Eugene Tam
Game Developer
Hairysium - Challenge the Norm
I came up with the idea of developing the game with a small team (1 designer, 1 artist and 3 programmer) that I gathered during my second semester in game development, I encountered plenty of challenge such as overscoping, lack of management and game development experience as a team, failure to control personal emotion and poor discipline. Although the game didn't finish it's production but I choose to keep it in my portfolio as it shaped me in terms of how I learn to plan ahead, separate my work and personal life and strengthen my team management skill which I then showcase in all of my game development experience later on.
This is my first time making game out of a controlled environment (non university project nor game jam), the only thing to drive us forwards was our nativity and passion to make a game in a short time. My experience as a game designer and project lead in this project give me the opportunity to understand the importance of expanding my network to meet and work with more talented game developers. During this project, I am able to develop the following skills:
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- Design a original upgrade system based on the power of knowledge
- Study multiple city's culture and population to simulate it in the game
- Understand and research on the hairstyles that are relevant to certain culture
I believe the similar upgrade concept that focus and rewards player for knowing more can be transform and adapt to other theme which can then open up a whole new different meta and abundance of possibilities to the genre. The soft skill that I gain and painful failure that I tasted prove to be useful as I am able to evaluate my performance critically and improve myself after each game development cycle finished.