Game Designer for Crazy Taxi: World Tour Employee Interview

EMPLOYEE INTERVIEWS

Game Designer

A Game Designer who makes moving experiences for players worldwide

Joined in 2018

Game Designer D.T.

＼ Career Path ／

Did art-based research as a student.
Took an interest in the many facets of games and aimed to work at SEGA.

Worked on checks for mobile games after joining the company.
Learned the game development process and the fundamentals of game design.

Became lead game designer for the new Crazy Taxi title.
Involved from the early stages.

Currently leading the game design team toward the finish line.
Working on a wide variety of events and other projects.

01STEP 1

02STEP 2

03STEP 3

04STEP 4

Q1
What I Studied

I majored in sociology in my master’s program, and did art-based research. In that field, research findings can be expressed through art as well as academic papers. I focused on passing on war experiences, so I put together a performance using T-shirts and a video installation using footage I'd found, and I presented these at academic conferences and museums.

Q2
Why I Joined SEGA

Gaming is a hobby that I've been passionate about since my student days, and that passion stuck with me even as I worked on videos, novels, and installations. Games are composite works of art that put together visuals, sound, and scripted sequences with player input to create a moving experience, and are able to deliver that experience to a wide audience. I wanted to work in the video game industry to create a game that was both artistic and commercial. Another reason I chose to work at SEGA is because they welcomed a newbie like me with open arms, even after I bragged at the interview that I could make better games than them.

Q3
My First Assignments at SEGA

When I first joined the company, they had me doing checks for mobile games. As a game designer, I was checking whether new implementations had any issues and making sure fixes had actually worked. Games in development have lots of issues, and thinking about the causes of those issues was a kind of on-the-job training. I learned how games take shape through the specifications, the implementations, the contributions of different team members. This experience gave me a strong foundation that I use even now as a game designer.

Q4
Biggest Surprise After Joining SEGA

A nice surprise for me has been how many chances we have to travel abroad, even people in game development roles. I thought only those in certain positions would have that opportunity, but there are chances to attend playtests and game shows overseas while working on global console titles. Getting to travel make the scope of my work feel global. I've also conducted playtests and been a speaker in the U.S., as well as handled local ops and presentations for the titles I was working on.

D.T. as developer rep at gamescom 2026, overseeing troubleshooting and attending to guests

Q5
Current Duties

I'm currently the lead game designer for Crazy Taxi: World Tour. We started off with a small team that laid the foundations for the game—the controls, game mechanics, things like that. Now that we're nearing the end of development, I manage a team of dozens of game designers, so there's a lot on my plate. Budgeting and head counts; keeping the project on track; fine-tuning things with our overseas offices; marketing and PR; making announcement videos; and getting ready for presentations and events.

Q6
Motivation and Successes

The most motivating thing for me is when I can see immediate user reactions to things we've made. I was at an event abroad recently, and I played through the game as the producer explained it. The crowd went wild as I showed off car movements and actions, and at that moment I felt both the responsibility of making a long-awaited new installment in a beloved series and the value of an experience capable of moving so many people. Now we're heading toward the launch date, so I need to keep ratcheting up the anticipation.

Q7
Future Goals

In the future, I want to create a new title or IP based on my own idea that's fun for people around the world. For that reason, I'm aiming to become a director. It's not possible for a single person to create a AAA game—you need a lot of people working together to handle both the development and essentials like marketing and PR. SEGA is like a big boat, and I'd like to steer it and create amazing games that people love for a long time to come.

Q8
SEGA's Appeal

The appeal of SEGA is that you can make things you love into games and share them with the world. The creator's vision, the game designers' expertise, and all their accumulated knowledge is reflected in gameplay and content. We have long-running IPs, development, communications, and sales networks, and a level of passion doesn't stop at an individual scale. Representing a Japanese company at game shows overseas, I've been able to experience firsthand the scale and excitement of competing on a global stage.

Q9
Message to Applicants

If you're more than just a fan of video games and you have a dream, an ambition to create an experience, you'll fit in well here. Games have the power to inspire players, but they can also change someone's life. If you want to create new forms of expression, if you want to make games that stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those made by creators around the world, then this is the place for you. Beyond games, if you have something you love or know so well that no one can outtalk you on it, that can be a strong arrow in your quiver here.

Q10
A Recent Highlight

I saw an animated film that paired music and visuals in a range of fascinating ways that we could also use in game development. I saw it multiple times while it was still in theaters. I've also been really into games with high-difficulty side content. There's an unforgettable sense of accomplishment to reaching the absolute peak of a game after grinding through its toughest challenges with random strangers online.