Reality Panic

For those in games, Japan represents a certain allure and fascination. I’m quite fortunate in that my work has enabled me to visit Japan twice already - most recently for TGS in 2004. And, I am quite excited to be heading back to Japan for TGS (and related events) later this month.

It’s is going to be a busy ten day trip, including:

• attending the Tokyo Game Show itself (along with related meetings and activities)
• going to the annual International Party hosted by IGDA-Japan and Nikkei BP
• moderating a panel session of “import” developers (ie, devs working in Japan who are not Japanese) at the DiGRA conference
• speaking on industry structure and global talent challenges at CEDEC (the hardcore Japanese developer conference)
• checking out the action during CoFesta

Sadly, I’ve yet to plan any cool side/personal activities, like when Gonzalo Frasca and I visited the fabled Ghibli Museum back in ‘04. (Leave a comment with any suggestions.)

In preparation for the big trip, I’ve been doing a bit of “immersion” work, including:

• read the fascinating book, Japan’s Business Renaissance, which covers both historical/cultural/social elements alongside pure business aspects of Japan’s renewal
• watched Letters From Iwo Jima, which covers the battle for Iwa Jima from the Japanese perspective, providing great contrast to Flags Of Our Fathers
• catching up on all the past posts from the Japanmanship blog and JC’s working in Japan articles at Gamasutra
• going back to Judo practices after an extended break
• watched the fascinating/disturbing The Great Happiness Space documentary (thanks to Kim for the recommendation)

OK, so, perhaps not the most rigorous immersion program, but hey, I can count to ten in Japanese…