Going to Japan to make video games. It's the twenty-first century's version of running off and joining the circus. Lots talk about it, but few do it. Evan Shulgold did. He'd first come to study Japanese, but when his visa ran up, he thought about entering a college in Japan. "I was in an izakaya with a few friends discussing our futures, and one mentioned he had heard about this school called HAL," recalls Evan. "I looked into it, and it seemed perfect. It's a school in japan that would lead to a career in the video game industry. Plus they have close ties with Nintendo, and I'm a bit of a fanboy."

First founded in Osaka in 1986, HAL is a specialty school that focuses on game development and 3D computer graphics — as well as robotics and automobiles. By 1988, a Nagoya branch, where Evan attends, was added, and there are plans to open a Tokyo one in 2009. The institution has strong ties with companies like Nintendo, who provides HAL with Nintendo hardware so that students can work with tools actually used in the industry. That's doesn't mean everyone at HAL is gung-ho Nintendo. According to Evan, he's the only student with a Wii, and he's only seen two other kids playing DSes. "It's not that everyone dislikes Nintendo," he says, "They're all mostly into online games like Ragnarok Online." Still, guests like Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto occasionally make the trip out to HAL and speak with students. All the programming that's done for consoles is done for Nintendo systems (Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, GameCube). The GBA programming class even uses a programming manual that's designed especially for HAL students to use and learn from. "Before coming to HAL, I had literally zero programming experience," says Evan, "so i couldn't even begin to imagine what the code for a video game would look like."

Before entering, he had to first submit an application with his picture. The application consisted of his educational background, what he wanted to study, what his dream job would be, etc. Next, there was an entrance test and an interview. "The test was special for me since I'm a foreigner," says Evan. "I was really nervous about it, cause I really had no idea what it would be like." The test had a Japanese section ("very, very easy"), a logic section ("easy) and a math section ("I bombed it"). According to Evan, the interview wasn't the high pressured ones students typically experience in Japan.

Of course, classes are taught in Japanese. Was it hard to adjust to a classroom environment, taking courses taught in Japanese? "Surprisingly no, 95% of the Japanese used is just every-day conversational type stuff, and the technical terms are katakana, so no problems there," says Evan. The majority of his classmates are Japanese — international students are made up by mostly Chinese and Korean students. Typically, a few American students apply, however. "I've seen them passing through the halls and such," says Evan, "and either I'll be in conversation or they'll be so I haven't had an opportunity to talk to them." HAL is keen on attracting foreign students. Says instructor Toshiyuki Shimizu , "We'd love to have any foreign students with big goals and dreams." The student population is predominately male. "There are only three females in my class," says Evan, "and my teacher said that's three more than usual."

The students are given a great deal of creative freedom to work on their games. "Usually the teacher will give a 45-minute lecture and teach us a new command to use, for example how to make an enemy scroll across the screen," says Evan, describing a typical GBA programming lesson. "Then, we have the rest of the class (another 45 minutes, classes are all 90 minutes long) to program and play around with it. He doesn't give specific instructions on how to program our games, just the commands we can use, which I like." The focus here is actually making games, instead of hearing a teacher drone on and on — something that is all too common in the Japanese educational system. Keep in mind though, HAL is a trade school. It wants to teach a trade: Making video games

Two year courses at HAL run US $22,000, while four year ones are double that. For those interested or curious, Evan's outlined five things needed for studying at HAL. They are, in his own words:

1. Japanese level
I'm actually pretty surprised about how simple the Japanese used in classes is. Like my teacher said, if you can have regular conversations with people, you'll be OK. It depends on what you study, but obviously a lot of computer-related technical terms are katakana (words borrowed from English), so you likely won't have any problems. On the entrance test, there were a few Japanese questions, but they were about level two or three of the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Not too difficult. There was also an interview. The questions weren't too difficult, and were mostly things you'd be asked by the old drunk Japanese guy sitting next to you and your friends in an Izakaya. It seemed to be more about making sure I could keep up with conversation than actually screening my personality or anything.

2. Math
All of the math I've run into so far has been Algebra 2 or lower. Nothing too advanced, but for someone like me who hasn't done ANY math in about five years, it's important to brush up a bit.

3. Money
Get your funds secured ahead of time. This may be pretty difficult, but it'll save you a lot of hassle and worrying. Try to get enough to cover ALL of your tuition. I'm not 100% sure how it works with colleges in America (as I've never been), but HAL required payment of the entire year's tuition up front. Scholarships are certainly available, but that's something to investigate individually.

4. Be outgoing
My first day, I was nervous as hell. I didn't know anyone, had doubts about my Japanese ability, didn't know how my classmates would take to me, etc. But you know what? Other than the Japanese ability situation, all my classmates were in the same boat. No one knew each other, everyone was nervous. No one really talked to anyone else for the first week or two (which was all orientation), but now we're a pretty tight-knit group. The class has been awesome about accepting me in and not treating me any differently because I'm not Japanese. If you're friendly and try to talk to people and show them you can speak the language, you'll make friends in no time.

5. Look up words you don't understand
...and even ones you DO understand, but can't say in English. I've learned a lot of technical terms related to programming and computers, but I don't know the English equivalents. If things don't go according to plan and I end up looking for work back in the states, I may be screwed because I don't know the lingo. Keep a "just in case..." state of mind about everything, and don't get locked into the thought process that you'll be in Japan no matter what. You never know.

Evan Shulgold can be reached at evaninjapanATgmail.com

Source: http://kotaku.com/346388/wanna-study-game-design-in-japan-heres-how