Parents want to know their children are safe, happy and healthy, and we are no exception. Having Adam in Japan has been difficult for us – first it was the realization that he was living and working 6700 miles away and we would rarely see our son. As time passed our concern turned to his safety with the escalation of tensions between our country and North Korea. So we were thrilled when he announced his decision to return to the United States (and home) in order to embark on a major career change.
Adam enjoyed Japan – the culture, the people, the language, and his teaching experience. He has been to Japan numerous times since high school and each time he returned home he was ready to return to Japan within a few months.
Adam studied Japanese at St. Olaf College, later at U. Mass Amherst and then again at a language institute in Tokyo. So when he told us he wanted to teach English in Japan, we weren’t surprised (just a little worried that he would become so entrenched with Japanese life that we might rarely see him). That said he has resigned his teaching position and is ready to begin a new career in the United States – starting a new business venture that involves games.
Adam loves making games – and this is something that started when he was a small child – making game boards out of long sheets of paper, drawing the game figures and developing the rules of play.
As a teacher in Japan he thought the children would learn English more easily if grammar could be presented as a game. He spent a fair amount of time figuring out what would work with the high school students and then designed educational games that could be used to teach English. His games quickly grew in demand and although he helped many students better understand our language, he wanted to totally change direction and return to the United States.
Our son wants to become a designer of video games but realizes it will take years to realize this dream. Meanwhile he is just beginning and starting small – doing game analysis and YouTube videos while he builds a following of email subscribers. He started with horror games and is branching out into fantasy and adventure games.
Hopefully his following will build to the extent that he can attract advertising to his sites and his posts will turn into a business. Adam just launched a website with a blog and we will follow the progress of his business venture on our blog. You can also follow his blog directly at madeyegames.com
My son says this is spicy ramen from downtown Ikebukuro, a popular night spot in Tokyo.
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