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  • The Story of a Lebanese Game Developer

Flakk wrote
kareem_nasser wroteubisoft is no longer gonna include manuals in the boxes of ps3 and xbx360 games they are gonna be as software.
haha printing costs :P
Yes it's a national movement for the environment, canada wants to get ahead in Recycling cause it's way behind some countries in Europe. u can find all the games on steam for a bit less, pushing people to get digital copies to save trees. of course that doesnt work in lebanon :P i have 8 original games on steam that are not on my computer(i have to download them) or get an original copy and copy the files.

Save Trees people!
_joe_ wroteNot at all, it's the Canadian society who is a neo communist and that's what i hated. my contract was 55000$ per year, which is almost 4500$ per month, guess how much i used to get after the taxes........2000$, yes 2000$ where the apartment is 1000$, food is 500$ internet is 100$ phone is 75$.... then what? i end up with 0$ by the end of the month. 1500$ in Lebanon can make you live happily. In Canada the doctor is payed as much as the trash guy. it's not communism. it's a bit different. nevertheless it's ugly, if you ever think of going to Canada to make money. reconsider your choice and go to the united states, or stay in Lebanon. Lebanon has more money opportunities than Canada. so all in all. it's because i'm not a communist and believes in freedom (yes people more advanced countries "reduce" freedom) and i love the freedom (you know about which one im talking about) that we have in Lebanon.
This is exactly my opinion about here ! Big thumbs up !

Coming here to study and build some experience is fun, but do not think of here as if there is a huge bag of money and everyone gets to take a dive in it. As Joe said, you make more than Lebanon, but after taxes and bills, you are left with what you will be left if you worked in Lebanon.

On the other side, we all know that Lebanon has "LIFE" while Canada, like Joe said, lacks it. Each person is different I know, but these are my 2 cents.

Still waiting for you spec sheet Joe ! Yalla
In such countries, you have to count your spending. A quick research tells me that apartments are available at lower prices (although not much lower, more like $700), same thing for food and internet, where you seem to make the luxurious choices.
In exchange for your taxes you get government benefits and a general standard of living that is higher - and the more modern society and laws that go with it, and a government that encourages external investment. Nationals get workless compensation pay, etc... Everything everywhere is simply more organized. AFAIK electronics and other stuff are also much cheaper.
You get also to live in such a place as Montreal. If you dont like it, then it's another matter.
For you Gulf countries might be a good destination. You would get similar salaries (after tax!), but with the flat (shared or dedicated) usually provided by the company.

Just my humble opinion.

BTW thanks for sharing.
Of course, i was giving a general example, i used to live in a cheaper house, but don't forget electricity, Hydro Quebec has scary quotas we once payed 1800$ for 1 month of usage (all 5 roommates), and you can reduce food expenses by cooking, which i was doing most of the time. Everyone tells me the same, you pay but you have services and such, i know that, but I'm not Canadian, so i don't get any of these for now, not until i get my residency status, and I'm not willing to stay that long there, so that wasn't relevant.
As for what you said about things more organized, organized means robotic, and robotic means less human contact, that might sound cool, but waiting for 15 minutes on the phone, just to ask a question about something is not fun(bank or any institution), you will lack to ability to multitask and that's one thing i liked in Lebanon, you can multitask and the 1 2 3 cycle wasn't very sexy to me: wake up go to work come back home and sleep. And i'm sure it's the case in the Arab countries, people go there just for the money, and it's not my priority.

Being in a newer society, and more advanced country = more individualists, more control, less friendly people.

I know all that is personal, but find me more than 5 Lebanese NON STUDENTS who are praising Canada and I'll rest my case.

Joe
Joe what is the differentce between AAA and indie gamesand whcih one do you prefer developing?
Nice question:

AAA or tripple A games are like the Hollywood movies, mainly big budget, big teams, big marketing, big everything, they are the monsters of the industry. Most common big companies produce AAA games. Prince of persia, Half Life, Assasin's Creed, WOW, you name it, are AAA games, with a huge team and a massive money capital. 400+ worked on Assasins Creed 2 and a bigger team is working on new titles.

Indie games, short for independent are games made usually in houses, or small studios, usually by individuals and not companies and usually the slang is : Garage companies.
The aim of an indie game is the feeling, the art, the message, the immersion, they want to take the player to a different level, make him feel smth different through a game. Thatgamecomany is an independant company that grew with time and 10 people are working there now, maybe you know thatgamecompany after the amazing psychedelic game they released: "FLOWER".
quoting the about us section:
"thatgamecompany designs and develops artistically crafted, broadly accessible video games that push the boundaries of interactive entertainment. We respect our players and want to contribute meaningful, enriching experiences that touch and inspire them.We seek talent that values integrity and personal growth within an environment of intense collaboration and experimentation. "
and Jonathan Blow the creator of Braid one of my favorite indie games
"Games are an important medium for communication. They have a mode of expression that's very different from what other media can do. However, the mainstream industry does not spend much effort exploring the expressive power of games; that's where the indies come in. Indies can make whatever games they want to make, because they feel those games are interesting -- which is something the mainstream industry is no longer capable of."
- Jonathan Blow, Number-None (Braid)
Take AAA games and big companies as a mass production agency working intuitively just to finish and go back home with cash in their pockets, and indie games as 1 artist working on a panting, it's his baby, it's his passion, it's his love and emotions.

i'm a dreamer, passionate about emotions, immersion,
Playing games such as Braid, Trine, Flower,Machinarium, World of Goo and many others made me see things, and feel, where the game has a message and not an image. Big companies are limited, limited by a story, a license, a contract with some bigshot movie or star. indie are free, flexible and full of imagination, nothing stops them from experimenting, going crazy, and innovating.

