"Pokémon," "Final Fantasy," "Super Mario."
Japan has many games that are popular worldwide. If you love games, you might have thought, "I want to work in the country where these games originated."
However, even if you say you want to work in the game industry, there are various job types. It's important to first understand this. Here, we will introduce the different jobs in the Japanese game industry, the routes to get those jobs, and the necessary preparations, divided into two parts: the first part and the second part.
The Japanese Game Industry: Three Main Types of Games
Games are mainly divided into:
"Home console games" played on game consoles at home
"Mobile games" played on smartphones
"Cloud games" played on computers
Each has different characteristics, so it's necessary to think about what type of game-related job you want to pursue.
A game goes through many steps before it is completed, with various people playing their roles. Let's look at the main jobs in the game industry in more detail.
The Japanese Game Industry: What Types of Jobs Are There?
Planner
A planner creates game plans based on the opinions of directors and producers. The job involves creating project proposals and game specifications, giving instructions to staff, and checking the work. Communication skills to work with many people and free thinking and creativity to come up with plans and structures are required.
Game Master
A game master's (GM) main job is to create the rules and mechanics of a game. They decide on the difficulty, event structure, and updates to make the game enjoyable for many people. This is a particularly important job in game creation, requiring detailed knowledge and experience in games.
Programmer
A programmer writes the game's code according to the project plan. They use programming languages to give instructions to computers and create the game system. Knowledge of programming and mastery of programming languages are required, so studying at information technology or programming schools is generally necessary.
Designer
A designer creates and visualizes the graphics for game characters and backgrounds. Becoming a designer requires high-level drawing skills and creativity. Since they often work with directors and programmers, communication skills are also necessary. Studying design at an art university or a design school is a common route.
Producer
A producer is responsible for game development, handling tasks such as creating schedules until the game release, allocating budgets, and distributing tasks. Producers often work with sales and development staff as well as external companies, so strong communication skills are highly required.
Marketer
A marketer conducts market research and carries out effective promotions to increase the game's popularity and sales. They investigate what kind of games users want and come up with ideas to attract new users. Basic marketing knowledge and skills, information-gathering abilities, and communication skills to interact with staff and external parties are required.
Once you decide what kind of job you want to do, start preparing by studying at a university or attending a specialized school.
In the second part, we will introduce the preparation in more detail.
No matter what industry you want to work in, if you want to work in Japan, studying Japanese is necessary!
At J-CALP, we offer Japanese lessons for entering art colleges or specialized schools.
We also provide beginner to intermediate Japanese lessons, business Japanese lessons, and custom lessons tailored to learners' needs.
Our Japanese teachers, who have specialized know-how in advancing to higher education and learning Japanese, will guide you carefully through online lessons.
Please feel free to contact us first!
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