Total RememberThe theme of Remembering is to look back at the history of video games through its characters, structures, developers and processes.I've been studying with a new book Japansoft: Oral History
The book is much more refined and shorter than John Szczepaniak Anonymous History of Japanese Engineers The series, with a few new interviews and dozens of old anecdotes about how some of the biggest companies in video games got their start.
However, my share comes from Konami, where Masaaki Kukino, in his mid-80s was a music company at the company (he would work at SNK and produce King of Fighters XII and XIII) remembers that Konami's ever-present headquarters were next door that left its staff looking a bit … well.
Near Konami's building were many other businesses, such as clothing companies. Big ones, like Earth and Tasaki. There were also female designers and more, so the people working for them were really fashionable! Konami's staff were … Well, they were dressed too.
So, you know, at one point Konami was getting complaints from employees of nearby companies! We were a little dirty because we were so busy that we didn't wash as many baths as we should, maybe.
It will show, the risk of crunch is not the only impact it has on your health and relationships. In 80s Japan, there were social problems too.
To find out, Konami's offices at the time were in Port Island, a man-made island off the coast of Kobe, and they look like this:
The company's current HQ, meanwhile, located in central Tokyo, has no similar problem:
Japansoft: Oral History it's out now, and you can find it here.
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