As an avid lover of video games (shoutout to The Last of Us), today’s site visit has definitely been my favorite so far. We visited GlassEgg, a game design company which makes vehicle, character, environment, etc models for games. It was so cool walking around and seeing all of the artists working on everything. Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to take photos, as a lot of the things we were looking at were unreleased, but just know that it was cool. 

During their Q&A session, their director was very sure of one thing. They are on the top of vehicle modeling for video games, with no competition in sight. They’ve been in the industry for 30 years now, and yet they’ve still maintained this position through many more companies arising and technology ever changing. I think this is because they have been able to correctly adapt to the technology and the market, whilst also keeping their original brand and ideaology. They stayed with the same brands/videogames for a long time, such as Forza, building up those connections and partnerships whilst also reaching out to newer games. By factoring all of those in together, they built up a strong business that overtook all competitors easily. Within the Q&A they also talked about how they are integrating AI into their work, but this may turn into a problem not only for them but for the whole industry. Whilst AI can be a tool in some aspects, if companies start relying on it too heavily it can turn into a burden rather than a help. AI can be unreliable, and there is a lot of pushback from the general public about the use of it in artist dominated spaces. As we are here to learn about sustainability in Vietnam, it especially stood out to me. AI has received a lot of pushback for how it harms the environment, people’s livelihoods and jobs, and overall its negative effect. So how far can these companies go with it before people begin to realize or it becomes a problem? Despite all of this, this was an amazing site visit and I loved it. 

After wrapping up at GlassEgg, we got a quick pho lunch. Whilst the pho was great, it was nothing compared to the street pho I had earlier in the week (shoutout to the UEF students who took us there). We then headed to the hotel to change, before heading out for sports day! 

I am so sorry to everyone at sports day, but sports or physical activities have never been my thing. I tried the running, I tried the squats, and I realized it just wasn’t for me. I even attempted the boxing for a moment, but they kept telling me to fix my stance and I just couldn’t do it. It’s okay though because I had a lot of fun with my friends hanging out on the side, and giggling a whole lot. I was so sweaty and it was hot, but fun nonetheless. Even though I was sweating, I did not get to shower when we left, instead me and a couple others headed off to the TED x UEF event. Despite my exhaustion, it was interesting to listen to so many people’s different presentations and perspectives, and I have no regrets of going. 

I can’t believe that the first week is almost coming to an end. I’ve made some memories that will last me my lifetime already. A personal favorite is all of us singing Happy Birthday to Becky during one of our lectures, and getting to eat a very yummy passion fruit cake. I can not wait for next week and I never want this trip to end.