でらゲー

CREATOR

Yoshiki Okamoto (Game Producer)

Born in Ehime prefecture in 1961, Yoshiki Okamoto is a game producer who helped launch an unprecedented fighting game boom in the early 1990s with Street Fighter II. In his subsequent work, he established his status as a top game creator through his involvement in generating major hit titles in the Resident Evil, Onimusha: Warlords and Monster Hunter series. In the field of smartphone game apps, he was involved in the development of Monster Strike, released by MIXI, Inc. in October 2013, which grew to become a top AppStore and GooglePlay seller on the domestic market by 2014. Okamoto has since expanded the game markets for which he creates content beyond Japan to North America and Asia as a whole. He demonstrates an eagerness to take on the challenge of diverse genres in his pursuit of further success.

 

In work, and in games,
a playful spirit deserves some leeway

It’s intuitive, so you can enjoy it no matter how many times—
That’s the kind of game I want to play and to make

At Deluxe Games, keywords like “interesting” and “fun” are often seen in our company messaging. So, what do these words mean in the first place? Since Deluxe is a company involved in game development, for us it comes down to the question of what an interesting game is. What kind of thing is it?

The truth is, it’s a matter of endless diversity. I think each person has their own definition of an interesting game. For me, an interesting game is one that is fun to play over and over again. It is natural for a game to be interesting the first time around, but I think it’s crucial to create a design that keeps the fun and enjoyment fresh no matter how many times it is repeated. And, ideally, there should be no tutorials. “Intuitive” is another way to say it. Even without getting information beforehand, you find that you can do it if you just kind of wing it, put your hands on it and try it out. A game like this can reach a wider range of users because it’s one that can be played worldwide.

“Playful spirit” is a term we often use at Deluxe Games. You have to make room for a playful spirit. To play with everything you’ve got, it’s no good to be too tense about it, and this is true with games as well. Games in which you have to complete a task, or you can’t make it through are like puzzles. I think it makes things more interesting if users can think up their own approaches to playing, like whether to pay, to spend time on it, or to brush up their technique. Many pathways are available.

The game industry is still in a transition period. At one time, the market consisted almost entirely of stationary game consoles, but the evolution of PCs and the emergence of smartphones has led to a diversification of devices. The game platforms are changing in a variety of ways, and revenue options have proliferated into outright purchase, pay-as-you-go, and subscription models, plunging the market into a period of competitive turmoil. Amid this situation, I want Deluxe Games to be as flexible as possible. In order to continue producing games that we find interesting, I want us to keep from limiting our scope of activities, and from missing out on the full range of possibilities by thinking too rigidly.

Monster Strike was like a home run for me,
but I also have a love for software created by overcoming struggles

I have been involved in a number of productions at Deluxe Games, but I’d say the most memorable would be Monster Strike and Kingdom Ran: The Road to Unification. Monster Strike has been one of the best games in my career history. It was like a home run for me. It’s been put on overseas markets and has sold better than I had expected. Kingdom Ran, meanwhile, was a hard slog. The fact is that Kingdom Ran is my favorite manga of all time, and I was more passionate about making it into a game than anyone else. But it was difficult to reconcile the ideas. And yet, making the game while overcoming those struggles was fun. As a game developer, I was excited by the desire to create something interesting, something that would provide surprise and joy to the fans of the original work by deftly negotiating the path between what can and cannot be done.

No matter what field you’re in,
the harder you work, the more experience you gain

In doing the work, what benefitted us most was the experience of finding ways to see it through when things weren’t working out well. That experience stays with the company and with the individual. Even if they leave and go to a different company, they will be recognized as someone who has worked hard to get to this point, and their technical skills have become more competent as well through those experiences. It’s the same in any profession: the more you struggle, the more experience you gain and the better you become at doing everything.

Personally, it makes me very happy that so many of our current staff are superb professionals whose thinking easily surpasses my own. I look at these people with their talent and stoicism, their whole-life devotion to making games, and I’m humbled. At times like that, I feel indescribably wonderful.

If you have just one quality that’s yours and yours alone,
then I want to work with you

We have two types of people at Deluxe Games. There are those who want to make games because they love them, and those with the ambition of creating a hit. And some of them may have both qualities. Creating a hit game takes a lot of studies, and I like people who have that kind of forward-thinking mindset.

