Profile & Intro

Hello everyone, Soobin fan here!

I've finally set up my own site again for the first time in literally 20 years. Looking back, it was running a personal blog two decades ago that got me into the industry in the first place. Back then, I had absolutely zero game knowledge or perspective... but after spending over a decade getting thrown around in various departments, I’ve finally reached a point where I can share something actually worth reading!

I originally set this up to brush up on my SEO and to have a spot to hoard my daily game design notes. However, I decided to make it public, thinking, "Even if these are just for me, it'd be brilliant if they helped broaden the horizons of fellow game developers working hard out there."

Oh, a quick heads-up before you read any further!

To be completely honest, this blog will be proper boring for casual gamers (lol). You won't find any straightforward "I had so much fun playing this!" impressions here. It's almost exclusively deep dives into specific game mechanics and systems that struck a chord with me personally. (Though I'll also drop the occasional entertainment event report or summaries of games I'm keeping an eye on.)

If you're interested, I'd love it if you gave me a follow on X (formerly Twitter)! I'll post updates as soon as new pieces go live.

By the way, I spent ages trying to come up with a handle. Having moved between several major companies, I naturally want to avoid getting doxed... but coming up with a name was such a massive chore that I just pinched it from my favourite K-pop idol, Soobin from TXT (haha). Soobin is a proper gamer himself—a proper hardcore enthusiast who actually brought a custom PPT to present at a game company. I was genuinely moved by that, which was another nudge that got me back into running a site.

...Totally unrelated, but I was utterly torn between using WordPress or Wix. I opened WordPress at first, but the fact that "doing the simplest thing still takes ages" hasn't changed one bit after all these years absolutely sent me over the edge. I threw in the towel immediately and bolted over to Wix.

So, here we go!

I'm kicking things off with a coverage report on the Tokyo Game Show 2026, and I'll be dumping all sorts of notes here as I go. If you fancy a chat, comments and emails are more than welcome! I'd also be immensely flattered if anyone fancies reaching out with a "let's build something together" vibe. Cheers, and welcome aboard!

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Bonus: A quick, slightly redacted glance at my background

• 10+ years in the industry (Covered the full spectrum, from media outlets to hands-on development)

• Experience at major domestic and multinational game studios

• Worked on titles ranked in mainstream hit product lists (e.g., Nikkei Trendy)

• Contributed to a mobile game with over 300 million total downloads worldwide

• Involved in multiple titles that won the Japan Game Awards

• Multiple personal awards in game development contests

• Hit #1 on the charts with indie titles I was involved with (both free and paid)

• Started my career exceptionally early, so despite all this, I'm still proper young!!!　

soobinfan.gamelab@gmail.com