“Do you play Valorant?” is the last question I expected on my first day of work at my internship in Tokyo, almost 5,000 miles from home, surrounded by unfamiliar people and foreign culture. When I met the other intern, I was very focused on my professionalism, presenting myself as competent and skilled in the field I would be working in. The last thing on my mind was what my hobbies were, let alone the games I played in my spare time.
Gaming has been a part of my life since I was five when I got my first computer at home. Between two busy parents, playing games was a way to express my creativity through the blocks placed in Minecraft, the festive parties I enjoyed in Club Penguin, and the connections I made with friends digitally. I picked up Valorant during Covid, a time when online interactions were the only way to socialize. School got busy, and that use of free time faded away.
Flash to the present, where Isabelle looks at me and asks me if I play Valorant. In a completely new place, this was how I stabilized myself in something familiar. We spent our office hours building a working relationship over text documents, meetings, design revisions, Github commitments, and many stops at cafés (tea for her, coffee for me). When the sun set and we clocked out that night, we found ourselves at an e-sports café in Shin-Okubo.
A completely different experience than gaming in America, where most people play from the comfort of their homes, you are surrounded by fellow gamers when you log on at an e-sports café. A naturally competitive scene, the atmosphere promotes achievement and enjoyment simultaneously. Victory is celebrated together, and defeats are an opportunity for new teammates to pick each other up. The callouts and exclamations might be in languages you don’t understand, but community is brought to share in something together: the love of the game.
To all the parents who might be concerned about their children playing violent games online, allow me to show you another feature of the modern gaming environment. This summer, Pokémon Go celebrates its 10th anniversary. While I can’t say I’ve been playing on the same account since the start (I wasn’t old enough to have a phone back then), I can recognize what an incredible revolution in gaming it was. In Japan, something as silly as a mobile game is helping me explore.
A lesser-known feature of the game involves walking routes, which guide the player from one designated landmark to another in exchange for a few items. After several hours of staring at my screen, working on design features for my company’s website, I got up from my desk in search of a break. Pokémon Go took me out of the office and down the street in a random direction in the heart of Tokyo. Buildings stretched from the ground, walling me in until it felt like I was in a tunnel, save for the green spaces engineered around the city.
Eventually, I found myself beside a small fountain down an alley. I thought it would make a good picture, so I stopped beside it. Whipping out my camera and setting up the shot, I suddenly found my phone drenched with water! Looking down into the simple, roadside fountain, dazzling koi fish the length of my forearm swam back and forth. If I’d never left the office to follow a route I’d never explored, I would never have found this little gem. You certainly won’t find it on any map.
Try searching for “fountain by the roadside with koi fish!” You won’t find that one! Maybe if you search for Magikarp…
The modern digital gaming environment brings people together and encourages us to explore new places, allowing them to see connections and experiences in ways that they never imagined they would find. However, games have brought people together long before we ever carried smartphones or could instantaneously connect with people across the globe. The city of Tokyo has held two different Olympic games, though that was not the stadium-hosted event I had the pleasure of seeing.
Baseball might be the most American sport I can think of, which made it shocking to watch the surge of fans flood the stadium when doors opened for the Giants Vs. Tigers (Hanshin Vs. Yomiuri) game at the Tokyo Dome. It was not have been hotdogs and popcorn, you won’t find any complaints here about eating fried calamari and karaage out of a plastic baseball cap. Japanese beer is a staple, so rest assured, there is just as much beer at baseball games in Japan as in the United States.
The biggest difference about the sport in Japan walked in with the crowds when they entered; team spirit. Every fan was decked out in merch, complete with noisemakers, banners, and towels that they swung around in the air. There were designated sections for each team (even the away team section was filled), and guards who patrolled to make sure you were cheering in the right section. On each team, every player had a specific song that the crowd would sing as they stepped up to the plate. In the US, players get to pick a walk-up song and have it blare over the stadium sound system. Imagine if you had thousands of people singing for you instead!
In the first inning, the Hanshin Tigers hit a home run. No sound system could ever match the excitement and passion of the fans as they roared in exhilaration. The game was on. Though I’d only been a Giants fan for the 15 minutes before the first pitch, I was torn apart watching my team lose. However, I left the Tokyo Dome uplifted and amazed at the sheer spirit, camaraderie, and competition that baseball produces in Japan. It didn’t matter if it was the major leagues or the local leagues; if your name was Shohei or Sugano, you had tens of thousands of people chanting your name, hoping to celebrate your win or commiserate a loss.
Games bring people together, and they will continue to no matter what technology looks like. Never forget that gaming is not just fun and entertaining, but a way to connect different people together, explore new places and experiences, and celebrate competition and achievement. Whether it’s logging on, stepping onto the court, or lacing up your glove, go connect, explore, and celebrate the next time you play. Fun is all around you, so game on!