- Proactive, open communication key especially with seniors and teammates
- Embracing rapid change in a dynamic environment that comes almost every half yearly
Graduating from Saito College Malaysia in 2013 with a Diploma in Multimedia Design, Sylvia Yap never thought that she would be involved in game development.
Yet, here she is today working as a VFX (visual effects) artist at Metronomik Sdn. Bhd. , a Kuala Lumpur-based independent video game development studio.
So, how did that happen?
“I was just desperate, looking for a job and willing to take anything thrown at me,” she recalled as a panellist at the “Queens of the Game” talk during the 8th annual Level Up KL conference held on Oct 7 in Kuala Lumpur, organised by Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC).
Sylvia and two other women were sharing their stories and offering tips to women aspiring to get into the games sector.
As fate would have it, Sylvia’s first job offer was as a VFX artist with Lemon Sky Studios Sdn. Bhd. in May 2014 where she accepted a 1-year contract. There was one slight problem. “I had zero VFX knowledge,” she said.
Fortunately, Lemon Sky was open to teaching new hires, “as long as we demonstrated passion and possessed basic knowledge of how to use Maya software, as the software itself has extensions for VFX that are crucial for simulations, and having that foundational understanding was key,” she explained.
After her contract she had to put her career in game development on hold.
“It was a challenging period to secure immediate employment in game development, and I had to pursue other opportunities.”
Despite the career divergence, her passion in animation and game development did not wane and in Jan 2017, Sylvia enrolled into KDU University College’s bachelor in game development and art, where she further developed her skills in VFX.
Her development got a boost when she landed an internship as Junior Real-time VFX artist with Streamline Studios and got “a really nice mentor who taught me for three months,” she said.
Aspiring zoologist turned art producer
Elaine Chern grew up really loving animals; from helping with stray rescues to horse riding. “I always wanted to be a zoologist.”
Today, she is an Art Producer at Hidden Chest Studios. Prior to this, she was an environment artist for Electronic Arts for five years.
Elaine can thank her mum’s sage advice for directing her away from becoming a zoologist.
“I like animals, so I was studying humanity, sciences and arts, and my mom was like, ‘You know what? If you go into game development, I’ll save a lot of money.’” While it was meant as a joke, what her mum really meant was that she felt Elaine’s interests would flourish and her daughter would find her wings in the gaming sector rather than as a zoologist.
“She saw that I was more artistically inclined and interested in tech, and thought I might be a better fit for that path, pursuing something I might be more passionate about in the long run,” Elaine explained.
Misconceptions of being a concept artist
Meanwhile, Ili Akmal Khalib, had a rude awakening when she took her first job at a games studio.
A concept artist at Ten Ten Studios today, when she first entered games development she had the misconception that she would be able to have her own say on what projects she got to work on. But reality bit.
“Instead of a stylised piece that I had wanted to work on, I would be assigned to do an environment piece, i.e. a rock or an abandoned building,” she said. “Because you still have to know your fundamentals before even touching anything stylized or realistic.”
Sylvia noted that a lot of people think that joining the industry as an artist means they are straight away focused on creative work, creating the most flashy things.
“But it’s not just about making pretty things, you have to make sure it works and it’s not overpowering everything else. There’s a lot of problem solving and teamwork involved. Everyone has a part to play, and it has to harmonize,” she said. “You also have to care about the person that plays your game.”
For Elaine, the best way to explain game development is by using an analogy anyone can picture. “Game development is like an onion, it has layers.”
In her line of work, there are often revisions, meetings for technical constraints, and workflow limitations. “Studios value efficiency and making sure things are consistent,” she explained.
“There’s a process to decide what is more important; what requires more details and what can be cut back in terms of budget for all assets,” she added. “Budget here doesn’t have to mean money. It’s the space that’s being used, the texture size, or the 3D models.
Clear and concise communications as important as art skills
Taking a question for the audience on the soft skills needed, IIi zoomed in on communications, especially when it comes to clients. “A lot of people don’t realize that when you’re doing client work, you would be communicating with people who might not speak English.”
Thus, she has to be precise and detailed in her notes to pass on to the translator for the client.
Being open with colleagues and asking questions is important as well. “As a junior, I would be really timid and scared to ask my seniors any questions, because, when we were students, most of us didn’t ask our lecturers anything,” she said, advising current students not to be like that.
Sylvia agreed on the importance of inter-team communications. “Because I’m working in a small team, everyone has to know what everyone else is doing. I always make sure to keep my team in the loop,” she said, adding, “I actually got a lot of feedback from my previous employers, who praised me for my proactiveness.”
Slyvia also shared a point about managing junior staff. “If they mess up, and we are on a tight deadline, I’m the one who has to pick the work up, so I have to make sure that I drop a template and provide a clear set of instructions for them, like – ‘don’t make an asset just for the sake of getting the job done, there has to be some good thought put into it’.”
Elaine on the other hand, highlighted adaptability and embracing change, especially in a technical, dynamic environment, where things can change very quickly like technology with new tools, techniques, softwares, that changes almost every half a year.
The panelists summed it up into three points: be open to communication, keep going and learning and trust the process regardless of the challenges along the way like technical work; and don’t be a perfectionist as that mindset will lead you to being burned out.
