Fields sat down with The Root to give some insight into his world as a Black game creator and consumer and his journey to help Black gamers like himself feel seen when they play anime-influenced games.

Over the years he spent developing Onsen Master, Fields turned a page in his purpose for creating the games due to tragedies in America. “We went through a pandemic, we went through Black Lives Matter and the murder of George Floyd, and these events really gave me the space to focus on what type of games I would like to create and what that means for the studio,” he told The Root. “My two team members at that time, close friends of mine, did not come from Black backgrounds. I candidly said I feel very passionate about wanting to create a studio that is telling predominantly Black stories and doing it at the hands of predominantly Black individuals.”

The team ultimately decided that after Onsen Master was released, they would part ways to work on projects that they saw fit for each of their backgrounds. Now, Fields is working full steam ahead to bridge the gap between Japanese and African-American gaming communities with a predominantly Black and predominantly woman-led team at Waking Oni Games, working in pre-production on an unnamed project.

One question for Fields was how he avoids cultural appropriation in this space as a Black man creating games based on Japanese culture. His approach? Recognizing intersectionality by creating explicitly Black characters and Black stories that represent both Black and Japanese cultures.

“I don’t want to make coded characters,” he said. “I want it to be obvious and right in front of the viewers so that they can make the connection and not have to take so many steps to make that connection. The goal with Waking Oni down to its name is to explore these cultural intersections and create visibility within games giving predominantly Black individuals who are fans of anime a space to say, ‘This game was made for me.’ We are not a Black studio that’s telling a Japanese story about a Japanese individual.”

Growing up as an anime fan, Fields would discuss with fellow fans some anime characters that were coded Black but not outwardly confirmed to be Black, such as his example of Piccolo from Dragon Ball-Z, who some people believe shares characteristics and remind people of a Black dad and grandfather.

As Fields has grown older, more shows now have outwardly Black characters and Black cultural influences proving that there is a connection between Black and Japanese communities.

“Shinichiro Watanabe, the director of Cowboy Bebop, has always used Black music to characterize some of the most impactful moments in its shows. He uses jazz in Cowboy Bebop, he blatantly uses hip-hop in Samurai Champloo and then carries it a step further for a show like Carole & Tuesday, which has a Black main character (Carole), and then he collaborates with Black artists like Denzel Curry and Flying Lotus.”

As the popularity and appreciation of anime and Japanese culture grow, so does the influence of Black culture on the genre, from new Black characters to the music. Fields believes that this is the perfect time to bring his and many more Black people’s skills to make a space within the genre as well. 

“It’s incredible to see these intersections come to fruition and really say, ‘Yes, you are influencing this medium,’” he said. “There is a sort of cultural exchange that’s occurring and we’re recognizing that more.”