Outsourcing is a popular solution for those businesses that want to optimize operational costs, get expert help from advanced specialists worldwide, improve product quality and raise market competitiveness. And game production is not an exception when it comes to the need for expert vision. Art design is one of the commonly delegated stages in game production. Is adopting outsourcing worth it and can businesses allow themselves an outsider’s help? Let’s learn below.
Outsource or Not Your Game Art Production?
Game development is one of the numerous spheres which often seek a third-party contractor to fulfill a certain part of work or even a full-cycle production. Hence, many entrepreneurs doubt whether it is safe sharing responsibility with someone outside of their corporate environment.
The majority of questions concern partnership trust. Will the developers and artists be able to meet strict deadlines? What if they interrupt the existing system and lead to data leakage? Will loyal clients like the art design results performed by external specialists?
To dispel unreasonable doubts, you need to familiarize yourself with the benefits of using game art services.
Staff Is No More a Problem
Many companies have a rich deal for new games in hand but need an excellent artist. But finding an available skillful expert is challenging. In addition, it requires interviewing and onboarding. This task takes a lot of time and not always pays off, especially when it comes to a single project.
Outsourcing services solve staffing problems, allowing entrepreneurs to partner with professional artists for each game independently. Reputable development companies, like Stepico, have years of experience and hundreds of successfully built games. So their expertise doesn’t leave doubts if you monitor positive client reviews and learn detailed reports about project realization in case studies.
Operational Expenditures Are Decreased
Suppose you hire several new in-house members to develop new game art. Now, let’s count the costs it will entail. The company management has to pay salaries and taxes, buy new equipment and office supplies for additional workplaces. Where is the guarantee you will need the same amount of artists for a new project? Hiring people for further firing is not a healthy situation.
Instead, working with art outsourcing companies, you pay only for pure labor, while their organization bears all other expenses.
Gaming Company Receives Fresh Ideas
You programmers can be the best experts in their field of knowledge but have a superficial representation of game art subtleties. Meanwhile, outsourcing experts constantly follow the latest trends in game art as that is the specificity of their job. They can suggest creative ideas directed to melt customers’ hearts, impress them with artistic vision and widen the limits of the imagination.
Risks Are Mitigated
Despite some well-spread opinions about risky partnerships with third-party contractors; things go exactly the opposite. Outsourcing companies fight for their place in the sun, that’s why a satisfied client is their business card. Artists are proud of their results and try to avoid the slightest flaws in the work, preventing unpleasant customer reviews. One negative report can destroy years of gaining an excellent reputation. So they do their best to meet all the clients’ requirements and bring efficient outcomes.
Things to Consider When You Outsource Game Art
Are there any tips to get the best from outsourcing art development? Yes, learn some time-tested steps to maximize your benefits from external contractors:
- Clearly draw your requirements and expectations from the art production services. Make it in written form and highlight as many details as possible. It doesn’t mean you should do part of the work. Just create the right direction for artists to avoid future misunderstandings.
- Ask for a test task to check the experts’ qualifications. But don’t overload the team with complex figures if your future game doesn’t require 3D modeling and VFX, for example.
- Establish solid schedules for communication and discussing the results of each art development milestone. It is better to address doubtful issues at the initial stage than face them when the game is up for release.
- Think of your intellectual rights. Many gaming companies sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) to protect their digital assets from third-party access. You can also use a common template or create an individual one describing conditions to avoid violations.
How Much Do Game Art Services Cost?
We’ve figured out that delegating art production to professional developers has significant benefits under hiring employees on a permanent basis. Also, we’ve talked about several tips to make collaborations with an outsourcing firm more transparent and reliable. But is the price for expert services suitable for startups and small businesses? It is quite difficult and simply wrong to voice some precise prices, and here is why.
Outsourcing expenses may greatly vary from project to project because several factors impact their numbers. Thus, creating a simple 2D game can be much cheaper than a complex digital product with multiple characters, requiring 3D modeling and animation.
The next criterion to measure the development service costs is deadlines. The stricter the delivery schedule, the higher the hourly rates.
It is also worth mentioning that prices can depend on the geographical position of the development team. Thus, American specialists often have twice the rates of East-European services, delivering the same product quality.
Anyhow, expenses required for delegating art design will be lower than prices for the same scope of work fulfilled in-house. That is the main reason outsourcing companies were intended – for cost optimization during the game development process.
