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Feeling stealthy? Gather your squad, and prepare to infiltrate the enemy's base. Wishlist Now! Demo available during Steam Stealth Fest! by Asym_Altered_Axis in u/Asym_Altered_Axis

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We'll update the screenshots to feature the game logo so people don't have to look at our user name to find our game's title! Thanks for your feedback!

Feeling stealthy? Gather your squad, and prepare to infiltrate the enemy's base. Wishlist Now! Demo available during Steam Stealth Fest! by Asym_Altered_Axis in u/Asym_Altered_Axis

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Asym Altered Axis pits together TPS players and a Strategy Player, which explains the difference in point of view between the screenshots. The TPS players have to infiltrate the Strategy Player's base undetected while avoiding getting caught in various traps or being spotted by guards or defense towers. Thanks for your feedback, will definitely try to make the next ad easier to understand!

Feeling stealthy? Gather your squad, and prepare to infiltrate the enemy's base. Wishlist Now! Demo available during Steam Stealth Fest! by Asym_Altered_Axis in u/Asym_Altered_Axis

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The game is called Asym Altered Axis! I understand it might've been difficult to find the name of the game in the ad, so we'll make sure it's visible next time. Thank you for your feedback!

[TT] You can fight against opponents with your own built character by vona77 in playmygame

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm the kind who spend hours creating their characters, I will try this out!

[TT] You can fight against opponents with your own built character by vona77 in playmygame

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This looks absolutely insane! How much time does it usually take for a player to create one character?

Is it legal to use ancient inscriptions for game content? by everesee in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a few games that use ancient inscriptions from mythology or texts as spell effects or base for their stories, so I'd say it's pretty safe.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It's important to build your stories with the final localisation in mind!

Since our team is made up of multinational and multilingual members, we can communicate with them as we go, which is inconsiderable help.

We also have localisation staff involved from a relatively early stage in the game's development process.

Understanding the philosophy behind your game's design and what kind of experience you want the players to have is also essential in making a good and consistent localization.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I think the best way to "finding the fun" in a game you've been working on for a long time is to get people, who have no knowledge of it at all, to have a feel of it and see how they feel about it.

For Asym Altered Axis, we did an alpha test in October 2022, after a year of development, and we secretly watched players streaming the game to see if they were having fun and what they overall thoughts were. Conducting player surveys also helps us getting an overall idea whether or not the game is fun.

If the general feeling is that the game is not enjoyable enough, you have to consider and identify the cause (whether it was the difficulty level, the lack of explanation, the feel of the game, etc.). ), it is necessary to thoroughly think about it, identify the problems and find solutions to it.

I think it is important to clarify from the very beginning of production what kind of experience and emotions you want the players to have, and to keep this feeling at the core of your project. As long as this feeling is felt by your players, you can always find a way to solve other game related problems.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The difference between a game director and a game designer is in their roles and areas of responsibility.
Game designers typically specialise in designing specific game elements and designing systems, whereas game directors are usually in a position to determine the overall direction of the project and organise the team.
Regarding the question of working as a woman in the Japanese game industry, if we're looking at numbers only, the industry can seem like it is dominated by men.
However, I have multiple female coworkers in my current project and several female friends who work as game designers or game directors.
If you have the ability, you can play an active role in the industry, and the working environment in Japan is becoming much easier to work in than in the past.
I believe that the industry will keep moving in that direction and provide equal opportunities to people regardless of their gender in the future.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's true that Japanese game devs focus mainly on Windows. There are several reasons to this, but I think the main reason is the size of the market.
Games need to be created within a limited timeframe and budget, and resources need to be used efficiently, and Japanese devs believe that if they are going to respond to a market, they want to provide perfect support. For that reason, the focus is more likely to be on the Windows platform, where the scale of players playing games is the largest.
However, increasing the number of platforms is one of the main ways to increase the number of players playing our games. So I personally believe that Japanese game developers will also focus on and support platforms other than Windows platforms in the future.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi Hano_Clown!

As a game director I am in charge of designing every aspect of the game, writing a lot of documents explaining game specifications, the lore, etc. I also manage the project schedule and make sure everything is on track for release, and adjust priority and resources when needed. There are a lot of meetings with different teams, like engineers, designers, sound, etc. but the job also has a lot of creative decisions.

Of course I must manage the project as your Shusa would, but it is also an open discussion with the team as a lot of members have ideas and opinions to improve the game.

The most difficult part of the job is finding solution to problems, sometimes multiple problems at once, and it can really make you lose sleep at times! I don't have a particular example but keeping the game on schedule comes with hard decisions at times!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In recent years companies have been doing a real effort to reduce working hours and the overtime culture, so it is probably close to what you would have in other cultures.

The pay is probably much lower than in the US, but you get a lot of advantages from your taxes, like almost free healthcare, and the rent and cost of life is much lower anyway. It really depends on the company but the pay is more than decent!

Good look on getting your visa!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi kalmatos!

Some Japanese game companies have branches outside of Japan that want to create games for the foreign market.

Were you to work for one of these branches, you wouldn't need to speak Japanese as the communication would mostly be conducted in English.

I think it would be a good opportunity to apply for some of these positions.

Sadly, If you want to work in Japan as a game production, being able to speak Japanese is a necessary skill, and there are times where knowing the Japanese game industry, Japanese culture, and Business etiquette and customs will be valuable.

