38: WGE MAG
WGE MAG: 39
WGE: What would you say are Radiance’s greatest strengths as a developer? JS: Radiance is very strong in the creation of 2D and 3D art assets. That said, perhaps our greatest strength is our ability to monetize an IP. For example Radiance is highly advanced when it comes to constructing an item shop, a great amount of detail is needed, but it’s something we’ve done many times, and we have a deep talent pool coming out of the Chinese game industry. The ability to “hook” a player with a free game and make them want to convert to a paying customer is a rare ability, although I’ll admit it’s more commonplace over here than in the West. Also, we’ve just signed a deal with Turner that will utilize our skills in the area of racing game development in a genre that requires realistic physics combined with very precise control, a sort of console on a PC meets MMO type of game.
Profile:
Radiance Digital Entertainment
R
adiance Digital Entertainment is a Shanghai based game development studio that has been in existence since 2005. The founder and CEO, Monte Singman, has been in the game industry since the 1980s, when he developed the first entertainment software in China which incorporated graphics into the program. He then went on to create several early PC games. In 1990 he moved to the US where he held positions with Electronic Arts, Capcom, Accolade, and Infogrames. He has worked on dozens of titles across all platforms in capacities ranging from programmer to executive producer.
In the early 2000s, Monte founded Zona, one of the first middleware companies focused on Massively Multiplayer Online Gaming. When Zona was acquired by Shanda Interactive in 2003, Monte stayed with the company, eventually becoming Shanda’s Head of Production, responsible for all new titles initiated by the company. His depth of experience in both console and online gaming led him to take the plunge and start his own game development studio in 2005. Thus Radiance Digital Entertainment was born.
“I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and opportunities that advance the goals of the company.”
Radiance has grown to become one of the premier independent development companies in China. The combination of Western style console development and deep know-how from the Chinese MMO development sector has enabled Radiance to bridge the gap between both worlds. They recently signed a development deal with Turner to develop an online racing game based on Turner’s Cartoon Network IP. The Radiance art outsourcing studio attracts a variety of top tier Western game companies. Radiance currently has three finished MMO titles that have been localized into English for which they are now in the process of finding suitable overseas publishing partners.
WGE Interviews Jonathan Seidenfeld, Radiance VP of Business Development.
WGE: How and when did you first get into the game business? Tell us a little about your background in the industry.
JS: My first job in the game industry was with Sega of America, where I started in 1992. I had just returned from a few years of teaching English in Japan. Sega hired me to work in their Third Party
Licensing Department, mainly to act as a liaison between Sega and Japanese third parties operating in the USA. I was originally hired for my Japanese language ability, but in the end I found I loved the business, worked hard, and began to see myself as part of the global game industry.
From Sega I moved over to Sony in anticipation of the then upcoming Sony PlayStation. I was the seventh employee at SCEA, and the first person there with any game industry experience. I started out as an evangelist for the PlayStation, giving demos and signing up publishers and developers. I probably signed up about a quarter of the original PlayStation licensees. I had a hand in establishing the Third Party Relations department at Sony, and was deeply involved in the PlayStation launch.
As Sony grew, it evolved from startup culture to more of a staid, corporate culture. After a few years I decided to move on, and worked with several startup developers and other technology companies with a game industry focus.
WGE: How did you get involved with Radiance Digital Entertainment?
JS: I first met Monte back in my Sony days, when he was with Capcom. We met again when I worked with him briefly as a consultant for Zona, probably in about 2001. Shortly after arriving in China, I learned that he had his own company, he is highly visible in the industry over here, so we got together again and resumed our relationship.
“I’m loving every minute of it. I feel lucky to be involved in such an exciting and fast moving industry.”
WGE: How is working in a Chinese game company different from working in a Western company? JS: Oh boy, that’s a really big question! One needs to be prepared to get involved in wildly different projects from what’s in the job description. You need to be able to wear many hats. The culture at Radiance is fairly international, so it is more similar than some of the other places I’ve been. Your question could and should be the subject of a whole other article, which perhaps I’ll write someday.
WGE: So what’s on the horizon for Radiance? Is there anything you can tell us about future plans? JS: Well, we’ve got a lot going on right now. In the near term we will be bringing our games to new platforms including smart phones and mobile, and moving more heavily into the SNS world. We are also working on some new game designs that we plan to announce in 2012. Finally, we just got the appropriate government licenses to operate online games in China, so we are now developing the infrastructure
to support a domestic publishing operation. It’s possible we will publish foreign games and others not developed by Radiance, but that decision has not yet been made.
WGE: It sounds like you’ve got enough on your plate to keep you busy for a while. JS: We sure do, and I’m loving every minute of it. I feel lucky to be involved in such an exciting and fast moving industry.
Thanks for taking time out to speak to us Jonathan, much appreciated.
WGE: What are your main responsibilities at Radiance? JS: My chief responsibility is to license our games to foreign publishers. We have 3 finished games that have been localized into English and are now ready to find homes in various territories. I encourage all interested parties to get in touch with me about this. To a lesser extent I work with the outsourcing group to find new opportunities, but that business seems to pretty much take care of itself. I’m always on the lookout for new ideas and opportunities that advance the goals of the company.
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