There’s only one more thing I need. I want to work with people who are better than me. In expressing your own strengths, I want you to be able to say, “This is one area where no one can touch me.” It can be an area where you’re having difficulties now, but in which you’ll grow in the future. You don’t need an official title that says, like, “The Winner.” You might just excel at drawing, at programming, or at physics engine work. It’s OK to limit the frame in that way. If you have some area in which you excel, it shows that you have the high level of motivation it takes to get there. And if you are aware of your strengths, you can rest assured that there’s a place for you in this company. I’m still eager to learn, and until the day I retire, I consider this a learning experience. There may be times when we think we have done it all, but tomorrow will always bring new changes as the world around us evolves. I hope we can inspire each other to constantly outdo ourselves and set new personal records.

Osami Okano (Producer)

Beyond business ...
Create what you truly find interesting

Invited in by Mr. Okamoto,

I entered the world of mobile content gaming in its infancy

I started out as a designer in the video game industry. It was a small company I was with, and when all the employees were asked to submit projects, mine happened to get picked. That’s how I got into directing. Although I’ve changed companies several times since then, I’ve always been involved in digital games. While this was happening, I got involved in the planning of mobile content games from the dawn of mobile internet services. That was when Mr. Okamoto said to me, “I want to enter a smartphone game planning competition, and I’d like you to work as director.” I was in my mid-40s at the time. I had my doubts, considering the target audience and my age, but I decided to go through with it because the invitation was from Mr. Okamoto, who had done so much for me. So Monster Strike was the first game I was in charge of as a director. Today, I leave the Monster Strike operation to the younger staff as I work on the management side.

Beyond business, what the creator truly finds interesting

Deluxe was originally started by members who had been making consumer games. What has remained unchanged since the company’s founding is our focus on fun and our desire to make people say things like, “Games like this are fun,” and “Experiences like this are fun.” I want to create things that transcend business, that I can really be interested in as a creator, and that call to mind scenes of users losing themselves in the enjoyment.

Today’s game industry, especially the mobile content industry, has access to a diverse array of data via servers, which makes it possible to objectively view game content, both good and bad. As a result, a kind of data-supremacism has taken hold at many companies, where creators are increasingly being told that they cannot proceed with unusual ideas or challenging action because the statistics say they don’t amount to viable business. Despite the fact that games are for entertainment, they have become very closed-minded about expression. It takes more than just good number-crunching to inspire users to spend their time and money on these services. We need fresh surprises with the power to move people’s hearts, and I don’t want to lose sight of that.

I want challenging content to be evaluated more fairly

At least when it comes to mobile games, most people want to have a relaxing time playing, without getting stressed out. This makes for a situation where it’s hard for new games to launch and even harder for them to gain widespread acceptance because similar content is all that sells, and the sales rankings hardly move. It’s a little contradictory of me to say this, though, given that I’m involved in the management side of Monster Strike (laughs). Thinking about the game industry as a whole, if the content that is a bit more challenging can be duly appreciated, publishers with strong content will feel compelled to provide users with a more enjoyable and unprecedented experience. Users would then have more opportunities to enjoy it. Personally, I would like to see that happen for the sake of the future of gaming culture.

More than the ability to come up with ideas,

the ability to turn them into reality is crucial

It used to be that lots of the people at Deluxe were pretty unserious, but recently there have been a lot more serious people (laughs). Lots of people in the game industry say that being too serious is no good. I used to think so, too, but now I think differently. The fact is that much of the work on games is routine and tedious. Especially these days, whether it’s consumer, online, or mobile content, it’s not like the job is done after development and release. The process includes continuing with updates and following players over the long term. That is why I believe it’s the “serious” people, those who can approach their work reliably, persistently, and earnestly, who are needed and dependable. It’s said that success or failure in the game industry is all about ideas. But having worked for decades in the industry, I now believe that what matters most is not the ability to come up with ideas but the ability to realize them. That includes abilities like persuading others and putting together the materials it takes to do so. For a professional, coming up with good ideas is par for the course, and I believe that a good person is one who can hold fast to the conviction that realizing those ideas is always going to be the goal.

