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非常に素晴らしい機会にご招待して頂いたIGDAや当日の進行などを管理して頂いた小野先生やメンターの方々、スタジオ見学させて頂いた4社（敬称略）など、多くの関係者に深く感謝いたします。そしてCEDECを含めこの4日間は非常に多くの経験をさせて頂き、本当にありがとうございます。
さて、私はスタジオ訪問で学んだことが4つあります。
まず1つ目に社風がそれぞれ違うことです。その空気感は実際に社内に入って作業現場を見てみないと感じることのできない要素で、説明会などで社員の方々から語られる社風とはほぼ異なっているのではないかと思います。当然ながらこの会社（具体的な社名は控えますが）は肌に合わないと感じることもありました。そう言った意味では会社はブランドではなく、自分と社風を比較するための軸を明確に持たなければならないと思いました。
2つ目に技術の違いです。豪華なプリレンダームービーを挟む会社やアイディア一直線の会社もあります。そこで使われる社内ツールも何を最適化することに重点が置かれているかで違うと思います。それぞれの会社に尖った部分があり、その尖った部分をゲームに落とし込もうとしているため、一概に自社製ゲームエンジンと言っても各社で何をやろうとし、何を作ろうとしているのか全く違うということが分かりました。スタジオ見学で得られたのは会社の技術的な立ち位置と自分ならそこで何ができるかについて考える余地が生まれたことです。
3つ目は人と人の距離感です。残念ながらセキュリティ上、奥まで見ることのできなかった会社もありますが、社内のデスクや設備を眺めているとやはり感じるものがあります。就業時間中はどうなのか、会社に残ったときはどうなのか、そこに色々な属性や生活を垣間見ることができました。その距離感を見ていて思うのはやはり、自分がそこでどう働くだろうか、どのような人間関係を作ることができるのか、という想像です。やはりこれも現場を見なければわからないことだと思います。
4つ目に会社がどれだけ外向きか内向きかどうかも知ることができました。これは私にとって新しい尺度になったのですが、やはり会社によっては外に向かって積極的に働きかけられる体制のある会社と、NDAやセキュリティの問題でそれほど見せられない会社があることを知りました。自分がどう外の世界と付き合っていきたいかでその会社が向いているか向いていないか分かれるところだと思います。
以上の4つがスタジオ訪問で学んだことになります。
CEDECへの参加の感想は、今年のCEDECは講演以上に交流の幅が広がったことに対する満足が最も大きかったと思います。CAPCOMのDragon’s Dogmaのセッションはどれも素晴らしく、これだけの情報や技術に触れることができたのは私の中で大変刺激になりました。
それ以上にDeveloper’s NightやTwiCEDEC/ゲームのお仕事、私が企画したCEDEC2011 学生交流会と3日間連続で交流会に参加しました。この交流会には私と同じく3日連続で参加している方や展示ブースにいらした企業の方などが参加していたため、多くの方と顔見知りになることができ、とても充実した3日間を送ることができました。それと同時に、多くの方々と意見交換をすることでさらに視野を広げることができ、今後の活動において何をすべきなのか考えるきっかけを頂くことができました。この経験をきっかけに次へと結びつけようと考えております。
スタジオ訪問の感想は、楽しい時間と多くのことが得られた一方で、移動のスケジュールが過密で1社だけ長居することができなかったのがとても残念に思います。また、メンターや学生同士で議論する時間があまりなかったため、可能であればCEDEC終了後に時間が設けられていると今後の活動やCEDECの感想などについて深い議論が交わせたのではないかと思います。また、4社回った後に懇親会を行ったのですが、学生に対して社会人が非常に多いと感じました。CEDECスカラーシップOBでまだ学生をやっている方を特別に招待するなどで人数比を調整すればもう少し話しやすい環境になれたのではないかと思います。
また、スカラーシップの特典としてCEDEC期間中にメンタープログラムもありました。1日目には藤原先生、2日目にはGordon BellamyさんとDavid Helgasonさんとお話しする機会があり、それぞれ様々な議論を行いました。特に、2日目は外国の方を交えたので、日本の文化に対する海外の方々の理解やIGDAとIGDA Japanの現状など様々な意見を聞くことができました。
今後、CEDECスカラーシップに求める点としましては、スタジオ訪問とCEDECの受講パスの支給では企業訪問＋αだけとなり、せっかく集まった学生の方々とはたった4日間の付き合いになってしまいます。今後もこのスカラーシップのOBとなり、さらにIGDA Scholarsに編入となりましたが、リアルな繋がりとしてはすぐに解散してはつまらないと思います。
例えば1年間はIGDAのメンバーとして学生活動をバックアップする仕組みであったり、関東圏や関西圏のイベントに参加するために短期的なアルバイト（開発やイベントスタッフなど）を紹介したり、あるいはイベント参加のためにイベント企画・運営から最低限のマージンを受け取ることのできる仕組みなど、スカラーシップに参加するだけでなく活動できる場を提供すると面白いのではないのかなと思いました。仮に場所が問題であれば、イベントを企画することで再会できる仕組みがベストではないかと思います。
以上がCEDECとCEDECスカラーシップに参加した感想です。関係者の方々には再び深い感謝を捧げます。
I would like to begin by expressing my deep gratitude to everyone involved in the IGDA scholarship, including the IGDA, which invited me to be a part of this wonderful experience, Mr. Ono and the various mentors, who managed our events during the course of the scholarship, and the four studios who allowed us to tour their facilities. I was able experience many new things during this four-day period, including my time at CEDEC, and I would like to say thank you very much.
