Omiya Games

Description

A prolific, award-winning experimental game studio operated by one person, Omiya Games pushes the boundaries of what's possible with games by challenging the player with strange and enduring experiences.

History

Early Gaming Experiences

Born between two sushi chefs, Taro Omiya has always had an unusual upbringing. His first memory in gaming is when his family traveled to Japan to reunite with his cousins: the 4-year-old got his hands on Super Mario World on the Super Famicom (yes, the original Japanese console), and absolutely loved it. His parents quickly noticed his obsession with gaming...and promptly made every effort NOT to allow any video games into their household. Undeterred, Taro negotiated with his parents in middle school by having them gift a Nintendo 64 if he earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. To this day, you can still hear them mutter how much they regret that decision.

Early Game Dev Experience

Since middle school, Taro has been toying with game development, including making silly animated visuals on his T1-83 Plus calculators and learning how to program in Java at a summer camp. He quickly discovered how much he disliked programming that summer, and his parents didn't see the point in him learning how to make games either. So being the logical child that he was, he took AP Computer Science in high school, and a CompSci Bachelors degree at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It was in college that he got his first taste in professional game development: he interned at a local studio, 1st Playable Production, as an assistant GUI programmer. It was a job he loved, and became a strong passion throughout the rest of his college career.

Formation of Omiya Games

While Taro's first full-time job after college did not involve gaming (GUI Software Engineer at Boeing), one of his colleages invited him to work with their studio on the side. There, he learned the basics of starting a business. Given he was already an avid game jam participant, and was earning some recognition from local game development peers, Taro started making considerations on forming his own solo indie game studio. Finally, on February 2013, he established his company, Omiya Games, to coincide with his participation to the #OneGameAMonth challenge. The studio's first game was a mobile game titled Touch Yoga, a multitouch-screen game where one needs to keep their fingers held on the moving circles. After a full year on taking the challenge, and with 11 entries under his belt, Taro left Boeing and returned to his home town in the Capital Region of New York to foster his company.

Community Building

Shortly after moving into Upstate New York, Taro met with a few fellow indie game developers who were working on establishing a local community in the region. On October 2014, this collective formed the Tech Valley Game Space (TVGS), a non-profit community, co-working office, and safe space whose mission is to grow an inclusive game development environment in the Capital Region. As one of the co-founders and a dedicated co-worker, Taro conducted a large range of events, from lesson nights to game jams. His wide-range of knowledge on game development, leadership skills, and passion for promoting greater diversity in the tech industry earned him the title of Executive Director on April 2017.

Today

Since its formation, Omiya Games has produced over 20 games (and counting!) on PC, Mac, Linux, Web, and mobile. The company still organizes and participates in events and game jams at the TVGS regularly, including Global Game Jam and Ludum Dare. Finally, Taro still hates programming.

Projects

• Air Flip Drive
• Not a Clone
• The Recursive Dollhouse
• Suddenly, Thousands
• Touch Yoga