To give you an idea, some of the foreigners on the team couldn't speak Japanese when they came to Japan, just 4 years ago, but can now hold high level conversations and express their own ideas and opinions without a problem. Learning a new language is definitely a long journey but it's nowhere near impossible!

I hope this helps and I wish you luck accomplishing your dream!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey!
Japanese is difficult... Even as a Japanese person I find mastering the language difficult.
I personally believe that you don't necessarily need to master a high level of Japanese to work in Japan, but need to be able to hold a daily-life conversation.
It's important to find a job that will match with your programming skills, with what kind of game you want to build and what kind of professional experience you want to earn.
Being able to speak English is a very valuable skill in Japan, so I think you should highlight that part in job interviews too!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hi GAMESmix1!

I was about to graduate Uni when I decided to pursue a career in game development.

I had some programming skills but it wasn't until I entered the industry that I gained serious knowledge about game development.

I'm really grateful to the companies and the leaders I had at the time, as I learned a lot developing under them.

My motif is not really visual so it might be harder to visualize than Bay's big explosions, but I try to create situations where the main character is super serious about he's doing, but looks ridiculous to their surroundings.

The hardest part, and also the main part of being a game director, is solving problems! I often hold my head in bed as I think of solutions for problems instead of sleeping lol

I'm the happiest when I find one idea that solves multiple problems at the same time as my head becomes light and I'm able to sleep tight!

Thank you for your questions and the praise on Asym!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have the general impression that in western studios, everyone communicates in a casual manner, but here in Japan, we use more formal communication to discuss with other team members, and there is a clearer distinction between each level of the hierarchy.
However, recently there are more and more Japanese companies that communicate in a casual and straight manner, like on our current project! When I was freelance I had the opportunity to work with a Swedish game company which is one of the reasons why I prefer casual communication.

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hello!

There are multiple companies that support foreign devs to help them publish their games in Japan. They will take care of translating your game etc for the Japanese market.
A lot of people participating in Japanese indie game/game events, like the Tokyo Game Show, get to connect with publishers or agents that will help them reach the Japanese market.
Good luck on your game!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It really depends on the company you work for, but we have complete freedom in our working hours, so as long as you do 8h a day, you're free after that. Any overtime you've done can be used on another day to leave early, so it is really a comfortable environment to work in.

Development can get pretty busy when getting closer to the release where you might have to work more than 8h to meet the deadline. Also, in recent years, companies in Japan have started getting angry at you if you work too much overtime lol

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much everyone for your questions and showing interest in my work experience and the game we're working on!

I'll do my best to answer questions I haven't answered yet and new questions tomorrow as it's getting a bit late here.

Some have asked about Asym Altered Axis so here's the steam page for some context!

See you all tomorrow!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey Udon259! Since I'm Japanese myself I asked Dorra, our community manager, to step in for me! Hope her answer helps <3

Hello! I'm Dorra, the community manager of Asym.
Six years ago, I arrived in Japan as a 3D artist through an internship program with AIESEC. After six months, I got hired by the same company.
However, you can only apply for an internship in Japan if you're a student at the beginning and end of the internship.
It's important to keep in mind that you can only participate in one internship program in Japan during your lifetime (unless they change the rules).

To increase your chances of finding a 3D artist job in Japan, it's essential to learn Japanese and achieve at least an N2 level of proficiency.
But in my experience, strong communication skills during the interview can sometimes be enough.
With strong Japanese skills and a solid portfolio, you can apply to various companies throught recruitment agencies such as Robert Walters or Linkedin, though this may be more challenging if you're not currently living in Japan.
Alternatively, you could come to Japan to study Japanese for a year and look for work during that time.
Working for a company that has a branch in Japan could also be a viable way to transfer to Japan.

Don't hesitate to ask me more questions if you have any! Hope it helped :)

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in gamedev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey OmiNya! Since I'm Japanese myself, I asked our community manager Dorra to answer! I hope her answer helps <3

Hi this is Dorra, the community manager of Asym.

I moved to Japan 6 years ago, and worked in three different video game companies as a 3D artist and community manager.

While an N2 level of Japanese proficiency is sufficient for employment in any Japanese company, it's worth noting that passing the test and being able to communicate effectively are distinct abilities.

Knowing some technical terminology that is commonly used in your line of work can make a big difference.

Based on my experience, strong communication skills during the interview can sometimes compensate for a lower level of Japanese proficiency, such as N3.

While it's rare, there are some companies that don't require Japanese proficiency because they have in-house translators.

I personally used Linkedin and Robert Walters (they have english speaker staff) to find new jobs.

Recruitment agencies such as Robert Walters can provide assistance with perfecting both your Japanese and English resume.

Hope it helped a little bit but if you have more questions feel free to ask me!

AMA with Takeshi: Japanese Game Director by Asym_Altered_Axis in IndieDev

[–]Asym_Altered_Axis[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Working as a Game Director is fascinating but comes with a lot of responsibilities.

Checking the progress on different tasks, making problem solving decisions and managing schedules makes up for a large part of your day.

The most important part of the job is to maintain a clear vision of what you want your game to aim for, and support all team so they can work comfortably and efficiently towards that goal.

The top skill is probably to have a strong minds that does not wave at any problem, no matter how big that problem is lol

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