There are a lot of ways to start a successful career in the games industry, and apparently one of them is to design fingernail stickers, as was the case for Bubble Bobble 4 Friends director Tsuyoshi Tozak.

In an interview with Destructoid, Tozak revealed that his first gig with Sega was for a little-known bit of software called the Nail Puri, which let users design stickers to be placed on their nails. These designs were to be printed out at machines located at arcades and shopping malls throughout Japan.

Tozak worked as a designer on the project, and was in charge of both the sticker designs and the designs of the in-app banners. He also says that he wore the nail stickers himself while he worked on the project.

The machines were installed at the end of 2015, but the service didn’t last too long. By spring 2017, the service was shut down completely.

A short-lived nail service may seem like a strange way to springboard yourself into a director position, but Tozak believes that nail stickers do, in fact, share one important thing in common with the Bubble Bobble series.

According to Tozak, both have a sort of “intangible sweetness,” something that’s undeniable if you’ve ever played any of the saccharine entries into the series, whether it be the original games, the puzzle spin-off series Bust-a-move, or the quasi-sequel Rainbow Islands: The Story of Bubble Bobble 2. Bright colors, cheerful music, and cute designs are everywhere, and Tozak believes it takes a director with these sorts of instincts to create a Bubble Bobble game that just feels right.

It seems like he’s onto something, since the game has has created features no shortage of overwhelming cuteness, which is to be expected in a Bubble Bobble title.

So, the next time you’re not sure whether you’ll be able to forge a path into the games industry, remember: sometimes a career in gaming can start in the most unlikely of places – you just have to find the position that’s right for you.

Source: Destructoid

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