Hi everyone,
I’m thinking about attending a Japanese senmongakkou (専門学校) for game development. I’ve visited several schools and want to share my impressions, but I’m still unsure which one to choose: HAL, Nihon Kogakuin, TTC, or the new program at Ōhara Gakuen in Yokohama.
Here’s what I personally noticed:
HAL felt really focused on production. Their open campus emphasized discovery and experimenting with variables to make things fun. They also have development kits for Switch and industrial partnerships.
Nihon Kogakuin (日本工学) had courses that started directly with theoretical slides and math explanations. The classes were short and very theory-heavy, but the teaching style was enjoyable.
TTC was more intimate and basic. They explained simple concepts, like how screen coordinates work to create a shmup using SFML, and talked about the professors themselves. It felt more personal, but the tuition is higher than HAL.
Ōhara Gakuen (Yokohama) is the least expensive and less “industrial.” I could see student projects, which seemed on par with the other schools.
I’m unsure whether to pick a more recognized school or a smaller one. Do all schools provide similar support? Which schools help students who are less autonomous versus leaving them to figure everything out?
I’d love to hear real experiences from people who attended:
Which school did you go to?
How were the classes taught — mostly guided or more self-learning?
Did school size or recognition affect how much support you received?
How did the program prepare you for work in the game industry?
Anything you wish you had known before enrolling?
Please feel free to share stories, small daily experiences, or details — I want to understand what it’s really like, beyond marketing and open campus impressions.
Thanks a lot!
by Important_Rub1645
1 comment
As a director who has worked at Japanese game companies and participated in numerous new graduate hiring processes, I would not recommend any of these schools.
Fundamentally, these schools make almost no effort to attract talented students (the lack of proper entrance exams is proof). In other words, they don’t care about student quality as long as they pay tuition. Doing this in a country with a college enrollment rate of nearly 60% essentially means these schools are gathering below-average students. How can they teach 3D graphics when the majority of students can’t even grasp 3D vector and matrix multiplication?
What I can say is this: you must first abandon the mindset of asking, “What will the school teach me?” or “What kind of support will they give me?”. Therefore, where you go to school doesn’t matter. If possible, I’d recommend a more reputable university over a vocational school. Either way, don’t rely on classes; instead, self-study to reach a level far beyond what you’d learn in lectures.
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