Case (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
case) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomsecrets2008-09-27 05:13 pm
case) wrote in fandomsecrets2008-09-27 05:13 pm
[ SECRET POST #631 ]
⌈ Secret Post #631 ⌋
Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.
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Notes:
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Secrets Left to Post: 21 pages, 516 secrets from Secret Submission Post #091.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 2 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 1 - repeat ], [ 1 - posted twice ], [ 1 2 3 4 5 - doing it wrong ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
157
1) Most big Japanese video game companies WILL hire employees from other places ... if you have the credentials to back it up. Gamasutra (an excellent industry news site to follow if you're interested in the business, btw) had a recent article submission from a young developer who'd been accepted to work over at a major Japanese game company (I can't remember under which well-known designer off the top of my head, unfortunately) and his experiences with it. However, the thing is, he had met this famous designer in person while the designer was visiting the American studio he was currently working at, and while there, sat down with his portfolio and demonstrated that he would, in fact, be an asset worth taking a risk on.
2) Small Japanese companies aren't likely to be able to make the games you're interested in, or are more reluctant to hire outside talent in general, etc, unless they're sure you're good. There's always the chance, but in general you want, also, a portfolio of previous works to present to them.
3) Because of points 1 and 2, I'd suggest you learn the industry before you try to get hired in a foreign language, with employers who don't want the hassle of dealing with work visa issues, etc, unless they believe you're worth it. There are several ways to do this: a) get a degree in video game design in the field you're interested in (I notice you didn't specify, and this is an important difference. A designer's skills, an artist's skills, and a programmer's skills will have vastly different requirements to bring to the table, including issues like 'oh man, it's one thing to speak Japanese and it's another to have to code in it'). b) Get a job at a video game company and spend 2-5 years working on games there.
I say 2-5 because the video game industry has a lot of layoffs and high turnover time, since people will often get laid off when a company is between projects, etc. This is especially prevalent in the big companies, but if you'r ehoping to work on Big Name Titles to get recognition you can bring with you to other countries, that's a risk you might have to take.
4)Be prepared for the workload difference. The video game industry in general is well-known for "crunch" -- there's been major issues with it (look up the "EA Spouse" if you don't know of it). The industry IS reexamining it and trying to change, but as is, at certain points in projects, 60-100 hour weeks are considered pretty normal. Designers (ie, writers/creative) tend to have less on the crunch because they're doing less time-sensitive work, but even then, I can say I've had 60+ hour weeks before. Programmers and QA can expect to have worse. Having said that, Japan is known for much worse crunch than North American companies. One figure I've heard bandied around is that 13 hour work days in Japanese companies is more the norm than the exception.
In short, your dream isn't impossible, but please understand that "learning Japanese" is really the least of it. Learning the skills, learning the taxing requirements, and learning the job industry in general is the biggest hitch, because regardless of how flawless your Japanese is, you won't be hired if you don't have the work experience. You might not like HALO, but trust me, if you can say "I was one of the designers on HALO" in broken Japanese or even English, you'll have a higher chance of Japanese companies looking your way than if you say "I have no experience, but I can communicate well with your team."
Re: 157
Not to mention that it requires an entirely different set of language skills to be able to read and write technical documents. I have to translate them occasionally at my job and it can be pretty awful because they tend to use vocabulary that I simply haven't encountered before; several times my Japanese boss has told me that even HE has to look words or phrases up while reading them. If this person thinks they're going to be able to learn the type of specific language they'll need to work in the industry by just taking a few classes, they're sadly mistaken.
(I can spell, I swear.)