you learn through immersion. And it's crazy because watching the trailer in Japanese was the first time I saw the dubbing, and it just looks like I'm speaking fluent Japanese, which is. It's messed with my head.
A
So, like, when did I. Oh, no, it's not me.
B
Yeah, yeah. And it's. It's also fascinating too, because now that I understand so much more Japanese, seeing how they translated it and seeing how she interpreted certain choices, is, is. Yeah, I. I will definitely be playing it through in Japanese at some point, but it is that always, always that question of dub versus sub only. I think this time people don't always realize that I am the sub and he's the dub. So, yeah, not, not. I'm. I'm not at all offended because it's. It's different situation and not a repudiation of my performance.
A
Fair enough. All right. Everybody's free to do what they want.
B
You can play the game exactly the way that you want.
A
Use the filter. You Want do the thing you put in black and white. Let's have some fun. Let's go have some. But make sure your brightness is all set, your hdr, all that.
B
Make sure that your gamma settings.
A
Yeah, yeah. Dialed in one last compliment and then one last question. Mad rocks super chats and says, oh, crackle, crackle. Amy and Kay have been two of my favorite characters in media. Cannot wait to play Ghost of Yote with Erica as the main character and then a bunch of party emojis. Have you gotten used to that yet? People coming to you and talking about how the performances have touched them, they're the favorite character in media, etc. Etc.
B
I, it's not, I don't think I'll ever be able to, to take it for granted, you know. Yeah, I, I, because I, I got into this, I, I became a performer because I wanted to tell stories that affected people in the way that I was affected, so deeply affected by these things that I was a fan of first. And having people say that I affected them is always going to be a surprise and truly an honor, you know?
A
Love that. And then our final super chat comes from the one, the only, Ty Wilkins vo. Ty Wilkins vo, of course, a kind of funny best friend who's been around for a long time and is breaking into the video game industry. All right. VO industry as well. Currently Jake on Paw Patrol to the rescue. Ty says, just got out of a VO session early. I thought I was going to miss Erica live. As someone who was a quote unquote tiny tato, Erica, you've always been an inspiration. Thank you for always being a light to look at when chasing the dream.
B
Oh my gosh. Thank you so much. Yeah, back in my, when I had time to Twitch Stream, my, my chat was the Tiny Potatoes because like me, they believed in you. You can do the thing. And God, we had some golden times. It's so wild to think about that. I remember, you know, our Christine and Aram who connected us. I had, I looked back in my emails and I had an email from like 2014, I want to say of me asking them to connect me with a developer or a voice actor or something or permission to stream uncharted Twitch Stream. And you know, it's, it's so wild to be on the other side of that, that now. And I mean as somebody who was part of the Tiny potatoes, they saw that journey, they saw me get my side shave live on Geek and Sundry and, and when I said I wanna, I wanna do voiceover for video games and I feel like a lot of voice actors I see now, like, get into streaming after they, they are, you know, become huge and in voice, in voice acting. And, you know, there's, I mean, I really wish I could go back to doing that, you know, to, to just like. But, but the thought of playing me on a live stream is still, I don't know that I've, I haven't done that yet. And that feels.
A
You gotta do it, though. Come here and do with us. Come and. Come here and do it. You don't have to do it on your own channel. Come do us. Give us the revenue. Come here. Come on.
B
I mean, listen, I'm up in the bay a little bit sometimes. My, my sister is the mayor of Berkeley.
A
I'm well aware because when you Instagram that a few years ago, I followed her and I see her do stuff in Berkeley every so often. I'm like, awesome. I'm glad she's holding it down.
B
But yeah, I'm up there. I, I would, I, I, I, I might. It's. Oh, that's such a weird thought. Especially because, like, if it was Dragon Age, it'd be one thing, you know, because, like, unless we made a character.
A
That looked exactly like you. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
B
Then like, like, that's different. But playing Yote, I just cannot imagine, like, every time we get to a cinematic not being like, oh, it's me. So. But yeah, yeah, we should, we should play sometime.
A
Come up.
B
Erin, you can have a heart rate monitor on me.
A
I don't know if we could do it without the treadmill, but we do have a heart rate monitor out there. I know, for streams. So, yeah, we could easily do that for you if you want it, if that's what it takes. That and a, you know, coach ticket on United Airlines. We'll get you up here, we'll make it happen. Don't worry about it. A free trip to come see your sister in Berkeley.
B
Ill. Deal.
A
Erica, thank you so much for spending the afternoon with us.
B
Thank you so much, Greg. This is an absolute treat. And, and you're, I mean, again, like, I looked up to you in this space and I used to see people wearing your shirts at all of the cons, you know, that we, that we had the time to go to back in the day.
A
Ye.
B
And so, you know, getting to talk to you like this is, is I never would have in my wildest dreams.
A
Imagined, well, don't be a stranger. Come back more. Like I said, come up for this. Come up for anything whenever you just want to Shoot the shit come up. We want to, we want to have you around. We love having you around.
