Ken Taya, Working Halo Across Borders

Like we’ve said in the past, while we haven’t really kept up on the goings-ons in the video game world, we’re certainly interested in a field that has, in short order, eclipsed the film industry. That said, while we admit that we haven’t spent minute one playing any of these Halo games, we’re aware of their cultural signifigance in certain circles and thus, even we found this Ping Magazine interview with Halo 3 Environmental Arist Ken Taya interesting. His job, from what we gather, is something like an art director, creating all of the backgrounds for the game, the guy who makes the matte paintings, sort of. But, surprisingly, the interview has little to do with gaming at all. It’s largely about working back and forth between Japanese and American development teams, as well as navigating through the likes and dislikes of both cultures in creating something that will appeal to both. Definitely up to Ping’s usual, very high standards.

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