Youncheol Jung (Game Designer, Manager)

Continue to forthrightly face up to that unmeasurable quality of fun

An environment in which we create games as an organization,

without relying too much on individual skills

Upon graduating from Waseda University, I worked at my previous job at GREE Inc., where I was a native app game designer and manager of a global team that brought domestic and international game titles to the world. I joined Deluxe Games because it’s a company with Mr. Okamoto, a legend in the game industry. I wanted to learn the essence of game development here. As the leader of the project team for Monster Strike, I am currently involved in the staging concept and planning, while also focusing on maximizing our organizational capabilities.

There was previously a facet of Deluxe Games in which we relied too heavily on the skills of individuals. I am trying out various ways of boosting the organizational power we bring to bear on creating games, like setting up a channel through which we can ask members for their opinions as advisors before fixing a concept one of us has come up with. In meetings, I take care to run things so that no one gets to leave without saying anything. It’s minimal, but one thing to try. The purpose of this is to create an environment in which we can exchange ideas with an open mind. It’s also meant to let the staff know that I need their input as long as we’re in this meeting. Being asked for their opinion enables them to consider their self-worth and develop the mental habit of always owning their work. I have a real sense that the culture created in this way is now moving the organization in a positive direction.

Take the initiative in doing your work …

at a professional organization brimming with motivation

I am confident that we have a rock-solid system for evaluating our results. Before, when day-to-day game operation involved mass production of content, there were times when it was difficult to maintain motivation. Shortly after I became a leader, I myself used to assign work to staff members from my side according to circumstances. To be honest, I was often disliked for it. With the cooperation of management, I undertook a range of initiatives to improve team strength, basically saying, “We will definitely let our evaluations of those who work hard be reflected in their salaries, so believe in us and follow us!” Specifically, the first thing was to make things visible, enabling us all to see every day who had made how much at which stages. We made it visible, like quest progress in a game.

It took some time, but positive change started happening once the members came to realize that those who actually produced results saw their salaries increase significantly. We now have a good environment in which we let everyone know we’re looking for members to work on projects when they become available, and those who want to work on it raise their hands.

Our aim is to get users to think,

“It’s fun, so I’m willing to pay for it”

There are many people at Deluxe Games, including Mr. Okamoto, who have a lot of experience as game creators and are serious about creating interesting games. I have worked with many developers and platformers in my previous jobs, but I have never seen a company that creates mobile content and has a company culture in which they discuss and pursue fun to this extent.

Okamoto-san often says, “What do you think is interesting?” and “How did you feel when you played the game yourself? We base what we do on our conviction that if we pursue fun, it will always be conveyed to our customers. We have to make users feel that they naturally want to pay for the service because it gives them so much entertainment. The reason we’ve lasted so long is probably that we haven’t wavered from this thinking. Based on this belief, we focus on mass-producing simple yet interesting content by taking a logical approach. When developing stage production and planning, as we expand out ideas we think we’ve taken as far as they’ll go, and then start adding in content, we discard anything that diverges even a hair’s breadth from making sense and utilize the power of our team to maximize perspective from a bird’s-eye view.

I think Deluxe Games is the perfect place for those who believe in the infinite possibilities of games and want to create the best work possible in pursuit of that fun.

Ryoga Urata (Game Designer)

Surrounded by people involved in hit productions,
I was able to explore the career I wanted

I changed jobs, dreaming of the world of consumer games,

and seeking a place to learn

My previous job was at a game company, where I worked as a leader, adjusting game difficulty levels and equipment performance while also directing collaboration projects and new development. It was satisfying work, but the company was located in the Tokai region, and I had virtually no industry peers around me. I used to exchange information and do things like go to symposiums, but it was an environment that made access to new information difficult. I came across Deluxe Games while researching companies in Tokyo.

What I found so attractive about the company was the presence of senior staff who had experience in producing both social and consumer games. And one of them was the creator of a game I liked, so I thought this might be a good chance to work with him. I changed jobs because I figured that working under someone with such extensive game-making expertise would lead to my own future career formation.

I presented my own game business plan to the Board of Directors

Bridging the gap between programmers and artistic professionals is part of a game designer’s job, so I am always conscious of being able to make proposals that are easy for people in other professions to understand. While working as a game designer, I now serve concurrently as an assistant producer. Just the other day, I was given the opportunity to present to the Board of Directors a business plan for a game I had planned. After calculating the number of people expected to work on the game, its development schedule, and what features will be needed, it is necessary to determine how big a budget will be needed.

