I think it was originally because someone outsourced some modeling to Korea and instead of normals they did a "cheat" like this. It turned out to actually be ingenious though :D
Imo, Polycount is a game art community, and it should stay that way. Maybe a outsourcing studio with the Polycount name on it, with people freelancing/contributing on a asset-by-asset basis, but that's about it.
Hey! We could become smell artisans if all art jobs are outsourced.... Little from A, mix with B.. Walah, the smell of a rotting zombie with a tad of cologne.
That's interesting, I wonder why they decided to outsource the boss fights? They did a good job on everything else, and the bosses are the only weak spots I can think of.
Thanks Kevin, great information I wasn't sure how much outsourcing was going on, definitely nice to hear that the majority of the legwork was done by you guys in-house!
Yes, the studio has to build their tools and pipeline around the 3d package. You might get away with it at an outsourcing studio (especially in China where software is free)