Amin Abbas Dubai

Japanese game designer and director Shinichiro Obata founded video game developing company BYKING.INC in 2008 to create games for a number of arcades, home consoles and smartphones.

Obata told Arab News Japan he had started his career in the video game industry in 1994 when he was 22 years old.

“I debated whether I should be a professional game designer or a professional drummer, but I chose to become a game designer for Capcom, the company that made my favorite game at the time (Street Fighter 2) because I thought I could enjoy music as a hobby,” he said.

He said he learned how to come up with creative ideas and how to work with others. “Most importantly, I learned to take pride in the fact that I was there to make a fun game.”

Obata told Arab News Japan the “little things” inspire him when it came to creating a video game.

“Conversations with friends and family, a casual doodle drawn by a staff member, or a scene that sticks in my mind while watching a movie, cartoon, or other game,” are all things that inspire him, he explained.

Obata said a video game is always created with the thought of the target audience in mind playing and enjoying the game.

The designer explained that they do face challenges throughout the process of creating a game, including not feeling inspired.

“The challenge that comes up every time on various projects is that I’m not convinced because it’s not interesting. This is especially common with new titles that are being developed rather than sequels,” he said.

Speaking of BYKING.INC upcoming projects, Obata said: “We have a number of projects in the works. A couple of them are interesting in that one of these projects is being created by a team of only new staff members to give them a chance to develop their work freely.”

“They’re young, they’re free and they don’t know failure and have a lot of potential. We believe that giving them a chance and creating new games is good for our company and our users around the world,” he added.

Obata concluded that those interested in developing video games should cherish their unique values and create games that they enjoy themselves.