Crunches, customer Fraud and outsourcing: Malaysia's gaming industry through the eyes of local developers

In recent years, Malaysia has become one of the largest gaming markets in Southeast Asia. In 2019 alone, residents of the country spent $673 million on games. But what do local developers think about working in the industry? Among the main problems they name crunches, customer fraud and problems in process management.KrASIA spoke with several experienced developers to get their opinion on the pros and cons of working in the Malaysian gaming industry.

Crunch CultureBased on the opinion of the interviewed specialists, the teams dealing with outsourcing development face the most processing (many local companies specialize in this).

Animator Kiki (the publication indicated fictitious names for the purpose of anonymity) believes that because of the peculiarities of the mentality, it is considered inexcusable to refuse to work. As a result, this leads to burnout.

The reasons for overworking and harsh working conditions may be the unprofessional approach of management, the type and complexity of the project, as well as the presence or absence of sufficient experience and expertise from a particular employee.

At the same time, studios engaged in internal development are less likely to encounter crunches. This is due to the fact that in Malaysia such companies usually work on small projects and, accordingly, can better control the processes. That is why working conditions in such teams are often less stressful.

Weak computers and customer deception3D artist Lily admits that the reason for delays and overwork sometimes lies in the insufficient capacity of the equipment that companies provide to employees.

The working computers of the interviewed specialists repeatedly hung up and broke down, which reduced efficiency and led to disruptions of deadlines.

The management of some Malaysian studios seeks to lure customers with low prices and overwhelms them with promises that their team will be able to perform high-quality work in a short time.

Sometimes some experienced artists are suddenly transferred to more expensive projects and put newcomers in their place. This harms the final product, while customers continue to think that highly qualified specialists are working on their task. “One day I had to pretend that the artists they hired were still working on the client’s project,” Lily admits.

Pros and cons of outsourcing and internal developmentStudio employees who are engaged in internal development are not immune from the fact that at any moment their game can simply be canceled.

In this case, no one will see the results of many years of work, which upsets many developers.

Almost all the interviewed specialists admitted that they like to see their name in the credits and receive positive feedback about their work from the community. And outsourcing specialists have the most chances to bring the project to the end, since they often know the development plan and deadlines in advance.

“I like working on games and seeing how they gradually add up to a single whole. This is an achievement in itself,” admits programmer Jack.

Also, the comfort of employees largely depends on those who manage the teams. If a good manager is responsible for the project, who helps to overcome difficulties, then employees cope with problems more easily. In this matter, Malaysian specialists hardly differ from developers from many other countries.

“Participating in the creation of a famous game is great, but being part of a good team is even better,” animator Kiki sums up.