Game Freak Offices – Tokyo
Canuch Inc. designed the Game Freak offices to reflect the company’s philosophies for their space in Tokyo, Japan.
Game Freak is a company that develops home video game software, such as the “Pokémon” video game series, and games for smartphones. Its head office has moved to an environment with high security and a larger space to accommodate its expanding business. The new office location also facilitates better coordination and communication among staff working on projects.
Game Freak has presented its own unique world through its games. Its corporate philosophy places importance on always having dreams, courage, and an adventurous spirit.
The discoveries made by pursuing the fun and enjoyment of playing for a long time and seriously researching the source of things are reflected in the world view of the games presented.
To have the office embody the company’s unique stance, the office design was based on the theme of the adventurous spirit. It incorporates elements that encourage discovery and encounters with companions, which represent the best part of adventures, as well as the creation and development of fun.
The motif for the office design is “Pokémon Red Version and Pokémon Green Version”, and the office itself is configured to be a game world. The lobby area, which is the starting point for the adventure, portrays Viridian Forest by expressing the cries of Pokémon, sunlight, and living trees and creatures. All the meeting rooms are named after towns featured in the game. The color that the town name is based on is used in the room’s motif. For example, the origin of Pallet Town in the game is white. From this element of white, we imagined a blank canvas and planned the design concept using corresponding textures and color schemes.
When we go from the visitor’s area to the work area, the space is largely divided into the two zones of the courtyard, which is a shared space set up around the core parts of the floor, and the living quarters, which are working spaces for projects that are set up by the windows. The boundary is a partition made of open shelving that allows the amount of privacy to be controlled. This environment that allows displays reflects the characteristics of each project and allows workers to make discoveries as they walk through the halls.
The courtyard in the shared space has a counter for refreshments along the line of flow. It is centered on areas that workers must pass through and separated into areas of red, green, blue, and yellow, which are the colors of the packages for titles of the “Pokémon” video game series. It is designed to make it easy for people to meet each other spontaneously.
There are also spaces, such as private rooms, brainstorming rooms, open meeting rooms, and semi-closed meeting rooms, that can be selected based on the level of information security required.
The office design values the adventurous spirit, as it allows workers to wander around this field-like office to discover new ideas.
By embodying Game Freak’s creative stance, the office conveys that having an adventurous spirit at all times is necessary to create a world view.
Design: Canuch Inc.
Construction: Sumisho Building Management
Photography: Nacasa & Partners
