Many computer game art projects begin with an estimate created by well-meaning employees. However, by no fault of their own, sometimes these projects end up going awry. Whether it is the creative staff changing the game design or a key artist taking another job at a competitor’s studio or the estimate simply failing to consider a key deliverable; challenges do occur….and they occur often. At the more senior executive levels of a computer game company, these challenges translate very quickly into financial concerns…”do we have enough funding to acceptably complete this project on-time, on budget and at the quality we are aiming to achieve.” When faced with these challenges, reaching out to a competent and reputable video game development offshore outsourcing partner may be the right move.
The three key benefits of outsourcing your art project are cost savings, timeline compression and labor risk avoidance. There are other benefits, but let’s focus at these three.
1) Cost Savings Labor rates in many Asian cities are much lower than in the Western hemisphere. And these lower salaries translate directly into lower development costs. This is one of the reasons companies like Epic Games (based in Cary, NC) have established large operations in countries like China. And although the rates are significantly lower, the creative and technical talent in many of these countries is extraordinary.
2) Timeline Compression Leveraging an offshore outsourcing team can help speed up development and compress your existing timeline. Even increasing your team by two or three artists can materially reduce your costs, while adding a lot of additional horsepower to the existing art development engine.
3) Labor Risk Avoidance Hiring new employees or local subcontractors is more expensive than most offshore outsourcing companies. And beyond the higher cost locally-based companies have to consider healthcare, vacation time, sick leave, software, cubicles, hardware, potential severance etc. These are all non-issues when you hire an offshore outsourcing team.
A final point I would like to suggest is this…don’t wait until your project begins to falter. Bring in a small complementary team in the beginning to assist and contribute to your onshore team. This will reduce cost, but more importantly allow you to ensure the success of your project from the outset.I hope this brief look at video game outsourcing is helpful. There is plenty more to consider. If you would like to speak live, feel free to reach out to me at phil@narrasoft.com