From growing up with Japanese games in Portugal to professional growth in Tokyo
SOFT GEAR
From growing up with Japanese games in Portugal to professional growth in Tokyo
MJ：My major in university was Computer Science and after graduating, I worked on mobile apps and website development along with other projects. At my last company in Portugal, I created gambling games for casinos such as poker and blackjack so I was able to learn about the game industry and hot it works. I’ve been fascinated with Japanese culture for a long time and have been a big fan of Japanese games, anime and dramas since I was a child. I already knew I wanted to work at a game company in Japan, therefore I came to Japan in January 2017 and was able to join Soft Gear.
Hayashi：In the Japanese game industry, there aren’t so many companies that develop their own games. Developer companies like ours do more than half of the game development. Many engineers like MJ who want to develop games from the beginning stages will join developer companies like Soft Gear. When I interviewed him, he showed me his phone and I was surprised by how many Japanese games he had on there. He told me that he plays about 30 different games in a day to figure out what kinds of games are a big hit with users. He is not only an excellent engineer but also, his passion for Japanese games is truly impressive.
MJ：There were 3 things that were important to me during job hunting: Number one-must have exciting projects; two-a great team with people I can get along well with; three –a place where I can improve my skills. Ever since joining Soft Gear, I have been really happy to work with well-known Japanese game companies in the world. Moreover, there are many European engineers at Soft Gear who have helped me a lot in getting used to life in Japan and with communication.
Hayashi：Our company is a leading developer of online games and we have those like MJ who focus on client development, and also others who do software development. We have many engineers from different IT backgrounds who take an active part in server development which is needed for our advanced network and database technology to communicate with users in real time.
MJ：I am currently involved with big projects and it is a great chance for me to interact and learn from the designers, debuggers, directors and producers. It is great working with them because I know they are skilled in their area and I can learn a lot from them every day.
Hayashi：I think MJ is very curious, passionate and willing to learn new things. Everyone trusts him and is eager to give him new projects. Our engineers work in a professional manner including MJ. They work with each other and ask their colleagues to review their own source codes, and are always sharing and trying to adopt new technologies together. We also review with the R&D department when we work on large-scale projects,
MJ：Before joining Soft Gear, I visited the website and saw a video interview with their foreign employees. The relaxing and friendly work environment is one of the reasons I decided to take the job here.
Hayashi：MJ works really hard, and I know he is busy on weekends too!
MJ：Akihabara is my favorite place I have visited every week. I have a lot of games at home but since coming to Tokyo, I have been going to game and anime events too. There are so many things I want to try. That’s how I got better at Japanese.
