Let the games begin!

I decided to put off this post until I finally got to do some work, and today is that day!

About a month ago, I signed on for an unpaid internship at Mission One, an entertainment software and application developer here in Setagaya, Tokyo. I had met the founder and president, Marc Cellucci, last October at a Halloween party at Keio's Hiyoshi campus. Also a native Texan, Marc spent many years working for Sega both in America and Japan before starting his own company. Marc mentioned that his company needed testers in the near future, so we exchanged business cards. At the beginning of my lengthy spring break, I shot him an email, he offered me an internship, and I was onboard.

My official title is Quality Assurance Intern, which is really just a fancy way of saying I'm an unpaid game and application tester. But honestly, I would clean the entire office if it meant learning about video game development. Though he can't pay me, I have been getting fed, and everyone knows how much college students love free food!

The main part of my job is to test out the software that Mission One develops to see if there are any technical, design, or typographical errors and bring them to Marc's attention. Marc has also taken it upon himself to introduce me to the process of how entertainment software is designed and developed. I really could not ask for a better introduction to the entertainment software industry.

The application I tested for Mission One today will hopefully be available next week worldwide on the iPhone. I can't disclose the name of the app before it is released, but I will post it here asap. My name is actually in the credits!

Here is a link to Mission One's website, which is available in both English and Japanese: http://mission-one.jp/index_e.html They already have one game for the iPhone available for purchase: a pachinko game called Sho Chiku Bai. Though based on the widely popular Japanese slot game, the download is also having a great deal of success amongst Americans. Try it out- you're sure to get addicted!

I'll post any exciting developments in my internship here, so stay tuned. Watch out, video game industry! Katherine's coming!