Sketchy's Games are SO aesthetically pleasing you have just as much fun whether you play them or watch someone else do. I get so excited every time I see something new from him

(Not sure if) new indie event in Tokyo happening this week on the Friday, 23rd. The international video game scene in Japan is really blossoming after COVID
artober.tokyo/event-play-a...

Friday (Sept 5th) was KyotoPlayroom's 2 year anniversary. I got to meet so many of my old collaborators for the first time in a long time. I've always wanted to be part of the community of wonderful developers I was studying and thanks to them I got to know in-depth how game makers make it in Japan.

And, for those coming to #digra next week, we are also organising a workshop titled EXPLORING GLOBAL #GAME WORK MIGRATION. We have some cool panelists lined up so come by, say hi if you're in Malta!
digraconference2025.org/calls-worksh...

Article update!
The article on the role of Grassroots #IndieGame Communities in Japan is out in the REPLAYING JAPAN JOURNAL. If you're a #gamedev thinking "man it would be cool live in #Japan", this is a good introduction on what to expect.
ritsumei.repo.nii.ac.jp/records/2002...

Exploring Game Work Migration was accepted for Digra 2025 and We are looking for panellists!
We will also be joined by Casey O'Donnell, Mark Staun Poulsen, Gabrielle Lavenir, Hélène Sellier, Piotr Siuda, Kazimierz Wielki, Boyang Liang, Li Zhou, Maria O'Brien, and Brendan Keogh. #digra2025 #gamedev

I am currently doing interviews with expat video game developers. If I could sum up their experience living in Japan in one picture, I think Dave Gutteridge's meme is the best illustration. Japan is great, but it's not what Cool Japan would have you believe.
davegutteridge.com/wow_you_live...

even though most media corporations in Japan are pivoting to indie game publishing the bottom line still reigns supreme.
The same corporations sponsor indie festivals where they also scout fresh titles. Sad to see the business logic overriding respect for work they did not invest in producing.

January turned out to be a very eventful and fruitful Month for this PhD student. Yesterday I was informed that my second article on the role of indie/game events organised by expats in Japan was accepted for publication after a short round of minor revisions. Yay!

So what do we know about expat Indies in Japan?
1) Most of them really loved Japan and Japanese games before coming here.
2) Nature, safety, affordability and stability are big selling points for Japan
3) Many expats arrive in Japan via networks of other expats already living in Japan.

I can finally introduce to the world the first article on expatriate indie game developers in Japan
It is rough around the edges, but the data is important for understanding the makeup of the indie scene in Japan and the motivations of video game expats all over the world
brill.com/view/journal...

Hello! This page shares information about the status of foreign creative workers in Japan, common entry points, local demands, what to avoid and where to find the expat communities. It was created to offer practitioners easy access to academic findings, and to help academics interested in the JP CI