WHO WORKS HERE

People Staff Interview

• Drawing instead of playing Famicom

  I grew up in a quiet residential area in Nagano Prefecture, surrounded by fields and rice paddies. When I was little, I ran around the fields and forests and enjoyed playing in the mud and camping, but when I was in elementary school, I started to notice the video games my friends were playing. Back then, it was the golden age of the Famicom, with popular games like Star Soldier, Dragon Quest III, and Super Mario 3 being released one after another, but I wasn't allowed to have a Famicom at home.

  Instead, I read books in the library and drew pictures, and I was always very happy to be praised when I drew a good picture. I think this experience is the reason why I came to enjoy making things.

• Word processing in elementary school

  When I was in elementary school, my father bought me a Japanese word processor. I quickly fell in love with the whole process: writing, saving, and printing. Influenced by the anime I was watching at the time, like Patlabor and Gundam, I developed a strong desire to create my own stories. I still remember coming up with original stories and even using the word processor to put together the class newsletter.

  I got my own computer after I went to university. I worked a part-time job and bought an iMac G4. I used Final Cut Express to make a lot of home movies and made travel logs and wedding videos for friends. Looking back, I wasn't particularly interested in 2D computer graphics, but perhaps that was because I majored in Japanese-style painting at university and believed that images should be created by hand.

• A surprise opportunity from the Academic Affairs Department

  While I was in a gap year, studying at an art prep school to get into Tokyo University of the Arts, I saw a commercial for the first Gran Turismo. At that time, fictional cars were the norm in racing games, so I was shocked to see a game with 100-plus real cars come out. After that, I was accepted into university and started thinking of getting a part-time job. I found out through the university's Academic Affairs Department that Gran Turismo were hiring for part-time production staff. I applied straightaway and successfully got the position.

  When I joined the company, production on Gran Turismo 2 was well underway, so I was given the task of assisting with modelling. The resources had increased a little since the first game, so I worked on improving the exhausts and door mirrors.

  As we moved on to Gran Turismo 3, I was finally assigned to car production. We had moved onto the PlayStation 2 hardware at that point, and the production environment had changed so much that everyone was adjusting, which gave me the chance to learn on the fly without feeling behind. It was great to be entrusted with the popular Castrol Tom's Supra. Anyway, car modelling was a lot of fun, and I was fully immersed in it when I was unexpectedly offered a full-time position - and I've been here ever since.

• Becoming a Team Manager

  When I joined the company, Polyphony Digital had only just been founded, and I've watched the company grow from there. Even with my own work, many aspects were undefined at first, so I took the initiative to determine how we should capture and manage our materials. Currently, in my role as a team manager, I'm responsible for the overall operation of the car modelling team. The primary responsibility of my role is to develop schedules and delegate tasks to the other team members. I also make a conscious effort to regularly check in with teams outside of the car modelling team.

  

• Characteristics of Polyphony Digital

  What surprised me when I joined the company was how the organisational structure of PDI was completely flat. Although we have "seniors" and "juniors," there are no traditional "bosses." It's easy to speak up and offer suggestions regardless of your role, and with the flexibility to set your working hours, the atmosphere feels open and relaxed. On the other hand, since a lot of the artists come from an art university background, they can be uncompromising regarding their creations. I think it's also the desire to create the very best, just as they would with their own work, that drives the exceptional level of quality here.

• Working at Fukuoka Atelier

  I moved to Fukuoka at the same time as the opening of our Fukuoka Atelier studio. Up until then, I had lived in Saitama and had a 3-hour round-trip commute every day, but now it takes me just 20 minutes one way to get to work by bicycle.

  I no longer have to get on a crowded train, and I can experience the changing of the seasons, so it's relaxing. Also, because we work flex hours, I often take my children to the local zoo or the science museum that opened last year before coming to work.

  Until I experienced it myself, I hadn't fully realised just how much living close to work improves your quality of life. Fukuoka is low-cost, low-rent, and the food is delicious. The city is lively, and I also like that the people who live there are very kind.

• People who should consider Polyphony Digital

  When it comes to modelling, you don't need to worry about being a computer expert or having experience with tools; what matters more are your drawing skills and your ability to observe things closely.

  What can be expressed in Gran Turismo goes beyond just cars and tracks; it also includes culture and nature, which are its foundations, and there are frequent projects that involve working with other companies through data collection and such collaborations.

  Of course, people who like cars, racing, and computer games will fit in, but those who have a passion or are a specialist in a particular field will also find enjoyment and can play an active role here.

• Technical Artist Job Description