PUBLISHED ONJuly 21, 2023 9:44 AM
My Gamer Life is an AsiaOne original series where gaming professionals and aspirants in Singapore share the highs, lows, successes, and failures through personal stories on how gaming has defined the course of their lives.
Working in a triple-A game studio may be a dream job for many, but Justin Ng says that life in game development isn't easy.
Speaking with AsiaOne for our video series My Gamer Life, Justin explains that behind the glitz and glamour of top titles in gaming lies a path that's difficult yet rewarding.
"I've never worked on a game that has been 'easy' — every single day is difficult," the 34-year old says with a laugh.
"But I think at the end of the day, seeing the product and seeing people play it, I think it's a really rewarding experience."
Justin is an associate producer at Ubisoft Singapore, the video game publisher that has put out titles like Assassin's Creed, Far Cry, the Tom Clancy's franchise as well as the much-awaited Skull and Bones.
In his four and a half years at Ubisoft thus far, Justin has mainly had a hand in some Assassin's Creed titles such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla and Assassin's Creed Mirage.
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His day-to-day activities aren't very structured, he admits, and sometimes he finds himself toiling away at spreadsheets, budgets or on timelines.
Sharing his experience in Ubisoft, Justin says: "I think it's a very unique and humbling experience because as an associate producer, a lot of the times, I'm not the person hands-on with the game.
"But I get the opportunity everyday to work with very talented people, see their ideas, work with them and understand what they're trying to make."
While he does get to spend "a lot" of time on playing Ubisoft games for review purposes, Justin's quick to point out one caveat.
"Yes, you do get to play games, but you play it in the worst state possible," he says.
But watching the teams develop a bare-bones product over months into something deliverable to players is what gives Justin the most fulfilment.
Watch our video for the full interview with Justin.
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