Greetings everybody,
Today is a different type of announcement. I’ve been serving as the Community Manager since a little before Ocean Drive Studio announced its first game, Lost Eidolons. In that time, I fell in love with the philosophy of the studio in taking a players-first approach when developing video games. I came from a background in live service games, MMOs specifically, where the environment and community was much more fast paced. I loved them very much too, but it was, without saying, a fatiguing journey.
Ocean Drive Studio for me was an opportunity to spread my wings and learn a little bit more about the video game industry. I took a chance to follow ODS Jungsoo here because I wanted to be a part of making something memorable. Every step of the way leading up to today was riddled with important lessons and a lot of joy watching Lost Eidolons grow day after day.
But at the same time, I’m also a streamer. I’ve been a streamer on Twitch for over 9 years now, approaching a full decade! I found myself at an impasse between a job that I’m comfortable with that I love the work we’re doing as well as the people that I’m working with, and an opportunity to branch out and try my hand at being a full-time content creator.
To me, this is a gamble and a risk, but one that if I don’t take it, I’ll always look back wondering ‘what-if’? My experience and time in this industry will potentially allow me to return to a normal 9-5 if things don’t pan out well, but if I abandon this opportunity to try my hand at being a streamer, I may never know what could’ve been.
I spoke to the others at ODS, and they very bluntly told me to follow my passion. They supported my decision to give it the old college try.
Today, I will be departing ODS and pursuing a new adventure to discover my potential. But, this isn’t goodbye. I love the team at ODS too much to leave them hanging. So while they search for a new Community Manager to take over my role, I’ll still be working with them as a streamer, continuing endeavors like the monthly dev update livestreams. I’ll still be around in general, but my official title will be as someone external supporting ODS and its projects.
This is my chance to take a year to see where this will lead me. And, if things don’t work out, then here’s to hoping that ODS is looking to hire again in the future, haha!
Best regards,
Pat
