When Bard No.1 meets No.101 

It has been 12 months since NeoBards Entertainment was founded in April 2017. On the morning of May 02, 2018, we gave a warm welcome to the No. 101 Bard, Modi LIU, who joined our Tribe as QA Game Tester. (Members of NeoBard Entertainment are referred to as “Bards”).

At 10:00am, as soon as the elevator door opened, all the bards standing together, greeted Modi with High-Fives, cheers and applauds. We know, this gesture would make the new the Bard go “Whoa~ didn’t see that coming..”, but this is the game industry we’re talking about, it’s always full of surprises! At NeoBards, you better get used to being surprised!

 

 

It was time for our Bard #1, NeoBards Founder and CEO Jean-Marc Morel to meet the Bard #101: Modi Liu. He could not have been more proud of all the accomplishment the Bards made in the last 12 months. Growing is never easy, but as the confetti cannons blast off, cameras flash to commemorate this historic moment, we couldn’t help but wonder, when we will get to meet Bard No.201, and maybe someday, No.1001?

 

The Day You Join NeoBard Tribe, is the Beginning of an Adventure. Would You Like to be the Next?

 

 

How Modi LIU, Bard No.101, joined the NeoBards Tribe, is an epic story worth telling. When NeoBards first started out and took office in a business center, Modi was working as a Maintenance Engineer for an information hardware company, and used to deliver hardware to various firms. All of the the super powerful high-performance computers the Bards are now using, were assembled and delivered by Modi.

Modi became extremely curious about NeoBards Entertainment, a group of game developer with large demands for computing. After delivering no less than dozens of computers to NeoBards, he couldn’t help to ask “How could I join this company that appears to be full of fun and challenges?”

The reply he received was simple and to the point: “Although you don’t have related work experience, you can always start as a QA.” Shortly after, HR received Modi’s CV, and went through a few interviews, this twenty- nine years-old Bard is now officially part of the Tribe, joining us on the arduous but rewarding journey of game development.

We believe, as all the Bards come from different backgrounds, uprisings, cultures and countries, we are all united by the love of our craft, the storytelling and the deep understanding that hard work and quality will always triumph.

 

About NeoBards Entertainment

NeoBards Entertainment was founded in 2017 by an international team of industry veterans hailing from Taiwan, China, Europe, and the United States. NeoBards based in Taipei with an additional studio in Suzhou. As a team, NeoBards is formed by industry veterans, many with more than 20 years of AAA game development experience at well-known companies, including Sony, Activision, Square Enix, Capcom, EA, and Ubisoft.

NeoBards Entertainment specializes in international project coordination, AAA quality game development, and the imagining and realization of new worlds and IPs. Our passionate team of “Bards” learn and grow from each other, always striving to find new ways to express their love of gaming through their work.

In less than 2 years since founding NeoBards released the Devil May Cry HD Collection, Onimusha Warlords for PS4, XboxOne, Nintendo Switch, and PC. More AAA cross platform titles are soon to be announced!

Al Yang, Design Director of NeoBards is going to give a speech at this year’s GDC Producer Bootcamp: Trust and Tribulations: A Crash Course in Team Leadership.

Al has been working on Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition and Shards of War in a director capacity and as a designer on Fallen Legion, PlayStation All- Stars, and several THQ franchises. Before that, he has spent his game development career across multiple platforms and monetization structures throughout Asia, Europe, and the USA. He is particularly interested in how culture and perception shapes creativity and development ethos.

Good team leadership is one of the most highly discussed topics on paper, but experiencing it firsthand is often an entirely different beast. His talk will explore 3 key lessons learned the hard way from being suddenly thrust into a first-time leadership position, using failure and success stories from Shards of War and Final Fantasy XV Pocket Edition.

Al joined NeoBards in 2017 as Design Director, leading a new AAA game project, aiming to be released in 2019. His past leadership experiences continue to drive him towards his goal: become an excellent game developer.

Tutorials Speech @ GDC

About NeoBards Entertainment
Created in February 2017 by a team of industry veterans, NeoBards regroups some of the excellent talents in Taiwan and overseas. Located in Taiwan, NeoBards now has 85 employees dedicating to Console, PC and Mobile platforms. The core founding partners spent more than 20 years in the game industry, worked on AAA titles for Sony, Activisions, Square Enix, Capcom, EA, Ubisoft, and more.

Nintendo Switch made its grand launch in March 2017. Since then, more than 13 million units were sold, as of October 2017. During the 7 months of sales period in USA, Switch reigned TOP 1 of the console sales ranking. Nintendo estimates 16 million units to be sold by March 2018.
Read more