Hard Work or Work Hard?

21/22 May (Weds/Thurs) OJT
On Wednesday, I finished my task ahead of time and showed Watanuki-san. He approved immediately and gave me instructions to proceed to the next phase, but I think he should have spent more time to check thoroughly. There were still some areas I wasn't completely happy with.

On Thursday, I tweaked the textures for just a bit more fidelity and quality, then exported all the color variations and cleaned up my source files. I even colored the PSD layers in Photoshop to match their working style. Now I'm happy enough to call it done.

What I already knew before we started:
Never expect to be guided on OJT. If you want to learn, you have to ask. If no one has a solution, try to solve the problem on your own. Use initiative but don't make assumptions. When all else fails report to the person in charge for instructions. Treat it as real work, not class work.

What I learnt:

1. Dedication and hard work can get you further than better knowledge, better technology and better equipment.
The Japanese people has been a prime example of this for many years, as shown by how they had consistently beaten more advanced countries like USA (in games and other industries). Japanese games usually have a high production value because Japanese game creators work hard to push quality to the very limits of their capability. Dedication to work is laudable, but overworking, however, has caused serious social problems like karoshi (過労死). But no need to worry, young people all over the world are getting lazier, even in Japan. XD

2. Just because you are learning from more experienced people doesn't necessarily mean they know everything you expect them to know.
Our trainers are skilled, and no doubt competent in their jobs. But not everyone is an expert in their field in the way that, say Tiger Woods is in golf. I'm sure they are learning from us as much as we are learning from them. Learning/coaching is never a one-sided thing. As educators, we should know that by now ;)

3. The Singapore culture doesn't breed good game creators.
Singaporeans can discuss expertly about all the latest techniques and technologies, quote facts and trivia about games, provide sales figures and statistics, spout theories on what makes good gameplay and what future market and tech trends will be, but at the end of the day, it's usually all talk and no show.

Westerner talk big, but they also make bold moves and take decisive risks to invest big money and time to get things done. That is their claim to successful game development. The Japanese, with their smaller budget and more refined approach, succeeds via creativity and their kaizan (改善) philosophy. Chinese developers are able to rapidly advance through a mixture of reverse-engineering and blatant disregard for intellectual property rights (No, really :P)

Singapore has no long term investors, no local market, no marketable artistic culture or identity, not enough creative people who understand foreign market needs, too many clueless and egoistic wanna-bes and people only out to make a fast buck.

Of course, there are still many Singaporeans who are suitable for the industry, but most belong to either the daydreaming, the clueless or the lazy variety (or all three). Do I judge too harshly? Please, I challenge you to prove me wrong. XD

At the human resource level, there is one thing which will solve the problem, since we are already well-educated and relatively intelligent as a population. Indeed, that single thing will solve almost any problem in life. It's already written in the "What I've Learnt" section above. That is a lesson we should all learn from life, not just on the job.