Bokeh Game Studio video – a day with programmer Tatsuya Matsushita

Bokeh Game Studio has released a new video featuring young programmer Tatsuya Matsushita, who joined the studio after a short stint at Sony Interactive Entertainment‘s JAPAN Studio before its closure.

The video chronicles a day of Matsushita working at the studio as he openly describes his brief history in the industry, as well as how he feels about his work environment and aspirations with working on the upcoming action adventure game Slitterhead. There are snippets of in-development footage of Slitterhead.

Get the full video and transcript below.

A Day with Tatsuya Matsushita, Programmer at Bokeh Game Studio

I’d like more younger people to join our team. There are currently many industry veterans. As they have experienced success in the past, the way they think is definitely convincing. I believe that is important, however, with time there are newer ways to approach things. This is why I believe we need an environment where these new ideas can flow.

My name is Tatsuya Matsushita, I work at Bokeh Game Studio. I am a programmer, mainly in charge of player actions. The reason I joined the industry is the game Ape Escape 2, which I used to play back in elementary school. I remember watching the credits after playing, thinking that I would like to see my name there someday. That thought grew stronger as I turned older. As I aimed to join the industry, I decided to study informatics. This is how I started to work in games.

I entered Sony Interactive Entertainment in 2017, after my Master’s Degree. I joined Sony Interactive Entertainment’s JAPAN Studio. After a six-month training period, I was assigned to a project. However, that project got frozen after working on it for two and a half years. Unfortunately, it never got released.

I spent about a year at Sony Interactive Entertainment after that, wondering about my future. I started looking for another job and met with a few other companies. This is when my superior at the time, Nakamura, currently technical director at Bokeh, came to me. He told me that Keiichiro Toyama was founding a studio, and invited me to join them. I hesitated for a bit, but then I decided to enter Bokeh Game Studio. I really hesitated whether or not to join at the time. What convinced me was that I wanted to spend more time with people from JAPAN Studio. I wanted to be able to work on a new original title, all the way to its release. I joined the team with the objective to be in the credits.

When I first heard about the game’s concept, it sort of felt like a JAPAN Studio game. My first impression was that I was glad I joined. I was attracted by the game’s brand new mechanics, so I was happy to be able to work on this title.

The game is set in a fictional Hong Kong. It turns out that I had just been traveling there before joining Bokeh. The city really has a special feel to it, it’s a mix between cultures. The fact that the game was set there was another appeal to me.

We start with a morning all-hands meeting, where everyone participates. Everyone shares what they did the day before and what they plan on doing for the day. This is also a good place to share announcements to everyone.

After that, we have a meeting with the game design team. We check on deployments made the day before. We also discuss the day’s plan and sync on topics that we need to talk about later. It goes more in depth than the all-hands, we focus on topics to make the game go forward, such as action or cutscenes. That’s when we communicate on these aspects.

I believe that horror and action do not always fit and together. The fact that you can use action to defeat enemies means that you have the necessary strength to do so. I was a bit worried as I felt that could reduce the level of horror in a way. Still, recently I feel that we are free to adjust the game in the way that we want. Action and horror parts can be distinctly separated. You can have a balance leaning towards one of the other according to situations. I thought that can allow for a game where both can shine. As Toyama is behind SIREN, many people hold strong expectations on the horror side. Still, I believe there are plenty of action fans too. We want to be able to satisfy these players as well.

I believe that making a new game that includes original aspects is a difficult task. There are many hurdles and things we worry about. I am worried on some parts regarding the game’s progress, However, the concept’s core is standing strong, so I believe that if we keep following that then we’ll be able to manage.

During the afternoon, I focus on talking to people. I spend one hour to commute to the studio, meaning two hours back and forth, this is why I make sure to talk to people when I come here. I talk a lot to Miyake, who’s in charge of player animations. He often shares his suggestions, sometimes I tell him some of my ideas in animation. I like that we can just exchange advice and keep the ball rolling. I make sure to come to the studio for important discussions as it’s better to talk in person. That’s why I like this environment where I can come to the studio once or twice a week.

What worries me is the quantity of content. The scale of the project, compared to our resources, schedule or budget. I feel that it’s a bit unbalanced right now, it’s currently quite tight in my opinion. Our management is of course aware of this, I believe that they’re in the midst of thinking how we can land on our feet. Still, they don’t necessarily take these decisions all by themselves. They actively ask for our opinions and take them into account. I can feel comfortable sharing my thoughts as I know they are listening. I feel grateful for that.

Slitterhead is the second project I’m working on. Since my first project got canceled, I still haven’t got the chance to work on a game to its release. I have trouble coping with that, so I really want to be able to launch my career and release as many games as possible. My first priority is to duly work on Slitterhead to completion. On top of that, I want to be able to stand as a proper programmer in the process.

I am still thinking about the future, but I believe I have multiple choices. I initially entered the industry because I wanted to make games. That doesn’t necessarily mean as a programmer, so I want to keep a broad perspective for the future titles I work on. For the past few years, I feel that I want to became a director in the future, in ten years or so. I am already preparing towards that. I hope to be able to release my own game as a director one day.