There are many creators that bring the world of KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS to life.  
In our fifth installment, we interviewed a Project Manager, a BRIDGE-like figure at the company who connects all the creators.

Their contributions include understanding each person's individuality and seeking ways to bring out the best from everyone. But behind it all, there is a gentle and relaxed atmosphere.

【Profile】 
Name: Seika Oishi  
Role: Project Manager (PM) 

Joined KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS mid-career. She studies as she listens to live video game streamings, supports the development team, and falls asleep listening to more video games streamings.
With her love for hamsters and a controller in her hand, she leads a game-centric life on the daily. 

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Q. What kind of work do you normally do?    

Oishi: My main role is to communicate team updates and check on the work progress. 

I support communication for remote work, follow up on meetings, create assignment reports for team members to review daily tasks and so on and so forth! I help to ensure that development proceeds more smoothly.

――Do each of the PMs within the team have different roles?？ 

Oishi: Yes, right now we have at least one person assigned to each of the major production teams: Art, Game Design, Programmers, and Sound. Some of the bigger teams need more support though.  

Within the PMs, we also have a group that follows up on the daily progress, one that supports task management to make sure it doesn’t affect other teams, and one that handles communication and contracts with external parties. We divide up our responsibilities but also work cooperatively to take on a wide range of tasks.

Q. What’s the atmosphere like with your team? 

Oishi: Cooperation is crazy important within the PM team! 

For example, if a PM in charge of the Sound team wants to know what’s going on with the Programmers, they check in with the Programmer PM. 

We have to be aware of our production team’s status at all times and also share that information within the PM team. Communication and responsibility are important, but there’s no formality whatsoever; everyone is open to discussing even the smallest things. I think that is our biggest selling point! 

Our weekly meetings usually end with us talking about games we’ve been playing lately or...everyone loves talking about cats! One of our recent hires owns a cat, so everyone has been sharing pictures and having a lot of fun!...although I’m more of a hamster person (laughs).  

I give a lot of credit to our team leader for creating such a friendly and cheerful team. He is easy to talk to, doesn’t overlook anything, and has a really easy-going personality!

Q. Why did you decide to join KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS?

Oishi: When I was at university, I was studying about how ideas grow more and more when people talk to one another, so I’ve always had an interest in the human imagination. And one day, I realized something at work. I thought, “A workplace in the video game industry must be overflowing with creativity and imagination since it’s a place where you can stimulate ‘fun’ in users in all sorts of ways!” I figured I might as well challenge myself in a workplace like that, so I decided to change jobs.

So why KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS?

First of all, for better or worse, I didn’t want to work at a company with an “entrenched culture” because I felt it would have a biased affect on game development. So I eliminated those from my options. I was looking for a relatively new company but one with a good name and accomplishments. In the end, my search led me to KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS. 

The more I looked into it, the more I thought, “For an indies studio – and one not so large in scale – they produce games with a quality and uniqueness that cannot be found anywhere else!” I was sure that I would be able to pursue my studies and hobbies here. I found it all very appealing and decided to join immediately. 

――I’ve heard that you guys stress on the importance of “loving games” to take on the job of a PM. Do you feel that this emphasis is actually important? 

Oishi: I think it’s reeeaaallly important! 
If you didn’t like games, then the job of a PM would be...relatively difficult.  

Let’s say a Game Designer makes a proposal and says, “I want to add ‘Function B’ in order to pursue how interesting ‘Thing A’ could be!” I think it would be hard for someone to incorporate that smoothly if they didn’t love games. 

A love for games is essential, and I think that you need to continue loving games.  
I realized that after joining this company. 

――Has the appeal you felt about the company before joining changed since after you joined?  

Oishi: This is my first time in the video game industry, so everything I see and experience is all new to me. 

There was something I noticed after I joined the company and that was how the people at this studio have an incredible stance on aiming for higher and higher quality. Take TGA 2022, for example. The production team worked on the scenes until the very last minute, raising the quality as much as they could. 

The fact that they can up the quality means that everyone’s skills are just that good. They have heated conversations about improving the quality on a daily basis.  

This group of professionals far exceeds the impression and appeal I had before joining this company.

Q. What kind of portfolio did you prepare for your application? 

*Portfolio submission requirements differ by positions. 

Oishi: Portfolios are not required for PMs. 

However, since I had experience putting together portfolios in school and at work, I prepared a short brief of my previous works. Organizing information is one of my strong suits.  

Even now, I organize staff progress for many of our employees, and I compile information and create documents for them to get a better understanding of current situations.

Q. What do you like about KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS? 

Oishi: I like that the communication is flexible. 
For example, on the chat tool we use for work, some staff will react with an emoji sticker on someone’s post, and others will randomly add new stickers. People also create group chats as they see fit. There’s even a “Cat Channel” where people flood the chat with cat pictures! 

We don’t have many restrictions, and the stance of “As long as it’s not bad, it’s okay!” is really great. There’s an understanding that people are inherently good, and I like the laissez-faire principle. That is why I have decided to create a “Hamster Channel” today to compete against the “Cat Channel”! If you want to talk about hamsters, gather here!! 
...So as you can see, I like that I can have fun like that. 

Also, the new studio is fantastic!! 
The office space has been changed so that Game Designers and Programmers and various other teams can easily converse with one another, and it’s really nice! Just that is one merit of coming to the office! I would love to make more use of the new cafeteria, too.

Q. Tell us about your future plans.

Oishi: Right now, I have a lot of things that I’m managing, and I am able to handle all of them on my own...but on the otherhand, many of the people who join the PM team are new to the industry, so I need to pass down some of my work to them and establish a teaching environment in which I can bring out everyone’s individual skills. 
You know the saying, “Many minds, many people.” At KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS especially, each person’s individuality is extremely unique. That makes me want to work all the more harder to create a work environment where we can make the most of each person’s individuality and contribute to the team. 

From a more personal perspective, I think I would like to work on improving my document-making skills, which is something I do often.  
Right now, I oftentimes create documents after someone asks me to. However, I would like to be more proactive and create something helpful for the team on my own in advance.  

I also want to create a better work environment for both remote employees and those at the office. 
I hope to provide more information and communication to meet my goals! 

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For more insight into other creative disciplines, be sure to check out our other interviews: 

• Interview 1: Artist Team: https://www.kojimaproductions,jp/en/Staff-interview-01
• Interview 2: Programmer Team: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/Staff-Interview-02  
• Interview 3: Game Design Team: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/Staff-interview-03 
• Interview 4: Programmer Team: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/Staff-interview-04
• Interview 6: Artist Team: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/Staff-interview-06 
• Interview 7: Sound Team: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/Staff-interview-07

KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS respects each employee's unique work style. 

We have a returnship program as well as a remote working style that allows employees to work from home. We are always striving to meet the various working styles and needs of our employees.  
We have relocated and expanded our office this year, and we invite you to join us in creating in an environment with cutting-edge technology. As we grow our team, we have opened several new positions. We look forward to receiving your applications! 

For more information, please visit our CAREERS page on our website: https://www.kojimaproductions.jp/en/careers