Replaying Japan 2014 Recap

Above: Video game history: Nishikado's original sketchbook where he conceptualized the Space Invader aliens. He said he was inspired by the illustrations of the Martian invaders in H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds, which he then converted to look like an octopus. After that, he designed the other aliens along the same maritime theme. When pixelated, the result is the aliens we know and love today.

Perhaps one of my favorite pleasures in life is the North American-style breakfast. I can't tell you how many insightful conversations I've had with friends over just such a meal. On top of that, you just can't beat the flavor.


During the lunch break of the second day, the conference organizers set up a game lounge which featured all kinds of games, from historical classic machines like Breakout to new student-made games.

An original Breakout machine. This was an extremely hard game to play since the controller was just basically a very sensitive volume knob.

The best thing about conferences--meeting new friends. The fact that this is the Game Studies field just amplifies the comeraderie, seriously. We are all passionate about games being far more than merely entertainment tools, we're all deep thinkers who are heavily entrenched in the publish or perish mentality, and we all love pizza.

In summary, this is, to date, the best conference on Game Studies that I have ever attended. I got a lot of motivation from simply listening to and pondering the lectures and especially from trading new ideas and stories with new colleagues.