Dreaming of working at a game studio is practically a gamer tradition. At some point, those who’ve played too many games have probably thought, “I’ve spent my whole life playing games, I could totally make one myself!” That should make sense, right? But unsurprisingly, gaming employers hear that exact line all the time — and it rarely impresses them. In fact, according to one Japanese studio boss, that belief alone is often why applicants don’t even survive the interview stage.
After surveying dozens of game companies, CyberConnect2 CEO Hiroshi Matsuyama recently shared advice from his guidebook (via Famitsu), Game Industry Strategies. The result? The average hiring success rate for the devs of the Naruto and Demon Slayer anime games is only 1.9%. Yes, lower than some gacha games’ pull rates.
Instead of sugarcoating everything, in the Kadokawa-published book, Matsuyama explained the most common red flags. According to him, the number one reason applicants fail interviews and tests is simple. They care more about art or ideas than game development itself.
Reason #1: They Just Want to Draw — They Don’t Care About Games. This is the most common problem among artists. Their portfolio contains only illustrations and when asked what they want to do, they usually reply, “I want to do character design.” No company in the world will suddenly assigned an untested, inexperienced artist to make character designs.
In reality, character design direction and feel changes depending on the game. And companies often hire famous external illustrators for that role. […] If your art alone is truly compelling enough, I suggest you become a manga artist instead.
Programmers run into a similar issue. Matsuyama continues, saying knowing the ins and outs of C++ is essential. Yet some applicants only know general programming languages and have never created a playable prototype with it. Studios, however, want proof you understand games as interactive experiences, not just running codes.
A question I often hear from programmers is, “I only know Java (or C#). Is that okay [for game development]?” Console game development is done in C++. While there are other languages, you should first learn and study C++.
[…] Submit a playable game made with it. We prefer something that can be played quickly, like WarioWare. It’s better to make many small works than one big project. […] We also accept demos that showcase technologies like shaders.
Then there’s the planners — better known as game designers in Western studios — the classic ‘ideas guy.’ But the president of Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot studio says ideas mean nothing unless you’ve actually turned them into real workable concepts. His advice for budding game devs? Write 100 game concepts, then keep writing more.
“I want to be a game planner. What kind of proposal should I write?” But, a planner (game designer) is someone who comes up with ideas and executes them, already asking others is a sign of disqualification. […] I recommend writing 100 proposals first, even if they’re just one page each. A single 30-page ‘dream game design’ is unnecessary. They’re usually not interesting and contain only fantasies from people without development experience.
Does that mean inexperienced people can’t be hired? No. CyberConnect2 hire new graduate planners every year. Since you have no experience, track record, or skills, you’ll have no choice but to compete on quantity. Start by creating 100 proposals […] then throw them away and write another 100 with different themes. Then write another 100.
The message is clear. Loving pieces that make a game isn’t the same as understanding how they’re actually made. Companies are hiring people who are already making things — small things like prototypes and mods.
So, if you’ve ever thought that breaking into the industry was about having ‘the one perfect idea’? Matsuyama’s answer is simpler: Stop waiting and make something. For those interested in the details and who can read Japanese, the Game Industry Strategies book is available for pre-order on Amazon Japan.
