Starting at a Japanese games dev

Two months after being offered my job, I was finally able to start working on the last Friday of January.

I arrived at the requested time and was shown by the receptionist to a table where two other people starting that day were sitting in silence, avoiding mutual eye contact. I couldn't help but kick off with my "Japanese Lesson 1" material and started the introductions. We were soon met by our leads and taken to our departments.

During the day we were shown around the entire office and introduced to everyone, which involved lots of bowing and exchanging the words "yoroshiku onegaishimasu" several times. This translates more or less into "Please be kind to me", and is the most common expression when meeting someone.

As usual, most of the first day working at a games developer is spent getting your PC set up. Creating a login, password, installing and setting up all the required software, network paths, etc. Learning what-does-what in Windows software is a little trickier when it's all in kanji. Luckily though, the software I need to use the most (Maya and Photoshop) were both available in English. When I'm in deep "into" my work, there's little to remind me I'm actually working in foreign country.

In addition to that, the two artists sitting nearest to me in the office are the two employees who speak the best English - it really couldn't be more convenient. Needless to say they've been a tremendous help to me the past few weeks in translating my questions (and answers), reading error messages on my screen, explaning work practices, teaching me new words, etc. etc. I'm not sure I would have managed without their help. Also since my arrival, all my colleagues have now added their names in romaji to the list in our instant messaging software, making it possible for me to read their names.

At some point during the first day I received my contract. Apparently it is not unusual to get this on your first working day, and it's only one page. Being that short it is of course pretty basic, the only striking clause being something along the lines of "Should the company get sued for something you did, you get sued, not the company". You don't need to sign - or rather stamp - it on the spot, but return it to following week.

While I'm not the first Westerner to work at the company, at the moment I am the only one. All in all, the company and the employees have been extremely accommodating. I can do my work without problems and best of all, I'm enjoying myself. So far so good!

Third first interview in Japan

Quick recap: With quite a bit of luck I had found a Japanese games developer who was willing to hire a foreigner with a limited ability in Japanese. I was offered a job a few hours after my second interview, and decided to accept. Just a few days before I had that second interview, I had however received another invitation for a first interview. Of course, I didn't cancel the upcoming interview and decided to have a look.

This interview was at one of the big companies, to which I had applied at the beginning of October. Shortly thereafter I received an e-mail saying that it would indeed take about 6 weeks before I'd hear from them again. After a few weeks, I got a call on my mobile from them. It was with quite some difficulty that I was able to understand that the positions I had applied to weren't available, and I was asked if I was interested in another position. Of course I said yes to that, and a few weeks later I was called again to agree a date for an interview. This was far easier for me to understand and communicate about.

So like I said, this interview took place after I already had an offer, so there was little reason for me to be nervous. As usual I arrived early. The reception area was truly impressive, displaying boxed games, merchandise and a few games running on monitors. The two receptionists wore matching yet stylish uniforms.

The interview itself went pretty well. I was interviewed by one Japanese developer and one foreigner to handle the translation - a relatively low headcount! The position we talked about was at a department that's not even listed on their website, and a rather interesting one at that. The questions were numerous and deep, and I think I answered them well, albeit mostly in English. The interview also lasted longer than the usual 30 minutes, although I don't recall the exact length.

A few days after this interview, my portfolio was returned with a rather glossy rejection letter. It didn't take me by surprise, but the interview had given me a fair amount of hope. I certainly didn't regret going to the interview, as it has pointed out to me a possible way of how I might try to profile/market myself in my upcoming job, which starts -- tomorrow!

Seal of approval

When settling in Japan, you will find that there are certain things you will truly need you didn't expect. One such thing is a personal seal, roughly the size of a AA battery, officially called an inkan or more commonly referred to as a hanko ("stamp").

The inkan serves the same purpose as a signature does in the West; it is used to mark your agreement, and so all Japanese have their own inkan. Many banks require you to have a inkan, and it is used for signing contracts and official documents. Before buying real estate, a car or a house one must have their inkan registered at the town hall. A registered inkan is known as a jitsuin. For foreigners the jitsuin must contain their surname, which may be written in katakana or the Roman alphabet (romaji).

Inkans for common Japanese names can be bought for as little as 105 yen, but foreigners will have to get one custom made and that will cost around 4000 yen. Thankfully, shops where you can get them made are plentiful, and there also plenty of suppliers online. These inkans are clearly a big business here, and customers can choose from an enormous range of sizes, materials, fonts and carrying cases. Check out the extensive website of hankoya.com, with its sub-domains for women's and titanium inkans.

A few weeks ago I was bought my inkan as a birthday gift. I decided to have my last name put on it in katakana. My last name is quite long, so the resulting inkan has some of the narrowest katakana I've ever seen crammed into the 13.5mm diameter. I've not actually used it yet, but I'll be opening a bank account in the near future and of course there's the job contract I look forward to signing - I mean, stamping soon.