I learned four things during the studio visits.
First is the fact that different companies have different internal cultures. As a company’s internal atmosphere is impossible to feel without actually entering the workplace and watching work be performed, I believe that the actual culture at a company is somewhat different from the one you may hear about from various employees at an information session for job applicants. Of course, in some cases (I will refrain from giving exact names), I felt that a company would not fit my character. In this way, I thought that a company is not just its brand, but a place where I need to clearly grasp the comparison between myself and its corporate culture.
Second is the difference in technology. There are some companies that insert extravagant pre-rendered movies into their games, while other companies may stick straight to an idea. The internal tools used and emphasized at each company differ according to what is being optimized for. Each company has its specialties, and I understood that because they try to incorporate these specialties into their games, their respective game engines, all produced in-house, are radically different from each other based on what a given company is trying to do and create. While visiting the different studios, I was able to gain the perspective to think about each company’s technological standpoint and where I could potentially fit in each situation.
Third is the sense of distance between employees. Unfortunately, due to security reasons, there were some companies where we could not see all of their inner workings, but one does get a feel for certain aspects of a company just looking at its desks and equipment. We were able to catch a glimpse at different workplace environments and daily life both during and after regular work hours. Seeing this, I ended up imagining what kind of human relationships I would be able to build or how I would work at each company. This is also something that is not possible to figure out without being there first-hand.
Fourth, I learned how outward or inward-facing each company is. This was a new consideration to me, but I learned that some companies may be organized to be more assertively outgoing, while others, due to NDAs or security concerns, may not be able to show as much of themselves to the public. After learning about this, I began to understand that based on my personality and how I would like to associate with the outside world, there are some companies that I would be compatible with, and others that I would not be as compatible with.
As for my thoughts on CEDEC, I was very satisfied with the lectures, but even more satisfied with the wide breadth of opportunities to interact with others. All of Capcom’s Dragon’s Dogma sessions were wonderful, and the opportunity to come in contact with all of the information and technology presented at these sessions was extremely stimulating to me.
Furthermore, I participated in social gatherings such as Developer’s Night and TwiCEDEC/Game no Oshigoto, along with the CEDEC 2011 Student Gathering, which I planned, on all three days. As there were others like myself who participated in these gatherings on all three nights, as well as individuals from exhibiting corporations at these parties, I was able to acquaint myself with many people, making these three days very fulfilling ones. Also at these events, I was able to exchange ideas and opinions with many individuals, further widening my outlook and providing an impetus for me to think about what I should do in the future in the field. I’d like to use this experience as a chance to reach the next stage in my life.
Regarding the studio visits, while they were a fun and rewarding experience, our travel schedule felt overbooked, and I thought it was unfortunate that we were not able to visit at least one studio for a longer period of time. Also, because there was not much time for discussion with the mentors or other students, I hope that it would be possible to create time after CEDEC where we can have deeper discussions on topics such as our future activities and our thoughts on CEDEC. Also, while we went to a get-together after the studio tours, it felt as though the students there were far outnumbered by the working adults in attendance. I think that an environment more conducive to conversation could possibly be created if past CEDEC scholarship recipients or other students were also invited to the event.
Additionally, a mentoring program throughout the course of CEDEC was given as a special privilege to scholarship recipients. We had the opportunity to discuss a number of topics with Professor Fujiwara on day one, and with Mr. Gordon Bellamy and Mr. David Helgason on day two. In particular, we spoke to individuals from outside of Japan on day 2, which allowed us to hear outside perspectives on Japanese culture, as well as comments on topics such as IGDA and IGDA Japan.
If there was one thing I hope could be implemented in the CEDEC scholarship in the future, it would be to lengthen students’ involvement in the program, as the current program provides studio tours and a bonus in the form of a lecture pass, but no involvement between the gathered students beyond the four days of the scholarship. While we will become alumni of the scholarship as well as IGDA Scholars, in practice, our connections to each other as scholarship recipients will unfortunately dissolve quickly.
I believe it would be interesting if beyond participating in the scholarship, a place for students to participate in activities could be created, such as creating a structure that would allow recipients to back up the IGDA’s student-related activities as members, the introduction of short-term part-time jobs that would allow recipients to participate in events either in East or West Japan (such as in the form of development or event staff), or some sort of arrangement where event organizers could provide a small amount of funding in order for students to attend their event. If finding a place for this is a problem, bringing students together again in order to plan an event may work best.
These are my thoughts on CEDEC and regarding my participation in the CEDEC Scholarship. Once again, I would like to give my deepest thanks to those involved.(Eiichi Takebuchi / Kanagawa Institute of Technology)
（Translation: Ko Ransom,i18n Force@igda Japan)
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