Upsurge Studios On Work Organization at the Company & Game Dev Market in Australia

Introduction

My name is Benjamin Roach and I am the owner and director of Upsurge Studios (Australia) and Co-founder of Upsurge Studios East (Japan). Growing up, I have always spent more hours than I would like to admit playing video games. But it was not until my mother pushed me to attend an open day at a nearby Game Design school (yes, a 3-hour drive is "near" in Australia) called the Academy of Interactive Entertainment in Canberra.

I graduated from that school in 2010 and quickly realized there were no game development jobs in Australia at that time, because of the small scale of the local industry. I then promptly moved to Tokyo, Japan where I was given the chance at an entry-level "3D Artist" role. I ended up staying and becoming a level designer at my favorite company in the world, FromSoftware, where I had the amazing opportunity to work on Elden Ring! I worked extensively on Stormveil Castle. 

Work Organization at Upsurge Studios

Upsurge Studios HQ has been in operation since 2017 in Australia, however, since late 2021, we have started operations at our second studio located in Tokyo, Japan. Having a similar time zone, it is very easy to communicate between both studios, and we now have close to 45 artists in total.

We specialize in everything on the visual side, such as environment art, props, vehicles, characters, rigging, animation, and effects to name a few. We generally stick to Slack, Discord, and Zoom for all of our inner communication and so far, that has worked out really well for us, particularly through the age of COVID. 

We have been fortunate enough to work on some really cool projects. Of the ones we are allowed to mention, it has been particularly enjoyable, though at times challenging to work on:

• Diablo II: Resurrected with Blizzard and Vicarious Visions;
• Oberhasli – a very fun and engaging music project working directly with Joel Zimmerman (deadmau5);
• Path of Exile II – across the pond with NZ-based developer Grinding Gear Games;
• ePower – a holographic display project with Japanese car manufacturing giant Nissan.
  
  

These are just to name a few. But I think it nicely frames the talents and skills of our diverse staff located across Australia and Japan.

Game Dev Market in Australia

When I first launched Upsurge Studios in Australia, the game dev market was still in its infancy. Most of our AU-based clients at that time were very small, yet innovative indie games. Since then, things have changed for the better.

We now see large international developers setting up shops in Australia, such as Sledgehammer Games, Ubisoft, and Epic. The Australian government, after years of ignoring it, seems to finally be taking an interest in supporting this lucrative export, with a new proposed tax offset for game developers. Though we will have to wait and see how it is exactly implemented. Our largest share of work based in Australia tends to be in Military Training and Simulation programs. 

First Steps When Working with New Clients

Things in Japan are very different, however, in Australia and "the West", I believe keeping all communication, especially first-time emails/calls, to be light, friendly, and casual in nature, while also respecting the client's time is a crucial thing when you work with new clients.

I believe it is good to jump on a Zoom call for a first-time "face-to-face" meeting. That way you can get a feeling for what the client is like, what their concerns are, and the types of challenges they are facing, but also simply put a face to your point of contact, for both us and the client.

Because of the remote, asynchronous nature of global, game dev cooperation, it is extremely important to be tardy and prompt with replies, updates, and feedback. Generally, there will be a warming-up period, before the walls start to come down, as trust is built on both sides, and we start to bounce off of each other's creative energy and enthusiasm. 

Upsurge Studios' Services

The more popular services that we provide vary depending on the client, and the game or service, but I have found that it tends to be, things that are easy to manage like assets the client is comfortable sending out, and receiving later at a specified date before implementing it into their own workflows, things such as:

• Environment art, such as modular props, hero props, vegetation, etc.;
• Level design, block outs, or art passes on finished block outs;
• Characters, the modeling, texturing, and often rigging for various characters and especially clothing, weapons, etc.;
• Hard surface weapons/vehicles.
  
  

Not often will a client ask for help with game design, narrative design, or with the deeper end of programming, as they are usually components, they like to keep close at hand for their core team. It can also be cumbersome to share and explain even through source control. For this reason, we are often invited to work with our clients physically in their studios from time to time

Upsurge Studios' Approach to Education

Having a multinational, multilingual, and geographically spread out team, can be a big challenge but I have grown to enjoy it. I love the feeling when I can look back, and see a junior artist that joined us, now working comfortably on AAA titles and smashing it out of the park!

It is important to have documentation, tutorials, and mentoring from senior staff in order to get a high and consistent level of quality from a team. There are so many great video tutorials out there, but the best source of learning comes through the work itself. We are constantly checking in with our artists, guiding them in terms of visual quality and optimization so that we can deliver the absolute best outcomes to our clients.

Upsurge Studios' Take on the Future of Game Dev

I would say that most AAA studios outsource 70% or more of their art assets. It used to be those game dev companies were on the lookout for a single outsource studio to work with, however, these days this is very rare.

We often find ourselves working alongside other awesome outsourcing studios on the same title. This is because the sheer volume of work that needs to be done is so large. Additionally, I have noticed that due to the conflict in Ukraine, and COVID in Asia, there is a new demand for outsourcing studios located in geopolitically calm nations such as Australia and Japan, as they know there will be no sudden disruptions. I do believe this will only grow more and more in the future. 

As for using AI to replace artists, clients would have to accurately describe what they want from the start, so I do not see a threat to outsourcing studios. Sorry, this is a bad joke I stole from a meme I saw! I believe AI will become a tool to aid artists, as opposed to replacing artists entirely, and it is an area I am keeping a very close eye on. 

Tips for Artists

We are always hunting for talented and motivated artists to join our teams in both Australia and Japan. When applying for us, or for any other company that you wish to work for, I believe these factors can significantly improve your chances:

1. Try to mimic the style of your target company. Recreate a fan art or something based on one of their games. When they see it, they will immediately understand that you can nail their style. I managed to pull this off to land my dream job at FromSoftware.
2. ALWAYS have an ArtStation, try to avoid a personal website, Dropbox folder, or anything else. I like to be able to follow some artists, even if I cannot hire them right now, I can keep tracking them in the future.
3. Focus your portfolio on what you want to do; environment art, characters, etc., and as everyone always says, a handful of quality pieces is better than a ton of mediocre postings – get rid of all that old student work!
4. Soft skills are underrated. Be polite and prompt in your emails, show up on time, reply on Slack and Discord quickly and clarify and ask questions if you need.
5. Personally, my most valued skill is being proactive. This means chasing leads up if something is not clear, instead of fumbling, ask questions. Always put in the effort to troubleshoot and try new skills and techniques. Nothing is worse than an artist who works like a robot, without thinking of the big picture.
   
   

Hopefully, the above is informative, and helpful to some artists out there, or others looking to start their own companies. Please reach out if you have any specific comments or questions!

Benjamin Roach, Owner and Director of Upsurge Studios and Co-Founder of Upsurge Studios East

Interview conducted by Arti Burton