Christian Bito-on

Title of Work:

Video Game Development in Japan

Abstract:

Developing video games in Japan is quite similar to methodologies employed by the US. Outside of company-specific practices, video game development is divided into three distinct phases. In each stage of development there are a number of goals that the company must meet so that the game becomes a viable product is created. Once the foundation is set, many collaborators begin their work on their part of the game. This can include visual and sound design, storyboarding, and the code of the game, where programmers ensure the software works as intended.

While the main creative processes of Japanese game development are not at all different, Japan enjoys a different kind of culture surrounding games. Rather than being standalone entity, Japanese games can often be seen as merely one entry of a series in an ensemble of different media iterations. Games, in addition to movies, anime, and manga, are just one of the many ways to enjoy a story.

However, game development, as fun as the title may sound, is a rather difficult job. Whether it's in the US or Japan, developers have quite the number of headaches to deal with. From incorrectly working programs to fast-arriving deadlines, a game developer must have a passion for their work and determination to see their project through to the end.

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript:

Hey guys, Christian Bito-on here, and I'm studying Computer Science and Comparative Culture Studies with an Asian Studies emphasis and a Japanese minor. As a level 5 student who was supposed to go to Japan back in 2020, I had the case where I did my research back at home while I focused on my cultural studies here in Japan. For my research project, I simulated video game development in Japan. I found that the process was very similar to that of the US, but I found some cultural differences. For example, here, anime is a predominant form of media and it's sort of seeped into the video game industry, creating a lot of anime-esque styles here. This also ties in with its multimedia connection, where you can find that a game released in Japan can have a corresponding anime, novel, toys or even a manga. And it works both ways! A popular toy, manga and novel can get their own game and so can anime. So it's very much interconnected and I can find it interesting that you can digest the same story through different forms of media. As for platform preferences, the on the go nature of Japan kind of lends itself to the rise of the mobile game market here, as well as the simplicity of console games make it very easy for when you just want to play games at home. PC games still exist here, but not as wide of a breadth as the other two platforms. For my time here in Japan, I find it quite fun that I was able to take what I learned back at NAU and see it really applied. Things like architecture and art and history I was able to see in person and I was able to enjoy that. I was also really excited to see that the research that I did on video game development, I can see it applied in arcade machines, in just normal video games, but I can also see the process visualized whenever they hold art showcase events here. And I found that really fun and interesting. Overall, I want to take both the things I've studied back at home and here, and I want to become an "international" man in terms of computer science. Not only do I want to do not just one subfield, but I also want to do a lot of them and kind of take whatever from everything to become a more learned individual. And I want to be able to take this and work towards a doctorate and just become just a more educated person in general and so that I can learn about just how cool my field is in every aspect of the fact. Thank you!

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