Category Archives: Shanghai

Shanghai is Awesome

IFC Shanghai (street view)

Shanghai is Awsome

Since starting the Alice 2 project things have been pretty quiet around here – mostly because it’s not possible to reveal many of the things going on with the development. I can say it’s coming along nicely and everyone involved is happy and healthy. Meanwhile, life in Shanghai continues…

Since moving here 3 years ago (and my first visit 4+ years ago) I’ve witnessed the city undergo a massive and awe inspiring transformation. Much of the progress in Shanghai is due to the upcoming 2010 World Expo (a similar push was seen in Beijing prior to the 2008 Olympics).

Every street, building, highway, lamp post, power line, overpass, public area, sidewalk, park, creek, river, historic building and other exterior face of the city has been either cleaned, restored, improved or removed for a (usually) better replacement. Shanghai is now on its way to being one of the world’s best (and biggest) cities. My visit to the Shanghai IFC today served to remind me of that fact – something it’s easy to become numb to when the effects are so massive and pervasive.

You can check out some of my photos from the visit HERE.

And hey, if you’ve ever thought of visiting Shanghai – there’s never been a better time.

Foreign Games in China

Great article over on the Escapist by Greg Pilarowski covering the topic of foreign game companies trying to do business in China. Greg focuses his attention on the recent Blizzard/WoW fiasco and provides some insight into the tangled mess that is Chinese law. Read it here. Greg is Spicy Horse’s (excellent) legal counsel in Shanghai – you can see more about his practice here.

Shanghai Eclipse 2009

Eclipse Shanghai 2009

Eclipse Over Shanghai 2009

Today was amazing. There was a full solar eclipse over Shanghai.

Despite the fact it was cloudy and raining, we still felt humbled by the complete darkness that descended over the city. I have to admit, I thought it would get “kinda dark” – but when it went “midnight” dark I was really blown away. Everyone in the crowd around me suddenly went very quiet. It’s easy to see why eclipses would have been such massive events in times before people understood them. Even now, I could feel some ancient “oh shit, what’s happening” instinct kicking in.

One good thing about the clouds: A few million less Chinese people will suffer eye damage from staring at the sun. In a country where people use their fingers as “welding masks”, the weather gods brought a blessing today.

Online Gaming in China

US-China Today has an interesting article discussing online gaming in China. Seems I contributed some quotes to the piece, along with some Alice sequel artwork. While we’re making the new Alice in China, it’s not targeting at the China game market – nor is it in any way online. But hey, we’re here, we’re making games, and I guess we get to say something about Chinese gamers and their gaming habits.

From the article:

As in other East Asian nations, Dibbell explains that gaming culture has penetrated mainstream Chinese culture in a way still unseen in the U.S. “While in Shanghai, I viewed a television commercial in a taxi cab for Cola-Coca with a World of Warcraft tie-in where as this would not happen in the West,” Dibbell said. “The online gaming phenomenon is clearly more integrated in Chinese daily life.”

Hiring – Three for Art

Swimming Pond

Alice in the Swimming Pond

Spicy Horse internal headcount broke the 50 mark a few weeks back. As we approach 60 we’re looking for three very special people to fill three very special roles at the studio. These openings are at our Shanghai-based studio – so being hired means living/working in China. Read on if you’re an experienced game artist, like the idea of working in Shanghai, and want to be involved with some of our cool projects (like Alice 2).

Interested parties should drop a line: jobs (@) spicyhorse (dot) com
You can see all our current openings on the Spicy Horse website.

Here are the job descriptions:

ART DIRECTOR
Your job is to direct and manage the creation of next-gen 3d art assets for our games. You must be experienced in modeling software and game engines, but also in leading a team and documenting procedures and specifications. You will interface with outsource partners and also communicate with producers and other departments. You will work with other art directors and art leads. Overall, your goal is to increase the technical and aesthetic quality of our in-game art, while also keeping our team and workflow as efficient as possible.
– Experience working with Unreal Engine 3 or similar
– Proficient in Max, Photoshop and Zbrush. Maya expertise is a plus.
– Experience working at or with an outsource vendor
– Ability to create new techniques and optimizations, and document them for other artists and art teams
– Good attention to detail
– Experience leading a team
– Good communication skills
– Must be either fluent in Mandarin with basic English skills, or fluent in English.

ART PRODUCER
Your job is to manage both the internal art pipeline and the use of external art outsource partners. You should be an expert at keeping dozens of creative people organized, scheduled, and in communication. You must be able to improve the pipelines and adapt to problems, and have great attention to detail. You will work with producers, the Art Director and other creative leads and help make sure their visions and ideas are put into practice on schedule and at the expected quality. In particular, you will be the point of contact with multiple outsource partners, making sure their output meets our expectations.
– Must be experienced in people management and scheduling
– Experience at either a games developer or outsource studio required
– Must have initiative and a keen sense for organization
– Experience as a 3d artist is a big plus
– Must be fluent in Mandarin and have good English skills.

3D ARTIST
You are an experienced 3d artist. You are able to create high poly, low poly and texture work for both characters and props. You have a high attention to detail, but can you also work fast when required. You are interested in creating high quality work in a variety of art styles, and are able to learn new techniques.

– Proficient in Max, Photoshop and Zbrush. Maya expertise is a plus.
– Minimum 1 year experience in the games industry.
– Experience with Unreal Engine 3 or similar a big plus
– Creative and interested in new techniques and art styles
– Good team work and communication skills

An American Interview

Three Firecracking Amigos

Firecrackers!

Long-time press friend John Gaudiosi has presented a nice interview with me over on geek.com. In it we discuss Grimm, the new Alice game, and making games in China.

A bit from the article:
What’s the game talent like there and what do they bring to the table?

There’s a lot of existing talent and more being trained at the schools every year. We’re seeing the edge of the boom here in Shanghai. Studios cutting their teeth on next gen online experiences for PC, others now in their second or third generation of development on 360 and PS3. Overall, there’s a tremendous amount of passion and dedication combined with serious production skills and a wonderful work ethic.

Read the full article HERE.