[No. 90] Kentaro Tominaga

Hello. My name is Tominaga. I am honored to have this opportunity to write for this column. I will try to write candidly as I reminisce about my six wonderful years of university life. I hope this will be of some help to you all.

First of all, ever since I was in elementary school, I had a dream of making video games. I loved the Famicom and other consoles, and for the simple reason that I wanted to try making games myself.

When I thought about how to make my dream come true, two main paths came to mind: designer or programmer. In my case, since I was good at science and math subjects, I naturally decided to aim to become a programmer. Therefore, I went to a high school with a science and math course and decided to go to a university with a Faculty of Science and Technology, specifically to a department where I could learn about programming.

Then, in the very year I was taking my university entrance exams, a new department called the "Department of Information and Computer Science" was established at Keio University. I was fortunate enough to become one of the first students in this department, and perhaps it was some kind of fate that the Department of Information and Computer Science was established at that exact time.

I realized how great the university was soon after I entered. The atmosphere was so free and relaxed, with no trace of gloominess. Combined with the fact that it was my first time living alone, I have nothing but fond memories of how much fun it was.

Student clubs are an essential part of such a fun university life, and I joined a club called the "Kyosai-bu," a name that doesn't immediately tell you what it is. What we did was volunteer to help Keio students find lodging and part-time jobs. I also found my own lodging through them.

That said, we didn't just do volunteer work. In the summer, we would have training camps where we'd stay by the sea, play sports, and drink all night. In the winter, we went skiing every year, and we always went to cheer at the Waseda-Keio rivalry games. If you like baseball, I highly recommend the Waseda-Keio rivalry. If you sing "Wakaki-chi" at the top of your lungs at Jingu Stadium, you'll definitely feel glad you came to Keio (laughs).

Choosing a research lab is a turning point in university life. Since I had the dream of "making games," I looked for a lab doing research that could bring me even one step closer to that dream. As luck would have it, there was a lab researching VR (virtual reality). Its name was the "Matsushita, Okada, and Shigeno Laboratory." (Professor Matsushita has since retired, but the Okada and Shigeno laboratories are still active.)

In this lab, to put it simply, we researched "how to make people feel a greater sense of presence in a computer-generated virtual space." We were particularly focused on "smell."

I clearly remember when I visited the lab, a forest world was displayed on a PC monitor, and a suspicious-looking machine next to the PC puffed out air with the scent of a forest. They said, "See? It feels like you're really in a forest, doesn't it?" I thought, "What a strange thing to be doing" (laughs).

However, at the time, I convinced myself that "a computer-generated virtual space is exactly what a game is!" and chose this lab without hesitation. I also ended up researching smell and VR, but with every experiment, various scents filled the lab, making it feel like a chemistry lab. My lab mates were often annoyed, but I somehow managed to complete my studies successfully.

And then, it was finally time for job hunting. While most of my lab mates were securing jobs one after another through school recommendations, I was going through the normal job-hunting process and was the only one who hadn't found a job for a while. People around me started to worry, but for some reason, I had this baseless confidence and was actually enjoying the process.

Perhaps because of that, I received a job offer from Nintendo, where I currently work. I had been a fan of the company ever since the Famicom, so I admired it greatly. I also wanted to work at the forefront of the industry if I was going to do it at all, so I joined the company with great excitement.

I was initially hired as an engineer in science and technology, but I actually haven't written a single line of code since joining the company (laughs). I was assigned to the Entertainment Analysis & Development Division, a software development department, and right after finishing new employee training, I was assigned to a planning role. A planner's job, to put it simply, is to "think about the content of the game," which, to be honest, was the job I wanted to do most. Of course, an understanding of programming is necessary when involved in game software development, and it's also useful for communicating with programmers.

I think I've always liked thinking about various things. When I was little, I was inspired by playing "The Legend of Zelda" on the Famicom and would amuse myself by drawing game screens and items I had made up in my sketchbook.

That's why I wanted to try planning, and while my current job isn't without its difficulties, it's basically just incredibly fun. People often say, "It's better not to make your hobby your job," but that's a lie. On the contrary, I think I couldn't do my current job if I didn't love it. I'm truly happy now that I'm able to do what I love for a living.

As an aside, since joining the company, I have been involved in four titles in "The Legend of Zelda" series (The Wind Waker, Four Swords Adventures, Twilight Princess, and Skyward Sword). I never imagined that I would actually be thinking about the game content for the series I had spent so much time imagining and playing with as a child (laughs).

Another great thing about my current job is that many customers all over the world get to play the games I've worked on. Among the games I've been involved with are "Wii Fit Plus" and "Mario Kart Wii." "Wii Fit Plus" has sold over 18 million copies worldwide, and "Mario Kart Wii" has sold over 27 million. The numbers are so large that they're hard to grasp, but having so many customers play our games is not only a source of happiness but also creates a positive sense of pressure to always be mindful of our global audience.

My knowledge of VR from university, especially from the research lab, has also been useful in my work. I wrote earlier that "a computer-generated virtual space is exactly what a game is," and a sense of presence is also important in games. My knowledge of VR has been connected to game development more often than I expected. Of course, game consoles don't emit the scent of a forest just yet (laughs).

Looking back, I can say with certainty that I wouldn't be who I am today without my six years at Keio. It might be a bit of an exaggeration to call it a university where even someone like me can achieve their dreams, but it's true that there's someone here who is now happily working, so I wholeheartedly recommend it to all of you.