Anyway, I was reading the latest article by IGN about this investigative journalist called Tom Bisell and his latest book, Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. It is exactly these kinds of literature that I am just dying to read. Hence, it is really no wonder why it has propelled itself to the top of my reading list. Of course, I have the finish reading Fellowship first, and how in the name of Gandalf am I going to do that when I spend hours not doing my leftover Geography homework!
So really, the central theme to today's post is a newfound opportunity. My reading of the article on Tom Bisell led me to delve deeper into the ocean of the video game industry. There, I read even more articles about Peter Molyneux, Games Convention Asia ( now defunct ) and the video game industry as a whole.
Did you know that just last year, Peter Molyneux, one of my idols, visited Singapore at the 2009 Games Convention Asia to discuss about Lionhead Studios and venturing into the game industry? What a lost opportunity!
In 2008, the entire video game industry took in approximately USD$26.5 billion, coming in close to the film industry's USD$26.7 billion.
So anyway, I browsed through several prominent game developing companies worldwide e.g. Activision, Lionhead Studios, Electronic Arts, Bioware and Ubisoft. Alas, I realised that the iconic game developers behind stellar games like Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia, Rayman, Far Cry and the Tom Clancy games, had their very own studio here in Singapore, aptly situated in the science and technology high-rise business hub Fusionopolis.
You see, for as long as I dreamed of making successful games, I have been looking for an ideal compromise. I wanted to be located here in Singapore, my only true home country. Yet, on the other hand, I wanted to be working in a high-quality and world renowned video game companies, which unfortunately, were primarily based in North America. The Singapore interactive media industry just wasn't ideal. You either had to be indie or be working in an office which was uncannily similar to a cyber cafe.
Ubisoft Singapore answers that eternal question of staying home or pursuing my dream. So its official. I have a new target. As much as I love Bioware, Ubisoft truly complements all my needs at this moment. Who knows, in years to come, Bioware might even set up their own studio here in Singapore! From their Facebook page, Ubisoft Singapore seems real warm and family-like. They even have their own training ground in the form of the university Digipen, also conveniently situated here in Lion City.
And I mean, who could ask for a better video game developer? I just really, really enjoyed the Assassin's Creed series. It infused several accurate historical aspects, with an astounding story and breath-taking gameplay. In fact, Assassin's Creed II ranks as my third favourite video game behind Halo 3 and Mass Effect. Plus, we can tell that I'm not the only one who thought it was awe-inspiring by Mr.Kamal's constant reminders of the parallels between answering tough "O" Level questions and Ezio's amazing ability to kick some serious templar backside.
One of their more prominent franchises, the Prince of Persia series, has inspired a blockbuster film starring Jake Gyllanhal and was a moderately successful film. If I wanted to work under a developer company, I'd want to work with a company like Ubisoft.
So there it is. A benchmark for what I hope to achieve in the days to come. I strongly believe that one day, when your child is playing his/her latest superb video game, he/she's gonna see the name "Nicholas Tan" emblazoned valiantly in the credits.
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