Today, we had a site visit at GlassEgg, an art design and graphics studio that works on some of the biggest video games in the industry. I was extremely impressed because they mentioned projects they worked on and many of which were video games that I’ve played before. With their presence in Vietnam away from many producers, I was fascinated with their prominence in the industry and how they’ve managed such huge projects. To me, it seemed a large part is the raw talent that they hire and support. We had the privilege of observing their work rooms, and I was amazed by the shear number of high quality computers and workers that diligently completed their animation and design tasks. To support these workers, they have very significant benefits to award their workers that include cash awards and healthcare packages. They also boast a large proportion of individuals that have been working there for more than 10 years. All in all, they are able to retain an excellent work force that perform to the fullest on these projects.

Moving forward, GlassEgg will have to navigate the gaming market for the big publishers and releases. Based on their presentation, they mainly focus on triple A games with large budgets and goals. However, theres been a trend in a decline in quality of these games. As games become more advanced, it becomes much more difficult for normal computers to operate these games leading to mass disappointment. This mass disappointment has been so extreme that in some cases, the game is taken down. Despite this, Glass Egg is still proud of its work because they put their best foot forward with everything they do. Either way, it will be interesting to see if this trend continues and if so, GlassEgg should remain wary of this.

As I write this, it’s incredible to think that my first ever week in Vietnam is coming to an end. As I look back, a meaningful moment in my mind was when we visited the statue of Ho Chi Minh, the first president of the reunified Vietnam. It’s amazing to think that decades ago, my family left Vietnam, and decades after, I’ve returned and seen what Vietnam has become because of this man. Interestingly enough, we are also birthday twins!