First second job interview in Japan

As previously reported, my second first job interview in early November had gone surprisingly well. By the end of the interview, I had been asked to do some freelance work as test of my abilities in the Maya software package. For those that don't know, Maya is a 3D modeling package and is the most commonly used in the games industry in Japan. The other famous packages (3D Studio MAX and Softimage XSI) are also used, but companies that use them are less common, so it's best to have Maya on your CV if you apply here - even if you're still learning the software.

I had been told at the first interview that the details of my freelance work would be emailed to me a few days later. The few days passed, and a little later I got an email requesting me to come over to the office again to sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) and presumably talk through the work. Naturally I agreed to that, but then a few days later I was emailed an invitation to meet the company president for a second interview.

So about a week later I returned to the office. Knowing there was no apparent doorbell by the front door, I phoned reception who were able to point out there was a door with a doorbell on the side of the building.

The interview itself went well once again. There was another English-speaker present this time to help out, and among the specific questions there was also some small talk. I was still a little confused as to the purpose of this meeting, expecting to still get the freelance work, but it turned out it was no longer thought to be necessary. In fact, I was asked how much I was hoping to earn, and after that I was told I would be emailed a salary offer later that day!

The offer indeed came to my Inbox that evening. It was less than I'd hoped for (isn't it always?), but having only a very rough idea of what to expect I checked with some friends in the business here what they thought of the offer. "Not bad" and "Doable" were their answers, along with some stories of their first "offers" and what some of their Japanese colleagues are "earning". So while I'd have to swallow some of my pride, I knew I had been quite fortunate to get a reasonable offer in such a short time - I decided to accept it.

The job wouldn't be starting for another good few weeks however, and in the week of this interview another invitation for a first interview elsewhere had come in. Well, there'd be no harm in going to that... Stay tuned!

Second first job interview in Japan

On Wednesday the 8th of November, I had my second first-job-interview in Japan. This one was at a relatively small development house. The reasons I had applied here quite early on was because the company website had a recruitment page in English, but also because they have made some very unique games in the recent past, the visual style of which I love.

Following the previous day's interview elsewhere, I was a little more nervous. As per usual, I'd arrived at the station nearly half an hour early. So once again, I took to exploring the area a little after I had located the building I needed to go to. When I decided to go inside, I encountered a slight problem: the building had no doorbell! The front door only served a tiny hall with an elevator, so nobody inside could see me standing there either.
Thankfully within a minute or two, an employee of the company arrived and opened the door for me using his swipe-card. I told him I was there for an interview, and he took me upstairs to the relevant floor and let reception know I had arrived. A receptionist showed we where to sit, and not long after four employees arrived to interview me. One of them introduced himself as the English-speaker and said he would translate, to which I (naturally) replied that I would try to speak as much Japanese as I could.

The interview went much better than the one the day before. The questions were numerous and specific, and I was able to understand and use a lot more Japanese, answering a few questions even without the English-speaker's help. It seemed they had already made up their mind to a degree, because they offered me some freelance work as a test to see if my Maya software skills were up to par. Needless to say I accepted that, and the details would be sorted out later.
Again, the interview lasted only about half an hour but this time the result exceeded my expectations: I'd just been offered work by a Japanese game development studio!

The day didn't pass without an awkard moment though. After the interview, I bought some sushi and took a seat in park to eat my lunch. While I was sitting there eating my lunch, I was approached my three plainclothes policemen. Of course I was surprised, helped by the fact that these policemen all looked rather young. Still, their badges looked real enough, their clothes were quite typical for plainclothes police (jeans, sneakers, puffy jackets and hip-bags) and I figured the penalty for impersonating a policeman in this country wouldn't be something a student would risk. They asked to see my alien registration card (a.k.a. gajin card), what I was doing in the area, and if they could search my bag. One man put on a pair of white gloves and had a look. He asked if I had a knife in my bag, to which I could only answer: "Ehh, why?". Anyway, the three men were all polite during the whole routine and thanked me before they took off. Putting things into perspective, I guess it's in a policeman's nature to stop 'n' search minorities, the ones in Japan being no exception.

The friendliness of the Japanese people shone through again not a minute later though, when a cheery old man walking by said "Oishii desu neee?" ("Delicious, isn't it?") while pointing at my tray of sushi.

So what happened with the freelance work I was offered? Did I pass the test? Stay tuned!

Plan B

Before coming to Japan, I already had a backup plan to keep me busy while I would be looking for a job here. I had already notified several colleagues and ex-colleagues in other companies that I would be available to do freelance work.

So far, Plan B has been working to a satisfactory degree. I've been doing some work for people in Los Angeles and London, and I've spoken about possible work with someone in Sweden. The work on each little project has been completely different from the others.

One of the companies I've been working with is AirPlay, a mobile games developer started by some ex-colleagues of mine based in London. Their first game, Super Yum Yum, got excellent reviews and was nominated for a BAFTA game award a few years ago. That year they were the only game nominated which didn't carry an existing brand/license. They've recently released Super Yum Yum 2, which is also getting great reviews. Check it out!
As is usual in the games biz, I'm not at liberty to talk about what I've been working on (until it is officially announced by the publisher).