This was an area I had never thought about before, but now that I see things from a segmented perspective, I’ve come to understand what a budget is. It wasn’t very well received, but it turned out to be a good experience for me. I got a lot of feedback about the project from experienced people on the Board. There were things about the plan I hadn’t noticed, and I learned about their areas of concern.

Deluxe Games is the right place for someone with a clear career goal

The biggest changes brought on by my job change have been in my appetite for work and my motivation to learn. In my previous job, becoming a leader right after joining the company made me a little arrogant, so I neglected to learn. But Deluxe Games has many experienced people, which is stimulating and enables the breadth of our production. Every day I am reminded that I have a long way to go. We also have a system in which the company provides us with up to ¥10,000 per month to cover “research and reporting costs,” including purchases of game software and books we need to study. I’m happy to have a system where we can receive money from the company for something that, properly speaking, is an investment in ourselves. I’ve developed the habit of studying just so it won’t go unused.

I think Deluxe Games is the right place for anyone with a clear idea of the career goals they want to pursue. The overall company workforce is still small, so each person has a relatively large voice, which makes this an environment where opportunities will come your way if you speak up. I want people to come to us who can see that dynamic and are eager to take advantage of it.

Hiroyuki Kani (Designer)

Creating things that everyone can accept ...
that process is the most enjoyable of all

Leaving the company I’d been with for 18 years, I moved to Deluxe Games,

where I found new inspiration under Mr. Okamoto

I’d previously been a designer for 18 years at a video game company. I gained some experience in all aspects of design, from design in software development to design having to do with advertising. Much of my work had been with mecha-type design and creating dark game worlds, and I quit because I wanted to build up some other kinds of experience. I did various kinds of work, including the mecha-designer work that I’d been involved in before. Then I was introduced to Deluxe Games by a friend and joined the company. Although I joined the company for various reasons, Mr. Okamoto’s presence was a big factor. His experience goes without saying and he is an amazing creator with a wealth of knowledge, but he also makes a strong impression as a businessman. He’s a person who loves to tell a joke, too, which puts everyone around him in a good humor. I simply felt like I wanted to work with this person, while at the same time I was pretty sure it would give me the best possible stimulation as a creator.

Things you’ve been writing down as a hobby can lead to new projects

Since joining the company, I have been juggling several jobs, working on concept design and storytelling, as well as new title launches. Sometimes, I’ve started out from a concept no more detailed than, “Comical. Four-player game. Cute.” At times like that, it’s important, in a sense, to just dash off whatever comes to mind. For example, I have been saving up my drawings and settings, almost like a hobby. Then I sometimes have the planners and staff look at them, and this has sometimes led to productions. The process by which a new title takes shape step by step from zero is the most enjoyable thing of all. This never changes no matter how many times I experience it.

Atmospherics are what I value most when drawing a picture. Say, for example, you get an order to, “Make a scary picture.” If you just draw a picture and make it look scary, that’s something anybody can do. But to make it a truly worthwhile picture, you need to consider the emptiness, the loneliness, the sadness, and despair that underly the “scary” feeling for each character, and you have to add enough information. This is what I mean by “atmospherics,” and whether or not a picture has it makes a quantum difference in its impact.

I also always try to question my own work, no matter how super-cool it seems to me. I ask the director and staff for their opinions, so I don’t get self-satisfied. This is because by getting third-party opinions, I think I can arrive at a place where it will please the greatest common denominator of people. If you count from my previous jobs, I’ve been designing and illustrating games for a really long time. As for myself, though, I still have a long way to go. I think you have to always be striving to elevate yourself.

At Deluxe Games, there are no barriers between job types

You can tell them you want to do what you want to do

Experienced game developers from various industries come together at Deluxe Games, so I think it’s a stimulating place to broaden your horizons. And besides, we regularly solicit projects from within the company, so there are plenty of opportunities to freely make proposals. There are no limitations imposed on you just because you’re working in planning or in design, so I think this is an environment where you can communicate what you want to do without any barriers. I’m not comfortable around people who speak harshly, so I consciously try not to be rude when I communicate. However, I never want to compromise on our work, so I’m hoping to bring in people who can engage proactively in discussions for the sake of creating works that people can enjoy. It will be great if we can all work together as one unified creator.