Not many people can openly play arcade games as part of work, but that is just part and parcel of Celeste Tan and Benedict Neoh’s jobs at LAI Games. Doing so counts as research and quality assurance testing, since LAI Games is an outdoor entertainment developer that specializes in creating arcade games such as the award-winning Pearl Fishery coin pusher and HYPERshoot basketball consoles.
Celeste and Benedict are both 2022 graduates of the BFA in Digital Art and Animation program. Benedict joined LAI Games as a concept artist shortly after graduation, as he was drawn to the company’s established history. He also felt that the job expectations to come up with hard surface art was aligned to his skillset and interests. As a concept artist, Benedict’s day-to-day work varies depending on the stage of the project he is working on. It includes early pre-production sketching with lots of brainstorming sessions, building environments using game engines, and testing and troubleshooting art and game designs on physical game cabinets.
In Celeste’s case, she joined LAI Games as a 2D and 3D generalist at the end of 2023 after previously holding various roles in game art creation. Her job scope at LAI Games involves creating visually appealing arcade cabinet designs and game assets. Given the nature of the physical installations, Celeste has to work closely with the engineering team to ensure her designs are not just aesthetically pleasing, but also safe and feasible from a manufacturing standpoint. As she was trained in creating art assets for animations and video games, designing for hardware was challenging in the beginning. “There were many different considerations to think about, such as whether or not the designs were realistic or cost-efficient to build,” Celeste says. “It’s a constant iterative process between the artists and engineering teams.”
Similarly, Benedict had to learn about the disciplines that go into creating arcade games, such as mechanical engineering, material types, and the manufacturing process. This helped him create designs that were both eye-catching yet could still fit the various restrictions of physical set-ups. “I always run my ideas past people from different disciplines and will discuss how to implement them with the lead and managing engineers,” Benedict says. “Then I’ll brainstorm on how to overcome any limitations and tackle them with an artistic flair.” The ability of both graduates to adapt and work with those from different backgrounds was honed since their time as students, thanks to the multidisciplinary nature of DigiPen (Singapore)’s project modules.
It comes as no surprise that working at LAI Games is never boring given the nature of the industry. But what keeps things exciting is also the fact that no two projects are the same. This brings about many learning opportunities, which both graduates are grateful for. Another plus of working on arcade games versus traditional video games is the shorter production time for each project. “We generally see the fruits of our labor faster, and there’s just something very fulfilling about seeing your designs come to life in a life-sized physical cabinet,” Celeste says.
When asked about their best advice for aspiring artists, both Celeste and Benedict agree on the importance of keeping an open mind and being adaptable. As long as one has strong foundations, pivoting into an adjacent field, picking up new technical skills, or working on new projects is nothing to shy away from. After all, neither graduate expected to go into the arcade game industry, but they’ve since fallen in love with their respective roles. All the best to Celeste and Benedict as they continue learning the ropes and honing their crafts at LAI Games!