“We have really lofty goals here at Pixel Mafia. It’s not just to be the best in the Philippines, but to be world-renowned,” was what Coby Chan, co-founder of Pixel Mafia, said when asked about their motivation in establishing a game development company in the Philippines.
A lot of people might have scratched their heads in confusion when Coby and his co-founder Walter de Torres decided to pack up their belongings, quit their jobs at Microsoft, and move to the Philippines to start Pixel Mafia, especially with awe-worthy repertoire of credentials under their belts. This includes holding lead positions in Microsoft and Electronic Arts in the past and working on iconic AAA titles such as Gears of War, Need for Speed, NBA Live, FIFA, and Medal of Honor among others.
Photography by Zaldine Alvaro
“When we discovered that there is an awesome pool of talent here in the Philippines, we knew that with a little bit of work we can create something special.”
But both saw something that solidified their decision: the untapped base of smart and talented Filipinos. “When we discovered that there is an awesome pool of talent here in the Philippines, we knew that with a little bit of work we can create something special,” said Walter.
A common belief held by many game development studios in North America and Europe is that the artists they have internally are better than those from outside. Pixel Mafia wants to change this. “Our goal is to get our artists operating at the same level so there no longer is any difference,” Walter added.
Before, Western game development studios usually asked Asian studios to create assets until 80% of completion which will then be brought back to their internal studios so they would take it to 100%. Now, because of the stringent quality measures of Pixel Mafia, they were able to gain their partners’ trust to the point where these companies share their code base with them. They now work directly in the game engine where they create assets and integrate it.
Because of the quality of the work that they put out, the demand for their services also skyrocketted. In fact, they shared that have to say no to clients who tapped them. “This just goes to show that there’s definitely work out there as long as you can hit that certain quality and there’s so much talent here in the Philippines, it just has to be nurtured and given the chance,” Coby commented.
Pixel Mafia Portfolio
Admittedly, they know that the Philippines’ game development industry is still in its infant stages and that the proper economy to sustain it isn’t in place yet. This is why they are willing to work together with schools in order to address this so that more aspiring Filipino game development artists will be trained to work on AAA-caliber games.
“We’ve talked to a lot of students, and a lot of them would tell us that they think that they took a risk and that their parents hate that they’re pursuing art or 3D,” Coby shared. They want the students to remember that pursuing a degree in art or 3D is not a mistake and that, contrary to popular Filipino belief, it is actually a good career in terms of fulfilling their passions, longevity, and salary—just as long as you work hard and be focused on honing your skills and producing quality output. “It takes time to get there, but it could be a fruitful position.”
While they acknowledge that the Philippines is not on the game development map yet, they are hopeful that once they finish the big-name projects (which they can’t disclose now) that they are working on and international studios find out that it was created in the Philippines that it will only attract more companies and it will be forward and upward from there. This will take a couple of years still given the strenuous work needed to make AAA games, but things are definitely looking bright for Filipinos who’ve always dreamed of working in the game development industry.
Get to know more about Coby, Walter and Pixel Mafia by visiting their website, www.pixelmafia.com
