Hello, I’ve been studying at a Japanese school for one year and I’m planning to continue for another year and then move on to higher education next year with the purpose of working in Japan after graduation.
I have a technical degree on Graphic Design that I got back in my country and I’m heavily interested in joining the game industry aiming for a Level or Game Design related position.
My question is, does anyone here know what schools or programs are good and which ones should I avoid here in Japan, preferably in Tokyo? Like a lot of people, so far I only know about HAL but I’ve heard mixed things about it.
I also know that senmon gakkos like it offer 4 year programs but unless the extra time is really worth it I would rather just go for a 3 or 2 year program instead for mainly monetary reasons.
Also I’m aware that you learn more about creating games by making them on your own and what they teach you in school is often not enough but I have heard that having a senmon gakko degree in Japan is going to help me get a job a lot more than just learning everything on my own and trying to apply to a company with just my overseas technical degree on Graphic Design which is also why I’m interested in a shorter program instead of the 4 year ones as long as it gives me the same chances of landing a job in the industry here.
I would appreciate any advice, thanks in advance!
1 comment
If you’re in Tokyo, I know that Tokyo Designer Gakuin (which I would be enrolled in next spring)has 2 year programs, including game design related courses. However, you should know that the senmons in Japan won’t teach you a lot, and you would still have to spend plenty of time learning yourself. But there are still benefits, like having the companies coming directly to school for scouting and maybe get contact with people who are in the industry.
For getting a job, I recommend you researching some of the job offers listed from companies you are interested in to know the requirements.