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Author Archives: Haruna
The H.A.Test for Design
The Joel Test is a great 12 question litmus test for programming team efficacy. I’ve devised a similar test for design teams. Design teams can really make or break a company, seeing as to how design is effectively steering a boat. You could have a great design with an allegedly impenetrable hull, but if you […]
Posted in Game Design, Game Industry
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So who’s going to survive 2015?
It’s been a year since my last article. I meant to post a lot more often, including some positive articles on development in Japan but after a horrid job that left me livid and broken mess physically and emotionally. It’s been 8 months since I was in that situation and while my current one is […]
Posted in Game Industry, Japan
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5 Types of Game Companies likely to survive 2014
Wow, 2013 was the varied year for the game industry in Japan. Gungho, became a juggernaut with Ragnarok Online, went semi-dormant and rose again with Puzzle Dragons. Classic JRPG developer Neverland closed down, much to the disappointment of fans. The Playstation 4 lands in Japan this February, as Japan seems like it’s finally learned how […]
Posted in Game Industry, Japan
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5 Things Likely to Drive You Crazy While Working in Japan
These are the 5 big things that have certainly annoyed me about working in Japan vs working in the USA. I can’t say anything for other regions of the world, but from what I’ve heard, these 5 offenses are primarily perpetrated by Japanese companies. 1.) What janitorial staff? That’s YOU! Along with the office manager, […]
Posted in Game Industry, Japan
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Crowdfunding in Japan?
I honestly didn’t think it existed either, but it does. Developers behind MONKEN found 201 rather generous patrons, mostly giving ~$100 USD each. The crowd funding site used is called Campfire. It looks and operates a lot like Kickstarter, only taking whopping 20% of the collected funds. Ouch! Funding is also “all or nothing” like […]
Posted in Japan, Reading
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Want a game development job in the USA? Do this instead.
Make games. If you want to make more than just some little smart phone time sink, get a PC game with good content creation tools and make a content mod, like Falskaar. What is Falskaar? 19 year old Alexander J. Velicky’s 2000 hour labor of love and 25 hours worth of new content. He wanted to […]
Posted in Careeer, Game Design
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So, you want to be a game developer in Japan? Part IV
I’ve only interviewed for game design positions so I can’t comment on artist, programming or sound specific interview questions but a lot of questions have me re-stating a lot of what I put on my paperwork, especially my cover letter and what what my career goals are. Don’t be afraid to ask interviewers to rephrase […]
Posted in Careeer, Game Industry, Japan
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So, you want to be a game developer in Japan? Part III
So you’ve submitted your paperwork and now your perspective employer is no doubt going through the process of 書類選考. Should you pass, prepare for a series of interviews. The most common procedure is 2 interviews. The first interview is with potential direct supervisors and other co-workers. Some places may require you to take an entrance […]
Posted in Careeer, Game Industry, Japan
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So, you want to be a game developer in Japan? Part II
The long awaited part II finally arrives! Small warning: working in Japan provides little-if any-free time to do things like blogging and what have you. Time to list up all the paperwork and what have you that you will need prepare in order to apply for a job in Japan: 履歴書 or Rirekisho. This is […]
Posted in Careeer, Game Industry, Japan
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So, you want to be a game developer in Japan?
As someone who has managed to achieve that seemingly distant goal, I’ve been asked how I did it more than a few times. I’ve had some time to think about my path and write down what I consider to be the most import bits of advice. Before you start How good is your Japanese? First […]
Posted in Careeer, Game Design, Game Industry, Japan
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