WHO WORKS HERE

People Staff Interview

• Interested in engineering and design from an early age

  I was born in Bristol, a town in England. My father was a fan of racing simulation games, so as a child, I used to play Grand Prix 2 on his PC. I fell in love with cars from there, and after getting my own PlayStation, I became completely hooked on Gran Turismo.

  The company Airbus is based in Bristol, and many of the adults in the area, including my father, worked there. Growing up in this environment may have had a significant impact on me, as from a young age, I became interested in engineering and design. I would often create stop-motion animations using LEGO and clay after being inspired by Wallace and Gromit, and when I was 16 years old, I visited Airbus as part of my work experience at school. I looked at CAD designs, and from then on, my interest in CG was sparked, so I bought 3ds Max and began teaching myself. From that moment forward, I became more and more fascinated with CG production.

  I majored in video game design at university with the goal of becoming a CG artist. However, I was strongly influenced by the students in the automotive design department, who were on the same campus and studied CG design and had their dedicated studio for creating clay models. Over time, I found myself becoming interested not only in CG but also in automobile design. After graduating, I joined a company that designs car bodies for prototype race cars, IndyCars and Formula 1 cars.

• From Real Race Car Development to the Virtual World

  At the company I previously worked for, I was responsible for creating the course simulator used for developing the car bodies. We were making the course with what was considered cutting-edge tech back then, such as laser scanning, and it was very exciting, but sadly, the project ended up being disbanded.

  After the project was disbanded, I came to Japan with my brother on a working holiday, and I was also developing a course simulator for developing race cars. However, after spending some time in Japan, I decided I wanted to work at Polyphony Digital, the developer of Gran Turismo. The game had been a major inspiration for me during my previous work in simulation development, and I was fascinated by the beauty of its CG. So, before the end of my working holiday, I applied for a position at Polyphony Digital and was successful. After securing a work visa, I returned to Japan, and I've been working here ever since.

• Differences in the way courses are developed compared to previous company

  After joining Polyphony Digital, I was first involved with creating the road surface model for the 24 Hours du Mans racetrack from laser scan data for Gran Turismo SPORT. Coincidentally, I was also responsible for developing the simulation for the same track in my previous job. At that time, I had been frustrated as I felt that the course development schedule was being dictated by the car body design, but at Polyphony Digital, our development system ensures we have the time necessary to refine every detail carefully, and I was struck by the contrasting development approaches of the two companies.

• An open atmosphere

  As someone who was a fan of Gran Turismo living overseas, I had the image that Polyphony Digital was somewhat secretive and that it would be difficult for someone like me to work there. Before joining, my impression was that Japanese companies were conservative and rigid, but my experience working here has completely changed that perception. Even compared to the companies I've worked for in the West, I don't think there's any company as open and free as Polyphony Digital. Although I'm still studying Japanese and occasionally have trouble communicating, the other team members will try and help me out by speaking in English, and those who speak it well will even interpret for me when needed. When someone's having trouble, everyone comes together, and there are no divisions between the teams. It's a great group.

• People who should consider Polyphony Digital

  As shown through collaborations with automotive manufacturers on projects such as the 'Vision Gran Turismo' and the official championships with the FIA, the Gran Turismo brand has a history and culture that is more closely intertwined with car culture than other car games, and the staff here work tirelessly to continuously make Gran Turismo even better. I hope that future team members will understand what the 'Gran Turismo' brand stands for and bring the passion and ambition to help it grow.

• CG Artist Job Description