B
Oh, thanks guys. And thanks. Thanks for holding it down. Yeah, I love games and I, and I love that other people who love games are able to make, you know, make, make cool stuff in this industry still.
A
Yeah, 100%. Everybody remember Erica's cool stuff. Ghost of Yote is coming out on October 2nd. PlayStation 5, of course. Remember, Worlds beyond number continues to be a juggernaut success. Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform. Go to Patreon. While you're there, subscribe to kind of funny patreon.com kind of funny YouTube.com kind of funny games. Apple, Spotify to keep our lights and mics on. Remember, we're an 11 person small business making the dream come true in San Francisco. Erica, beyond getting your video game beyond Worlds beyond number, where should people keep up with you?
B
I am on Blue sky and on Instagram at Erica Ishii and also you can see me on Dropout. If you don't have a subscription to Dropout, you can definitely borrow a friend's password. That is encouraged. And yeah, I hope to see you. Oh, also I'll be in Chicago on the 8th doing a live Dungeons & Dragons the 20 sided tavern show which is like a choose your own adventure. It's so much fun. It's crazy. And yeah, I hope to be back to play and get jump scared with Greg.
A
I would love to have you up here. We'd love to do D and D with you when you're up here. There's a whole bunch of cool stuff we should, we'll talk offline. We'll figure it out. We'll get a good crossover. Oh yeah, we did a DND campaign in the last three years. They did one that was all Fast and Furious themed and then like in 2015, we did one with critical role in the apartment. So it's we like D and D. We just don't do it enough. Let's figure that out. We'll figure that out. We'll get you up here for that. We'll get you the place in that. Everybody. This has been another episode of the Kind of Funny Games cast. Remember, each and every weekday we run you through the biggest topics in video games. Whether they be reviews, previews or interviews or just things we need to talk about like subscribe, share, ring the bell. If you're a Twitch person, use Twitch Prime, Amazon prime, you know, all the different ways to support. We are taking a break in our live programming day because in just about less than two hours, we'll be back with a kind of funny happy hour for our patrons at the $25 and up level, where you can call in and be part of the live podcast with us. But for now, until next time, it's been our pleasure to serve.
This special episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast features an in-depth, candid interview with Erika Ishii, the lead actress for the upcoming PlayStation exclusive, Ghost of Yotei. Host Greg Miller dives into Erika’s journey from sneaking into the video game industry to starring in a major first-party PlayStation title, her background in voice acting, reflections on her fandom, representation, and her experiences working on Ghost of Yotei. The conversation is unfiltered and heartfelt, providing inspiration and behind-the-scenes insight into both the creative process and the evolving face of the industry.
Early Days ([00:57]–[06:49])
Finding Her Passion: Shift to Voice Acting ([07:41]–[14:20])
From Fandom to the Booth ([13:01]–[23:12])
Skill Tree Metaphor: Multi-Disciplinary Career ([17:10]–[18:41])
Representing Fandom Inside the Industry ([18:41]–[23:12])
Relationship with the Franchise ([26:29]–[28:54])
Casting Process and Approaching the Role ([28:54]–[33:01])
Production Experience ([33:01]–[36:01])
Complexity of the Lead Character and Narratives ([39:48]–[43:29])
Pre-Launch Reflections and Player Advice ([43:29]–[48:26])
Worlds Beyond Number & Community Support ([52:37]–[59:26])
Approach to Language, Representation, and Sub/Dub Debate ([59:32]–[61:55])
“Playing The Last of Us was sort of the last straw to where I said, okay, I have to get into voice acting for video games specifically.”
— Erika Ishii, [05:18]
“My parents…couldn’t open doors for me, but they knew which doors to knock on.”
— Erika Ishii, [06:07]
“I feel like my skill…Let’s look at it like a skill tree, if you will.”
— Erika Ishii, [17:10]
“Being a professional fan, I think is…something…because you are too.”
— Erika Ishii to Greg Miller, [22:21]
“She’s not a samurai. And…what I got was a character who was really complex and just really different than I’ve gotten to see a lot of main female characters…”
— Erika Ishii, [40:35]
“Having people say that I affected them is always going to be a surprise and truly an honor.”
— Erika Ishii, [62:39]
“I feel like Cinderella, you know…I was just a little guy and I got chosen to be part of this incredible narrative in this industry that I specifically wanted to be a part of.”
— Erika Ishii, [47:35]
Erika’s journey is marked by persistent fandom turning into professional mastery—from sneaking into E3 to being immortalized as a PlayStation main character. She emerges as a multidimensional artist, unafraid to address industry realities, complex representation, and her own ongoing “imposter syndrome.” Her connection to fans, genuine love for the craft, and respect for her collaborators shine throughout.
Ghost of Yotei launches October 2, 2025, and is positioned as a passion-fueled evolution of the Ghost of Tsushima legacy—one Erika promises is both classic and wholly new.
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