WHO WORKS HERE

People Staff Interview

• Growing up with video games

  I was born in Nakano, Tokyo. I'm from the generation where video games first really took off, and I've been interested in video games since I was a small child. However, my parents would never buy them for me, so I spent my time drawing anime characters and manga in the lower grades of elementary school.

  When I was in the third grade of elementary school, my parents bought a Super Famicom as a surprise. I still remember how excited I was. I remember it came with the game Final Fight, and I played it with my brother like crazy. From that point onwards, I started to think that someday I'd like to work in video games. The job title "game designer" intrigued me; it sounded fun, and it perhaps had a certain novelty that drew me in.

• Majoring in metal casting at university

  My enthusiasm for video games persisted throughout both junior high and high school. When I entered high school, I thought that for video game production, it would be best if I had some art experience, so I started attending an art preparatory school. I worked on drawing and three-dimensional images, and was good with modelling clay, so I decided to look for a university that used modelling clay as part of the entrance exam. I successfully passed the exam for Tokyo University of the Arts for their Craft Design course. I developed an interest in artworks created through casting, which led me to major in Metal Casting. From there, I went straight to graduate school, and I was a member of the Metal Casting Laboratory. Also, it was during this time that I had some longer holidays, and I spent much of that time playing online games. From my fourth year of university until I entered graduate school, I was particularly addicted to the game, La Tale.

  

• Opportunity at Polyphony Digital through a friend

  When I was in my second year of graduate school, an acquaintance who worked at Polyphony Digital told me about a part-time car production job vacancy. Entering the gaming industry has been a lifelong aspiration of mine since childhood, and when I heard that it was a route to gaining a full-time position, I applied without hesitation. That said, I didn't know anything about computer game graphics back then, and that was something I picked up after I joined the company.

  When I joined Polyphony, Gran Turismo 5 was in the mastering process. I was placed in the Car Modelling Team and given the task of fixing standard model wheels. I updated a large number of them. I managed to survive somehow and became a full-time employee around the time we moved on to the production of Gran Turismo 6, I have been working here ever since.

• Managing schedules as Team Manager

  From Gran Turismo 6, I have been working on all aspects of car production. The first car I made was the Abarth 1500 Biposto Bertone B.A.T. 1. Since then, I have overseen various cars, but the most memorable one was the Zagato Vision Gran Turismo. It was difficult to decide on the design and colour variations, and it took a long time to complete, but the excitement when we were able to release it was exceptional, and I remember being happy at the launch party, celebrating with Norihiko Harada of Zagato that everything was finally completed.

  Currently, while creating the cars, I also serve as a Team Manager. My main responsibility is to manage the artists' schedules, but I also conduct job interviews and manage the shifts for the part-time staff. I try to maintain a relaxed environment where people can work on the production without feeling stressed.

• Characteristics of Polyphony Digital

  I feel the company culture is quite free. We have flexible working hours, and employees are free to take initiative and pursue projects they are interested in. I originally joined the company as a Car Modeller, but I saw an opportunity to apply the iron casting experience I gained at university to create the trophies for the FIA GT Championships. I took the lead in planning the production methods and schedule, and with support from my former mentors and friends, I approached this project with a completely different mindset than we typically use in car development.

  The people here are also a big part of what makes the company so great. Beginning with Yamauchi-san, everyone is so receptive to new ideas, and there's no mindset of "it must be done this way". The focus is on creating something good, regardless of the means. If it's beneficial for Gran Turismo, then we'll do it.

• CG Artist Recruitment

  We're not only looking for people who are passionate about game development, but also those with a strong drive to create cars and bring joy to the world through video games. Graduating from an art university isn't vital. For example, if you love computer graphics and you can complement your technical skills with enthusiasm, then we would love to speak with you.

• Technical Artist Job Description