Today was our visit to Glass Egg, a company that creates art for some of the largest video game studios in the world. The tour took us through the workspace of hundreds of employees, sectioned off based on the game they were working on. It was cool to see future designs for recognizable titles, games like Rainbow Six Siege, Forza Horizon, and Apex Legends. Another interesting aspect of the working area was the customized “cubicles” that each employee had. It was as if you had taken hundreds of high-end gaming setups from various individuals and combined them in a single room, creating a unique-looking workspace. 
 
Glass Egg has been highly successful in its industry, having worked on numerous legendary titles for decades. The quality of their work, which is taken very seriously, is a large contributor. Their reliability has enabled them to build relationships with major game publishers, including EA, Activision, Riot Games, and Rockstar, allowing them to comfortably expand at a reasonable pace year over year. Similar to FPT Software, they also clearly value employee loyalty, boasting very high retention rates and awards for long-standing team members. This enables them to attract and retain new graduates, fueling their expansion, which aligns perfectly with Vietnam’s growing levels of STEM education. 
 
One of the last topics we discussed during our visit was the threat that AI poses to the company. As AI rendering and design improve and become more mainstream, it threatens the existence of Glass Egg’s industry. Even now, the work of many people could be done by a single individual in less time using generative tools. The representative from Glass Egg was steadfast on the company policy against employees using it for the sake of quality control, but that doesn’t prevent other companies from undercutting by exploiting AI. While commendable, Glass Egg’s policy makes them very reliant on their established relationships and their brand. Without them, large publishers would quickly shift to cheaper alternatives, which could feasibly produce similar-quality work. It’s undoubtedly a daunting thought, but one that many industries will have to address as AI development ramps up.  
 
Following the company visit, we had a class on Vietnamese games later in the day. Two games, one competitive and skill-based, the other primarily gambling. Both were good fun, and I think they brought out the competitive, high-energy side of the American students. Overall, it was a pleasant end to our first week in Vietnam.