Hey,

How respected is it to work for an outsourcing studio? (Changed to External Development Studio)

A recruiter from one email me the other day, and I'm wondering how most people in the industry view it in general?

Don't use the term "outsource team." What you're talking about is an independent
game studio that does work for hire. Producers who need external development (that's
what I've always called it - not "outsourcing") hire those studios to do a lot of
different kinds of development work. There is no shame in working at such a place,
and you stand to get excellent experience and make excellent contacts. A lot like
what you said to the guy who was thinking about dropping out of college. Only working
for an independent studio looks a LOT better on the resume than a degree does.

Fair enough,

Thanks,

Fixed.

I've worked as a contract artist for two different outsource studios and as a full time artist at a fairly busy studio for several years. I have to say that it's an amazing way to gain a ton of different types of experience. From this I've built cartoony buildings for television kids shows, to realistic buildings for MMOs, Modeled and textured detailed characters for a few different styles of fantasy games, a few different Nintendo DS games, Xbox, Playstation games, Sports Games, a couple different Fighting Games etc. I've built for several different proprietary game engines and nearly all the main stream game engines. I've had to learn crazy batch scripts, and I've seen several dozen horrible naming schemes for textures and assets, and I've seen well run well documented pipelines.

I've learned what makes a good art director and what makes a horrible art director. I've seen what it takes to make AAA game title art for a wide range of game studios from EA to Disney. I've worked on high budget shots for Industrial Light and Magic effects low budget Deer Hunter tv commercial spots. If you can get hooked up with the right our source group you can work on an incredible spectrum of projects. But you've got to work fast, work quickly and learn quickly. If you can swing it go for it :)

Don't use the term "outsource team." What you're talking about is an independent game studio that does work for hire. Producers who need external development (that's what I've always called it - not "outsourcing") hire those studios to do a lot of different kinds of development work. There is no shame in working at such a place, and you stand to get excellent experience and make excellent contacts. A lot like what you said to the guy who was thinking about dropping out of college. Only working for an independent studio looks a LOT better on the resume than a degree does.

Eh, we run an outsourcing studio and we call it outsourcing.

We also run a sister company that's organized as an actual game development studio that works on both original IP and work-for-hire. I think of a WFH studio as one that will build the complete product for you, whereas an outsourcing studio will do smaller, specific tasks, like create a specific list of art assets that are required for a product. Our outsourcing company does this kind of supplemental work only (not full products), while our other company does build products.

As far as respect, they're both the same, really. Outsourcing has the downside of being less involved in the actual product, but the pro of getting to work on a lot of very different products. Some of the best artists that I've worked with in the industry have previously worked at outsourcing studios and have had portfolios full of assets from a variety of AAA games :o

So,

this is them:

https://www.streamline-studios.com/

They just got back to me, and said the producer position would be onsite at their HQ in kuala lumpur malaysia.

The cost of living is very different than the bay area.

I'm considering this, given their track record.

What are some things I should be aware of or consider when making this decision?

It's a very unexpected and different opportunity than I had in mind, but it would mean my dream job, in my dream industry, just in a different country.

Would I require work sponsorship?

Looks like a decent studio :)

Just don't drink the tap water :wink:

Malaysia is an English speaking country with it's own quirky dialect, half made up of Islamic Malays, and half other people (largely ethnic Chinese). It's a weird mix, with all the traditional Islamic strictness around alcohol/etc, but then also allowing bars to serve alcohol because 40% of the people aren't of that religion and they want to be friendly to foreigners too. Like the US, it has very high inequality, so despite being quite a poor country overall, you'll still find a good lifestyle there with a good job.

Outside of hubs like US/Japan/China, it's quite common for games industry people to have worked in several countries, due to most countries being smaller and the industry more spread out. It's probably a positive experience overall, and if you don't like it you can always fly home. If they're serious, they might throw in airfares and a small amount of shipping for the start/end of your contract, to get yourself and some possessions out of the US and back again.

If they're paying equivalent to US positions, you could save a lot of money away while working there... Or blow it on south-east-Asian / Oceanic holidays. All those far off places like Vietnam and New Zealand are a lot closer :wink:

The company should work out most of the work permit issue for you (and yeah, your permit will probably be specific to that job).

@frob on the double taxing - Really? Wtf America?
I have a US colleague here in Aus who still has to file paperwork with the IRS (or pay an accountant who specializes in US expat headaches to do so), but AFAIK pays no US tax.

Hmm,

Ya,

If they support the costs & full relocation, was thinking to try it out.

I actually do speak mandarin (not read/ write), so it might be ok.

I've always liked to travel, but the double tax thing does seem to be a bit of a headache, filling for taxes in US. is tricky enough....

I doubt they will come anywhere near US.salaries...

Maybe this is the universe's way of testing me to put my money (or lack there of) where my mouth is, when I say I fully believe in the potential of remote working, and how I claim I can work from anywhere, despite being a bit spoiled from the bay area....

No personal experience to add but there were a few articles on external development studios such as this on Polygon that may give you more of an idea: http://www.polygon.com/2015/9/30/9394355/the-secret-developers-of-the-video-game-industry