Working with a time difference of 8 to 17 hours (Europe and LA, respectively) turns out to be easier than I'd expected. By the late afternoon, when I'm finishing up my work, Europe gets to work and we discuss the work either using Instant Messenger or Skype. If my employer in Europe decides he wants some other changes, he can always send me an e-mail, knowing it will arrive well before I start my work the next morning.

To anyone reading this who is looking for a freelance artist: I'm still available until the end of January. (There's a hint in there about the status of my jobhunt, but more on that later!)
You'll find my contact details on my CV at videogamesartist.com. =D

First job interview in Japan

Last week I had my first job interview in Japan. I had applied online to this company and was asked to come a few days later for an interview in the late afternoon.

Never wanting to be late for anything ever, I arrived half an hour early at the station and went looking for the building. I found it soon enough, and to kill some time, walked around the block. The building was clad with a charcoal grey marble, much like the type that's used for gravestones over here. I went inside, spoke to the lady at reception and was asked to take a seat. The waiting area had a few games on display on monitors surrounded by Point of Sale material. The seats and tables were all primary colours which made the waiting area look like a kids' corner.

While waiting in the lobby I silently rehearsed my little introductory biography in Japanese, and looked at the game demos running on the TVs. Another person was called inside, and sometime later left. Another person arrived -- also an artist here for an interview? It looks like he's carrying a portfolio. Eventually my time came and I was shown to the room nearest to the lobby.

The interview itself was probably the most intimidating I'd ever been to, but thankfully also the shortest. Seven people were sat across the table, and I was simply asked to talk through some of my best work. My introduction wasn't called for, and while I talked through most of my work in English, I inserted a Japanese sentence wherever I could. Only two specific questions regarding my work were asked.

As I left, still somewhat confused by the briefness of the interview, I wondered if it had gone well. I couldn't really tell. The lack of questions could have been a good thing or a bad thing. If I heard correctly, I'll be hearing from them in about a week. I checked my watch and concluded that the interview had taken half an hour, if that.

Thinking back, I figured these 7 from across the table probably had been churning through first-interviews all day.
...
A few days later, I received the standard thank-you-for-applying-and-good-luck-to-you rejection e-mail. No matter. Read about what happened at my second first interview elsewhere in an upcoming post.

The game's afoot.

My highest priority at the moment of course is to find a job. Here's a quick run-down of what's been happening so far:

Before coming to Japan, I had already started one application at a company that looks very attractive and where I thought my chances of me getting a job were pretty good. This company had asked me to do an art test as part of the application. It was impossible for me to do this back in London while a million things needed doing for the big move, so it had to wait until I had arrived in Japan. Thus after getting our PC in Japan, the first thing I did was the art test. It wasn't particularly difficult, as it wasn't that much different from work I had done before. I sent the two pieces off and awaited my judgment.

Next, I updated and polished my CV and digital portfolio further. At the Tokyo Games Show I met an English games recruiter who works here. I met up with him the following week, gave him a copy of my portfolio and he's now doing "his thing". To my knowledge, he has introduced me to two companies here thus far, but I've not heard anything back about those yet.

Meanwhile, my wife had started translating my CV. The CV and portfolio needed to be bilingual, because let's not try to kid ourselves that every Japanese HR person or lead artist can or wants to read a CV and portfolio in English. Translating the CV took a few days, which involved me having to explain to my wife what "Initiated improvements to the special effects technology and pipeline" exactly means, among other game-technology terms. The Japanese CV text was then copied into the portfolio (so the English portfolio's text is actually different).

From a friend and game artist who lives and works here already, I'd received a massive list of nearly every game development studio in Tokyo, including addresses. He had done the bold thing of applying to a 100+ companies from abroad in writing (in English!) a few years ago - with success! Now, I haven't sent out a hundred applications just yet - and I really don't want to. I checked the list to see which companies were still around, which (kind of) games they'd made, and how foreigner-friendly they might be. The big names and those with recruitment pages in English on their websites would be the best to start with.

With the CV and portfolio all bilingual and finally a broadband connection at home, I could upload my website for the world ( = potential Japanese employers) to see. I had a slight problem with the website's host (it's in Holland) not willing to send HTML pages encoded with Japanese characters. I found a workaround, but it makes it nearly impossible to edit my HTML, as each Japanese character is written as a five-digit number now.

Most of the big Japanese games publishers let you apply for a job directly online. You fill in an online form with pretty much the same information that's on your CV (copy-paste), answer why you want to work for them, and in my case promote my online portfolio. So far, I've been very impressed with the response times I've gotten to most of these applications. One company apologised for not replying any sooner, while I'd applied only one week before. The reply was negative, but at least I didn't have to wait long for it. Another invited me for an interview, about which you can read later.

Most companies however, from what I've seen, require hard copies (printouts) of artwork. So, for a second batch of applications I quickly put together a little booklet. We also put together a Japanese-style CV, which has a particular layout and includes a straight-faced passport photo. A plastic folder containing the Japanese-style CV, colour printouts and the CD-ROM was sent to a small number of companies. Two replies so far: one saying the selection process will take 6-8 weeks, the other an invitation for an interview! Bring it on!