After having about a 2+ hour conversation on MSN with a couple of my friends. I was reading the main page of the Mistwalker site and couldn't help but take it out of context.
We strive to create and produce the highest quality games,
including plot/script, system design, conceptual art and 3D graphics.
We hope you will enjoy our games and our heart warming message will reach you.
Now mistwalker is a great company and all, but the bold letters sound like they are advertising services as an OUTSOURCING company. Lo and behold when that 2+ hour conversation started by taking the bold phrases out of context. I am quite familiar myself with outsourcing companies during my research of the animation and game development industries. The word "DRONE(S)" come to mind since these companies are practically filled with what they call themselves "Nobodies", but quite frankly they are "Nobodies with Skills".
The thought also occured to me with mistwalker is when my friend Yumi Ozaki used the terms "Mr. Sakaguchi" and "I'm nobody". Mr. Sakaguchi seems to be the only driving force behind mistwalker and people like Ozaki and others under him are "Nobodies" who just do the work Sakaguchi drives them to do. During one of those conversations a programmer I know said Lionhead Studios under Microsoft is the same way...A man by the name of Peter Molynuex practically runs the studio all by himself with his coworkers being "Drone-like Minions" who wait on paw and knee for him to call the shots.
What happens is when a company lacks a driving director such as Sakaguchi or Peter they become a "Drone Company". Which Drone Companies usually form into "Outsourcing" companies that crave direction and purpose under a project giving by a "Mr" or "Mrs" superior. Outsourcing gives them purpose, it gives them money, and the continue to do their respective skills and jobs as "drones".
Personally I remember writing a script for an "Azumanga Daioh" fandub, I decided to insert a family injoke and asked if the producer had issues with it. They didn't mind it AT ALL and when the video was done I found out they played the main character and the injoke appeared which appealed to me and the rest of the script was fantastic with nobody mentioning complaints against the injoke.
Fast forward for me putting a "writer available" ad on gamedev.net and a programmer who wanted to make an XNA RPG for the Xbox 360 indie service came to me and wanted to me to write for his RPG...I find out he didn't want me to write FOR his RPG...but his WHOLE RPG quite frankly. He seemed to be another victim of droning and gave me full control over the story and he would just program and design based around the plot I would create. I wrote quite a bit of the story and took the challenge but the programmer had to leave and the project ended, with practically no feedback or complaints from him on the story.
A came across an Animation ad from an Outsourcing company out of China on forums.awn.com and it goes like this;
http://forums.awn.com/showthread.php?t=12726
EasternMiracle is a digital content production company specializing in 3D and 2D animation and VFX post production. (Our website www.easternmiracle.com Look forward to your visit and exchange)
EasternMiracle is one of the largest and highest quality digital animation and VFX studios in China. We provide quality, yet inexpensive, animation production and consulting services to overseas digital entertainment companies such as television and film production companies, game developers, as well as advertising agencies in production of their television commercials and other digital needs. We provide production services in conceptual design art, modelling, rigging, texturing, animation, cinematics and digital effects to our clients in USA, UK, Germany, Norway, Australia and China give them an edge over their competitors.
Chinese artists recruited locally are well trained by experienced western talents who raise the Chinese artists' production quality to meet and even surpass our clients' expectations.
Our game team has extensive experience in modelling, texturing and animation from complex high resolution characters for normal map texture generation purposes to very low poly count props.Our core talents were educated and experienced in North America and Australia and speaks fluent English and Mandarin.
We hope have business with you. Thanks.
Notice the similarities in the dialog between "Eastern Miracle" and "Mistwalker"? Listing the kind of work they do for public consumption? Probably the only difference right now is mistwalker (at least at this point) is still making their own games(under the direction of Mr. Sakaguchi). What worries me is the possibility of mistwalker becoming an outsourcing company after the retirement of Sakaguchi since at least one of them admits to being a "Nobody". Amazing individuals, Amazing skills, but people who see themselves as Nobodies craving work and a driving force.
Practically...DRONES.
No comments:
Post a Comment