Staff Spotlight: Meet our Player Support Team in Tokyo

This week we had a chat with three members of our team Tokyo, Japan to talk everything about Player Support and what is like working at Keywords.

Ana Coelho joined Keywords Studios in Dublin in November 2016, as an Portuguese Localization QA (LQA) tester. She worked on several projects, including one in Montreal, and then switched to a player support agent position in the Madrid studios when it opened in October 2017. Recently Ana moved to Tokyo to start as Shift Lead.

Hiromasa Isoya, after a career in sales, joined Keywords in September 2018 as Player Support Shift Lead.

Makoto Furumoto also joined Keywords in 2018 as Team Lead Assistant and now is a player support team lead.

Here's what they had to say!

Describe a typical day in your role.

Ana: As a shift lead and part of the leads team in a very big project, I am responsible for the day-to-day management of around 20 agents.

I also help keeping the documentation updated and communicate with the client, as needed.

I love training and helping each agent reach their full potential but, as a previous tester, my favourite part of the job is finding and solving unexpected issues before they become big and scary.

Hiromasa: I am a shift lead for a popular RPG. Shift leads have to provide support to the team leads all the time. I try to communicate with the client as best as I can on a daily basis.

Makoto: Mainly I'm contacting the client's site manager, and working hard to satisfy both client as well as members in my project.

How did you get into Player Support for video games? What inspired your career path?

Ana: The first motivator was adventure - when given the opportunity to help in opening a new international office, I couldn't say no!

Moving to Player Support also gave me more stability and while I loved LQA, I am very much a people's person, so it felt like a natural transition.

Hiromasa: I wanted to work in a company where I can interact with people from different cultures, so when I found about Keywords, I thought that it was the kind of job I was looking for.　

Makoto: I always loved playing a game or watching sub-cultures and wanted to get involved in this environment.

Makoto Furumoto, Ana Coelho and Hiromasa Isoya.

What have you gained from working in Player Support for Keywords?

Ana: My roles in Player Support have helped me re-focus on the most important, which is the team and the people in it. I have learned a lot about community building and people management, and hope to learn even more!

Hiromasa: My reading speed in English has improved.　

Makoto: I've learn many things here, such as how to manage people from different cultures.

What do you like best about working for Keywords Studios?

Ana: Our focus in video games, our strong international community and the amazing opportunity for travel and adventure.

Hiromasa: For sure, Keywords diversity.

Makoto: I'm really happy with sharing one's own opinion frequently with team members, these experiences hones my values.

Tell us an interesting fact that people may not know about you.

Ana: As a child, I wanted to be a mad scientist when I grew up. I have a degree in chemistry to show for it, too!

Hiromasa: I have experience working in a pub for a few years, so I can make some cocktails for you.

Makoto: I lost my weight about 10kg during the work from home. If and when the COVID situation is over and we start working from office again, my colleagues will not recognise me when we reunite.

And, finally, what advice would you give to job seekers considering a career into Player Support for video games?

Ana: Teamwork is the most important thing, so leave your ego at the door and remember to trust and build up your colleagues. We're only as good as our team!

Hiromasa: Keep in mind that you will not always work on the kind of game that you like, so you have to be flexible.

Makoto: People who like to be close to each other and help each other can enhance their own attractiveness, means which is a very attractive job.

If you are interested in a Player Support role at Keywords Studios, you can find current open positions on our Careers page.

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