Web2 Game Dev Under the Spotlight - Cola Huang

We have invited our verified developers on Steam to share some insights about game development and the industry in general.

Today's Verified Developer, Cola Huang, Creator of GoBangTetris, has shared with us his experience of game designing since high school. He is a big fan of narrative and simulation games, and he designed quite a few games, some of which have gone viral on the internet. Behind every game lies the heart and soul of the developer, which also includes moments of inspiration and setbacks. We hope that through the interviews we will be able to share their iridescent journey of game development with you.

Q1: A short introduction of yourself and the current project you are working on?

I'm currently working as R&D in the gaming department of Web2 giant tech firm, but I will actually create some indie games on my own. I just recently took part in Tencent's annual Indie GameJam. My entry has combined the gameplay of Civilizations with the theme of desert control and management. Instead of fighting against other nations and civilizations in the game, the player will need to fight against the desertification of the natural environment. The whole game is set in a desert where the player needs to consolidate the moisture of the soil by growing different types of plants, slowly expanding a small village into a metropolis, protecting the environment and at the same time improving the welfare of the local population.

Q2: What was the first game you developed? How and when did you develop it? (i.e at what age and on what platform?)

I love playing games since I was very young. My father used to play games and took me along with him. He sent me to learn programming when I was young, where I learned both VB and C language, and also made some games with the game editors at that time. I also did a fan sequel to Chinese Paladin (Tier-1 Chinese Game Production), but stopped doing it later due to copyright issues.

I also created a game called “Scissor Paper Stone” when I was in junior high. Players would need to use Scissor Paper Stone to fight against the computer, and each will deduct a drop of blood if they lose one round. The game was not that difficult to make. At first, I asked my classmates to try it, and surprisingly they loved it. From this moment onwards, I fell in love with making games and having people around me to try them out.

The first game I ever officially launched for the public was a game I made in my fourth year at university. The game was called "If You Are The One" and it was a hit on Acfun and Bilibili around 2014. I then signed up with 66 RPG as an official game maker.

Fan sequel of Chinese Paladin<The sequel of Yueru>
Fan sequel of Chinese Paladin<The sequel of Yueru>
<If You Are The One>https://www.66rpg.com/game/26003
<If You Are The One>https://www.66rpg.com/game/26003

Q3: Your favourite game designer / game studio?

I would say Wang Shiying, the producer of Chinese Paladin iii. I'm a big fan of narrative or simulation games, such as Star Dream by RuiJun Rao, Tokimeki Memorial by Hideo Kojima, SimCity by Will Right and so on. These games are called serious games, and they are designed for a primary purpose other than pure entertainment. For example SimCity, where the player gets a chance to experience what is it like to be a mayor. I am also a big fan of narrative games, such as Detroit: Become Human, To The Moon etc.

Q4: What are the biggest challenges in game design?

My artistic ability is relatively weak. I like making games alone, and the nice thing about it is that you have complete control over where the game is going. If I am making a game with a team, say at a big company, I do not have complete control over the content of the game, and the company will not list the full name list for credit. But the downside of making games alone is that I'm not good at music and art, so I'll probably either pay someone to do it with me, or I'll ask my friend to do me a favour. Hiring a good artist on the internet is way too expensive, and one piece of artwork can cost me thousands. That's why I chose 66 RPG. Many of my previous alpha and beta tests were done on 66 RPG, because it provides a full assets package including art and music, which is very convenient for us as developers.

Q5: What is the best Eureka moment in your game development journey?

I make experimental games. I like to mix the two genres together and see if it becomes more interesting. Every time when I am attending a GameJam, I'll pick some old games and see if they can be combined in an innovative way. Gobang Tetris was created during a GameJam in my company internally. It was the fifth year, so the theme was "5". After seeing "5," I first searched for Gobang and then tried to merge it with another old game. I did experience an epiphany moment when I found Tetris. I was thinking, what if I could merge the two games and make it feel like Super Mario Doctor? GoBang Tetris it is.

<GoBangTetris>https://store.steampowered.com/app/1907430/GoBangTetris/
<GoBangTetris>https://store.steampowered.com/app/1907430/GoBangTetris/

I made the first version and showed it to my colleagues. We all thought it was fun. Then I made a few tweaks to the mechanics, the biggest of which was how the block will fall. The original version is more like Tetris, meaning the blocks will not fall down when they are suspended in the air, but this is a bit strange as there will be a lot of fragmented space on the interface. We further deduced the elimination mechanism of Tetris and improved on it. There you go, the current version, more enjoyable and fun to play than the last.

Q6: Any feature requests for P12?

From what I understand, P12’s Playza Editor is an editor tool similar to 66 RPG, including an assets package and a game engine. I would like P12 to allow game producers to use its library of materials to increase development efficiency, so that independent game developers will be able to work as a team. Alternatively, the Playza Editor can have some PGC tools that automatically generate some of the required materials.

In fact, I think blockchain is a concept of finance, and it doesn't have much impact on the nature of the game. If blockchain can be used in some way as an incentive rather than as a means of exploitation, I think it's great. Blockchain can also be a good incentive if it encourages people to create, or learn more skills in order to create.

Just as Cola Huang was expecting, Playza Editor contains a great library of art materials and each art asset can be displayed with maximum freedom, which will be convenient for game developers to employ. We wish to empower every creation in Metaverse, and every developer will be able to use our platform and express their artistic creativity freely. As the saying goes, dreams have no limits.

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