Pac-Man Creator Leaves Namco Bandai for… School!
What do you next after creating the No.1 video game of all time (“Top 100 Videogames” in the The Killer List of Videogames) and working for the same company for 30 freaking years? For Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man, the next step is going back to school to teach. Wow, that’s like having Walt Disney teaching you to draw!
After lecturing regularly at several universities Iwatani says he realized the importance of teaching. “I experienced first hand the passion today’s young people have for games. So, when TPU (Tokyo Polytechnic University) told me they were beginning a new course on games, and asked me to become a full-time lecturer, I decided to do it.”
Sure, he still wants to make games but he thinks its more important to pass on the know-how he had accumulated over the last 30 years to the next generation. Iwatani hopes other veteran game designers will follow in his footsteps and help train the next-gen game makers.
Out of his 30 years of experience, what would be the most important lesson he wants his students to learn? The importance of communication in the workplace. “Game development is a group activity, so communication is crucial,” Iwatani said. “On the other hand, it’s a creative process, so assertiveness is necessary. I hope to foster in my students a balance between assertiveness and cooperation.”
Via Gamespot
What do you next after creating the No.1 video game of all time (“Top 100 Videogames” in the The Killer List of Videogames) and working for the same company for 30 freaking years? For Toru Iwatani, creator of Pac-Man, the next step is going back to school to teach. Wow, that’s like having Walt Disney teaching you to draw!
After lecturing regularly at several universities Iwatani says he realized the importance of teaching. “I experienced first hand the passion today’s young people have for games. So, when TPU (Tokyo Polytechnic University) told me they were beginning a new course on games, and asked me to become a full-time lecturer, I decided to do it.”
Sure, he still wants to make games but he thinks its more important to pass on the know-how he had accumulated over the last 30 years to the next generation. Iwatani hopes other veteran game designers will follow in his footsteps and help train the next-gen game makers.
Out of his 30 years of experience, what would be the most important lesson he wants his students to learn? The importance of communication in the workplace. “Game development is a group activity, so communication is crucial,” Iwatani said. “On the other hand, it’s a creative process, so assertiveness is necessary. I hope to foster in my students a balance between assertiveness and cooperation.”
Via Gamespot