Ubisoft Shanghai

Mister Sentient

Anyone on the boards working at Ubisoft Shanghai? Any opinions or experiences to share about the studio? I am considering applying and just wanted to get some feedback from people with firsthand knowledge. I have always wanted to see Asia and I figure this would be a great opportunity for me.

pogonip

Last time I seen them hiring they were looking for Senior Artists only ...are you a senior artist ? I would imagine they would want very seasoned American/Canadian artists to train the Chines crew .

Eric Chadwick

Shanghai Shenanigans Batman!

I stumbled across Jim Jagger's blog yesterday. He detailed out his whole move from Montreal to Shanghai.
http://www.jimjagger.com/JBlog/Archive/2005_04_01_ShaghaiArchive.html
Each page starts at the bottom, use the Archives to jump forward in time.

Mister Sentient

Thanks guys. I'm currently looking for work as a 3D artist. The game company I work for (which i've been with for 7 months) is closing its doors at the end of the month. I thought that maybe China would make for an interesting change of scenery.

pogonip: Not quite a Senior artist yet so I think it may be out of the question. If they are looking to train up a team of purely Chinese artists then I probably don't stand much of a chance anyway.

Eric: Thanks for the link. I'm reading furiously at the moment to find out as much as I can about Shanghai and China in general.

StrangeFate

oh wow, Shanghai! i'd go there

Moz

Just remember the 3 Ts,

Tibet, Tiananmen, Taiwan, they dont exist, do not talk about them in china.

Mister Sentient

StrangeFate: :P

Moz: Indeed. I don't plan to get involved in politics.

Scott Ruggels

Man I have little holding me here. If I can have my stateside appartment paid for and sealed, I wouldn't mind a year or two of teaching.

Scott

Leech

[ QUOTE ]
Just remember the 3 Ts,

Tibet, Tiananmen, Taiwan, they dont exist, do not talk about them in china.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah by not talking about them they might go away.

To the real question, I have not heard one good thing about the studio in Shanghai. I've talked to people that have worked there and people who have visited the studio. Sometimes the straight dope is unpopular, but this studio is setup to take advantage of cheap labor by seeding the company with senior western talent.

That being said, if you are young I could definately see it being a learning experience and sort of an adventure if you take things that way.

You will also be working on second string hits so don't expect to be on the edge of innovation. Check out their other studios for that.

malcolm

I actually worked with a guy on ssx on tour who quit near the end of the project to work at Ubisoft Shanghai, I got an e-mail from him yesterday and he says he's having a great time. He is a game designer there.

Mister Sentient

I've read some positive and negative things about Ubi Shanghai. I guess its not for everyone. Personally I'm just looking to get some worldly experience and clock up some more months in the game industry at the same time.

Justin Meisse

How to work at Ubisoft Shanghai
1. hang out in seedy bars
2. accept strange fizzing drink from shifty looking man
3. wake up at desk in Shanghai

Vark

The newest Game Informer has a big article on Splinter Cell 4 and they talk a good bit about the Ubi Soft Shanghai team. Apparently a good number of them are transplants from the Americas.