I guess that answered your question :D (and maybe explains why the AAA industry is not for me)
I know a little about AAA and indie games but i needed to check my knowledge thanks.
Briad has lots of high scores, and did you try Linger in Shadows it is an artistic indie game. There is a question that i needed to ask you: What about Hideo Kojima, Metal Gear i think you liked them... or addicted?
I just noticed that you officailly announced Far Cry 3, is it gonna be the same theme as the first two?
Playing games such as Braid, Trine, Flower,Machinarium, World of Goo and many others made me see things, and feel, where the game has a message and not an image.
I hope you played Spore too.
After i read your posts it seems you're really pist man calm down you're in Lebanon now. And you are too aggressive to great games that have good content AC being one of them, MGS, RA, GTA4(this game costed 100million$). I dont like GTA4 or most Shooter games because they are TOOO LINEAR but at least this industry gives good profits at the same time providing great games to ppl. So i think it is fair...relatively.
We are not worthy of mentioning the name "Hideo Kojima".
I never said anything nor mentioned the games, i was simply talking about its industry

@xterm: amen, people like Hideo Kojima, Warren Spector, and Jade Raymond (for kareem) are the essence of this industry's magic
Joe whats the theme behind the Far Cry 3 ? Will they get back to the tropical islands like the first one or a Desert (african) environment like the second ?
And btw Why isnt Crytek developing these games anymore ? Did ubisoft buy the full rights to these games ?
kareem_nasser wroteI dont like GTA4 or most Shooter games because they are TOOO LINEAR
GTA IV was not linear at all kareem, its a sandbox game remember ?
_joe_ wrotewake up go to work come back home and sleep.
That sums up Canada for me. That's just how people live here. ROBOTICALLY.
They do not enjoy life simply because they will get their pension when they retire and then, they think they will have time to enjoy. Sadly, "khelis ra7 l 3emer"
GTA IV was not linear at all kareem, its a sandbox game remember ?
I know but it isn't like inFamous i think you know what i mean.
@xterm: amen, people like Hideo Kojima, Warren Spector, and Jade Raymond (for kareem) are the essence of this industry's magic
Dont under-estimate the Lebanese ppl man he is made of movies and we are made of movies(70%)......but different type(most of the Lebanese).:(
LOL Jade isn't for me but i meant that in Lebanon or the Arab world once there is a chick they'll like her no matter what she does or works.So in my thread i meant that just putting her on the game covers of Ubisoft will sell lots of original games in the Arab World.
What i really like about Ubisoft is that its development teams are multicultural and you being an example Joe.
Such a cool story man, but come on working for Ubisoft is such a really big accomplishment.
But i really hate Ubisoft especially the tom clancy stuff, games like Splinter Cell, feels like they keep milking the series although its pretty boring and lacks a good interesting story..
Well the thing that no one can hide is the fact that Ubisoft are a bunch of Microsoft fanboys...

And seriously whats the deal with the Drm online policy in AC2?? you have to be connected to the net to play an offline game?? thats pretty fucked up right there...

After all i see your decision was wise to leave if you got better opportunity here after all life is much simpler in Lebanon and food is pretty cheap, but what bothers me is how come they let you leave if you were committed to a contract and working with a team on a big budget game like Far Cry 3?? excuse me but i smell some bs right here unless you didn't actually know some major stuff about the game or anything, and if you do know don't mind telling us, after all you don't work for them any longer.. it would be great..
thanks for the share
MegaCool wroteAnd seriously whats the deal with the Drm online policy in AC2?? you have to be connected to the net to play an offline game?? thats pretty fucked up right there...
Man that fucked up system was introduced by Valve in half life 2 6 years ago, they are trying their best to reduce cracks and copied material.
but what bothers me is how come they let you leave if you were committed to a contract and working with a team on a big budget game like Far Cry 3??
I hear you on that and i understand your concern, you're right on some stuff, Far cry had a whole floor for its team and believe me there were 3 doors that no developer could access, even the team lead had no access to those rooms (ubisoft is a huge complex with card accessible door every 20 meter), so i didnt know anything about major parts of the game, working on a small part of the gameplay doesnt let you know about the graphics-physics and other departments, someone asked me about the environment, i dont know, the game didnt have a graphical sand box yet and the deparment was like 12 doors away:P , dont forget about Ubisofts 6 months policy, you can leave, they can let you go. they say that once you brake your contract you cant get a job for 6 months, but that's bullshit, i know people switching after 1 month, what about me who left canada:P

hope that maked sense and made me less of a bullshitter
_joe_ wrotethey say that once you brake your contract you cant get a job for 6 months, but that's bullshit, i know people switching after 1 month, what about me who left canada:P
Contracts in software development are very binding, though i wasn't aware of a contract that says you "can't get a job for 6 months", it's very harsh. The usual contracts state that you couldn't work within the same "target domain" for X amount of time. For example, my work focuses on BPM, if i switch companies i'm not allowed to work on BPM projects for 2 years.
i meant in a gaming company in montreal specifically, but that's changing now since a lot of studios are opening, the network is getting bigger and a lot of people are shifting even after a few months. Eidos recently opened (last year) and recruited 2 teams (200 250), alot of people coming from EA and Ubisoft. it was a very active year for the gaming industry.