If you've ever thought your trivia knowledge was worth more than just bragging rights, the team behind Professor Layton might be the place for you. Level-5, the studio responsible for the iconic puzzle series, has implemented a unique approach to internal compensation: pay rises based on how well staff know the company’s own games.
In a recent interview with Famitsu, Level-5 president and CEO Akihiro Hino revealed that he personally conducts internal "content knowledge tests." Employees who perform well on these quizzes are eligible for a salary increase, regardless of their current career level or how long they have been with the studio.
Knowledge as a Professional Skill
For Hino, these quizzes aren't just a quirky office tradition—they are a metric for professional efficiency. He explained that assigning tasks to developers who lack a deep understanding of the company's titles requires additional support from other team members to verify and check their work.
"If they have the knowledge, they can become the central figure and streamline the work," Hino noted. "In other words, we now consider knowledge of and love for the company’s works to be a 'skill.'"
Hino stated that this policy is viewed as a company cost that ultimately results in an efficiency gain greater than the salary increase itself. While the current bonus amount was redacted in the report, Hino suggested that the company is considering increasing the reward value in the future, further incentivizing staff to brush up on their historical knowledge of the studio’s library.
A Culture of Puzzles
It is perhaps fitting that a studio famous for challenging players with complex riddles and logic puzzles would bring that same energy into their compensation structure. While the prospect of a high-stakes exam might sound daunting to some, for a team tasked with maintaining the legacy of titles like Professor Layton, the expectation to know the material inside and out appears to be a core part of the studio's culture.
Whether this strategy will be adopted by other developers in the industry remains to be seen, but for now, Level-5 employees are clearly expected to keep their game knowledge sharp if they want to see that next bump in their paycheck.