What does it take to keep a AAA game on track? For Samuel Soh, a BS in Computer Science and Game Design (now renamed as BS in Computer Science in Interactive Media and Game Development) graduate who is now working at Ubisoft Singapore, it’s about much more than just timelines and spreadsheets. As the project manager on Skull and Bones, the studio’s live-service naval online action-adventure title, Samuel combines his technical expertise with a deep understanding of player experiences to deliver content that keeps the community engaged season after season.
This passion for game development began early and manifested through a love for building things and playing games growing up. Samuel was part of the robotics club in both primary and secondary school, and the constant emphasis on prototyping, programming, and iterating stayed with him since his early days. His love for creating interactive experiences eventually led him to DigiPen (Singapore) where he got to develop his calling not just for game development, but in leading teams to bring ambitious projects to life. Samuel shares about his journey below.
When did you realize that your passion lay in project management rather than development or design work?
Samuel: I actually entered DigiPen (Singapore) with the eventual goal of taking on a project management role in the industry. During my polytechnic days, I did an internship at an indie studio and was inspired by how much value a project manager was able to bring to the team. They are the glue and help ensure that tasks continue to move forward and projects progress efficiently. But beyond this, I wanted to fully understand how game production works on the ground — down to every line of code, every design document, and every mesh that is rigged. In a quest to pursue this knowledge and also gain management experience, I took on the role of producer for every game project in school while contributing in terms of code delivery, data configuration, and design work.
Were there any pivotal moments or projects during your studies that shaped your career direction?
Samuel: My second-year project, Howl: A Tale of Wolves, was one that my team and I were (and still are) really proud of. Beyond the programming, design, and art it took to bring that game to life, our team went the extra mile and produced many other components such as a soundtrack with a vocal theme song, a printed artbook with early concepts and reflections, as well as development blog posts to chronicle our journey. Developing the entire interactive experience of Howl was particularly eye-opening and we also had the opportunity to feature this project as part of a public showcase at the ArtScience Museum thereafter. Leading this nine-member project to success solidified my belief that I could make a wider impact as a producer, and gave me the confidence to follow the path I believed in.
How did you make the transition from student to your first role at Ubisoft, and ultimately to your current role today?
Samuel: While I was nearing the end of my modules, I started looking for internship opportunities. I came across Ubisoft Singapore’s opening for a junior quest designer and applied for it even though it was not an internship position. A few calls and a design test later, I got the role.
After a few months, I spoke to my manager and producers about my passion for production and had the opportunity to contribute as a project coordinator on the UI/UX team in Skull and Bones. I was eventually given the responsibility to lead my own teams as a project manager on the live game in my current role.
Describe what your role as project manager entails.
Samuel: Being a Project Manager on a GaaS (Games as a Service) game translates to planning and making sure that content and features are shipped on time, on budget, and on quality every season. While I manage the production of features and content leading a team of designers, programmers, artists, and testers, I’m also heavily involved in planning the scope of weekly and monthly updates that include quality-of-life features, balance changes, bug fixes, and stability improvements. When I have additional spare time, that goes into looking at ways in which production pipelines can be optimized and how I can nurture the team to grow individually in their professional careers.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Samuel: In the dynamic game industry, no two days are ever the same. Working on a live project means I get the opportunity to engage with our player base through livestreamed Q&A sessions. There, I understand and address the top concerns of players, ensuring that everyone on the development team focuses on the priorities that matter most to our players.
What was it like working on your first major AAA project? What surprised you most about the scale and complexity?
Samuel: I think the biggest surprise was the presence of well-established processes that cover virtually every aspect of game development. Graduating from smaller projects rarely exceeding 10 members to a project that involved multiple studios was very eye-opening — in the latter, the core development team is well supported by various dedicated functions such as testing, data analysis, and community management. In smaller development teams, these would normally be the added responsibility for an existing programmer or designer. It has been inspiring working on a large team like Skull and Bones and seeing how such a big project requires mature and refined processes to manage its scale and complexity.
How do you keep teams motivated and aligned during extended development cycles?
Samuel: In the midst of production, it is easy to get caught up in deadlines, processes, and tickets, sometimes losing sight of the human connection. But at its core, it’s always the people that matter most. While it is relatively simple to host regular team lunches, these only provide the team with extrinsic, short-term motivational boosts. Beyond such lunches, I take the time to regularly engage with my team members on a one-to-one basis to understand their concerns, discuss their personal career motivations, and sometimes just have a casual chat to check on their well-being. Building these human connections can be time-consuming, but I’ve found that taking the extra time to empathize with others naturally promotes intrinsic motivation and is definitely worth the time spent.
What’s something about project management in games that people outside the industry might not understand?
Samuel: That we’re not just buying coffee for the team! While we dive into project management software and spreadsheets to plan features and content, project managers in the game industry are also heavily involved in weighing and influencing design decisions. We don’t only look at optimizing budgets and timelines. As gamers, we also spend much of our time thinking about what’s the best, highest-ROI thing that we can bring to elevate the player experience — the feelings that cannot be easily quantified through KPIs nor easily predicted by market trends.
What specific skills or experiences from DigiPen (Singapore) have proven most valuable in your career?
Samuel: The freedom and autonomy to design, plan, and execute projects every trimester, alongside honing fundamental skills in tutorials, has helped me develop both the hard skills and soft skills required of a game developer — and by extension, my role as a manager of a multidisciplinary team.
What’s the best advice you’d give to someone interested in pursuing a similar path in game development?
Samuel: I’d tell them to fully commit to the road ahead. Be prepared for a path that’s undoubtedly challenging and one that demands a constant hunger for knowledge. Expect to face tough problems and demanding projects that will test your passion repeatedly. But for those who are truly driven, pushing through these difficulties will lead to incredibly rewarding experiences.