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Foreigners welcomed to apply for jobs as designers on Nintendo’s new Legend of Zelda game

Casey Baseel May 7, 2018
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Why keep the job you have now when you could be creating Hyrule’s forests, dungeons, and monsters instead?

On Monday morning, did you leap out of bed 30 minutes before you’d set the alarm to go off, bristling with excitement at the opportunities presented by getting back to work? Or did you hit the snooze button a half-dozen times, putting off your return to the daily grind for as long as possible?

If you’re in the latter group, it might be time to consider looking for a new job, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find a more attractive opening than working for Nintendo as a level designer on the company’s new Legend of Zelda game.

Yes, it’s only been a little more than a year since the fantastically successful release of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and no, Nintendo has yet to officially announce a sequel or follow-up. Nevertheless, a listing for “Legend of Zelda series level designer” has just been added to Nintendo’s recruiting page, and the details imply that non-Japanese candidates are welcome.

The listing outlines the position with:
● Job description
1. Planning, creation, adjustment, and implementation of game events, field, dungeons
2. Planning, creation, adjustment, and implementation of enemies

● Desired traits
1. Experience and practical knowledge as a game planner for home console video games
2. Confidence in ability to communicate in Japanese on collaborative activities

● Application process
1. Written application
2. Practical Test
3. Interview (two rounds)
4. Signing of contract

The initial contract period is three months, with renewals possible up through the end of the game’s development. Pay is dependent on experience and skill level, and works out to, in yearly terms, somewhere between 4.7 million and 6.8 million yen (US$43,500 and US$63,000). In addition, successful applicants are eligible for a housing allowance of up to 47,500 yen a month for singles and 66,500 yen for those living with dependents, which should help offset some of the cost of an apartment in Kyoto, where the position, and Nintendo itself, are based. Overtime pay and moving expenses of up to 430,000 yen are also part of the package. Work hours are listed as from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a one-hour break and weekends and holidays off, plus summer and New Year’s vacations, as well as other paid days off.

The specific mention of “confidence in ability to communicate in Japanese” is something Nintendo wouldn’t have bothered with if it was only interested in hiring Japanese designers, and there’s a precedent for foreigners being hired to work on the Zelda series. If you’re interested in throwing your hat (a green pointed cap, obviously) in the ring, applications can be submitted here on Nintendo’s website.

Source: Nintendo via Otakomu
Top image: Nintendo