Oskar is an artist and designer working primarily in game UI/UX. Originally from Rochester, Minnesota in the United States, he has been based in Japan since 2020 and currently resides in Tokyo.

1. What is your relationship to games?

 

Though I had many experiences with PC and early console games growing up, the first console I owned myself was a dandelion yellow Game Boy Color I got in 2000 alongside Super Mario Land 2. After my parents divorced (I was three) I went through a lot of cross-country moves, so my Game Boy offered some stability in an otherwise turbulent childhood. I think it solidified how much games meant to me – I spent hundreds of hours exploring the great vastness of tiny, pixelated worlds. That feeling of adventure has never left me, no matter how games have continued to evolve and is something I endeavor to create in my own work.

Years later at summer camp, a friend told me about a fantasy RPG called Morrowind; this bizarre world would become my intro into game development and remains one of my favorites. I loved experimenting with the in-game console commands and bundled toolset used by the developers themselves and began remixing and making my own mods, learning about game design, scripting, 3D modeling, texturing and bits of other disciplines along the way.
 

2. How did you join the game industry?

 

After high school graduation and far too many university applications, I decided on the game development program at Northeastern University’s College of Arts Media and Design in Boston, where I graduated with a degree in Digital Art and Game Design. I gained a lot of experience here, participating in Global Game Jam every year, serving as treasurer and active member of the campus game development club, working with faculty and grad students on games used for education and research and starting work on a party fighting game as a class project that would later become Super Slime Arena.

After graduation I got a job with NeuroScouting, a neuroscience-based company working on sports performance games and scouting software used by professional baseball teams. I was excited about my work and continued development on Super Slime Arena with my team in our free time, when not long after I was hired, I was suddenly diagnosed with lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. This was very frightening news that changed my life in profound ways.

When I was healthy enough, I continued to work through most of my time in chemotherapy to pay rent and decided to focus full-time on Super Slime Arena after my contract with NeuroScouting finished. Though cancer is an unimaginable ordeal, I believe the game’s ongoing development as a creative outlet throughout my treatment really helped me keep fighting rather than giving in to despair. With the support of my medical staff, family, employer, and Super Slime dev team, we shipped the game, and I’m now in my ninth year of hopefully continuing remission.

 

3. What was your career path to Japan?

My first trip to Japan was in 2018 post-recovery. After exhibiting Super Slime Arena at PAX West and the Game Developers Conference (GDC), John Davis – one of the co-founders of BitSummit – helped us showcase at that year’s show in Kyoto through Indie MegaBooth. Over the three-week trip, I became seriously interested in Japan, falling in love with the country in general and inspired by community groups like Tokyo Indies and ichipixel. By 2019, I had started studying Japanese and went back to BitSummit as part of a longer return trip that solidified my interest in building a life in Japan.

 

After a potential employer last minute refused to give me the Certificate of Eligibility after already offering me a job, I decided to take my non-refundable flight anyway, which led to an interview and job offer from a foreign-run IT and game outsourcing company in Kyoto. Unfortunately, after a few years of work there, I had a bad reaction to a Covid vaccine that left me again hospitalized for several months. I also lost my company housing while hospitalized after my employer had a disagreement with their landlord, relocated to Tokyo and was shortly laid off before I even recovered. While still walking on crutches, I started applying to proper game studios before eventually landing a contract position at GREZZO who I had first discovered through playing Ever Oasis.

Known for their work with Nintendo on the Legend of Zelda series and Square heritage through staff like Koichi Ishii of Mana series and Final Fantasy fame, this was one of my dream studios. Though challenging, working there was a fantastic and unique experience that helped further improve my language and development skills. After two contracts at GREZZO, I moved to my current permanent designer position at One or Eight, a quirky Japanese game studio where I’ve worked on The Great Villainess: Strategy of Lily and the upcoming Warota: I Live Next to The Demon King's Castle LOL.
 

4. How are you involved with Tokyo Game Bridge and the greater game developer community?

 

I have been a founding member of Tokyo Game Bridge since before we officially formed, having been brought in by Douglas Watt (who I met through fellow Super Slime dev Luke Berry). I help plan and run events alongside TGB’s other leadership, connecting us to the right people and locations to make things happen.

 

Although my job sits somewhere between indie and not-quite AAA, I still try to stay involved with smaller projects and often make pixel art, 3D models and UI designs for friends’ games. I also help run Tokyo Indies and Wholesome Indies, showcase games I’ve worked on at local events like Tokyo Game Dungeon, and still regularly participate in Global Game Jam with Let's Games! Tokyo.

 

One of the best parts of making games is how it brings together people of different backgrounds to create something simultaneously their own and part of a greater shared experience. This shared passion and community support is what I want to continue cultivating through Tokyo Game Bridge and elsewhere, so that we can continue building meaningful relationships across cultures, languages and identities.