With the release of World of Warcraft Classic some months ago, I’ve been casually playing most weekends (until the nostalgia eventually wears off). One of my work colleagues happens to run a guild, and has been pestering me to write some guild management addons. Having no experience with WoW modding, I’d give it a go. Since I’m playing a rogue, I found myself having to re-apply poison to my weapons constantly. Tedious. After looking into the guild addons, I realized this was the perfect opportunity to /scratch my own itch. ...

I’ve been active in the VR community for a while, being one of the original kickstarters for the Oculus DK1 VR headset. I was totally sold on the tech since E3 2012, thanks to John Carmack’s DOOM 3 ski goggles tech demo. I’ve owned about every Oculus headset and dev kit since then. This eventually led to a contract with HTC, the Taiwanese electronics giant behind the popular VR headset HTC Vive. In collaboration with a Taiwanese filmmaker, we built a small VR game to raise awareness of the Air Quality Index (AQI) and Taiwan’s pollution problem, an issue ironically tied to the country’s massive electronics manufacturing. ...

My second mobile game is officially out on iOS, grab it on the App Store! Hidden Kitty is a cute seek‑and‑find game. Explore the rooms of a cozy house and figure out where the kitty is hiding. Behind a pillow? Inside a cupboard? Tap and slide things around to discover new spots. There’s lots of objects in the house to interact with. This summer I wanted to build something smaller (and cuter) than my other projects. Unlike my previous mobile game Pilot Express, which was free‑to‑play, Hidden Kitty is a paid download, something I’ve been wanting to try for a while. ...

I’ve been working on a little mobile game this summer, which is finally released on both the App Store and Google Play! Pilot Express lets you fly a small plane up and down, avoiding mines and other obstacles along the way. Collect coins to increase your score and fly through hoops to gain a speed boost. The controls are simple, the challenge comes from reacting quick enough, and deciding when to go for the bonus items versus playing it safe. ...

One of my favorite movies is Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. I love the the characters, the story, the atmosphere, and especially the music. It’s a masterpiece that I’ve re-watched many times over the years. Chihiro and No-Face board the spirit train. My favorite scene is the train ride through the flooded countryside, where Chihiro and No-Face travel to meet Zeniba. The music is solemn, and the scenery passing offers a glimpse into the spirit world beyond the bathhouse. The scene lasts for quite a while, and nothing really happens, yet it’s one of the most memorable parts of the movie for me. ...

Ludum Dare is a fantastic challenge: make a game from scratch in 48 hours. Every year more people join, resulting in thousands of entries by the end of the weekend. This was my second time participating. Running into time-consuming problems is dangerous when you only have two days, preparing your workspace before you start is important, and best to use tools you already know. For me, C# programming, Blender for 3D modeling, and Unity to bring it all together. I set up Chronolapse to capture a timelapse and OBS for livestreaming on Twitch. ...

Compute Thought is a short cyberpunk point-and-click adventure game created for #Nar8, a narrative‑focused game jam. I usually lean toward gameplay and level design rather than writing, so this project was a deliberate exercise in story building. You can play it on itch.io or browse the source code on GitHub. The opening scene is my favourite, but went through many iterations. The game centers on a detective investigating a murder case, in a world where humans and androids coexist (uneasily). My favorite cyberpunk classics like Blade Runner and Ghost in the Shell inspired me. ...

Ludum Dare #29 ran from April 25th – 27th, a 48-hour jam where people build games centered around a single theme. Unlike the Global Game Jam however, it’s common to work solo. With this year’s theme “Beneath the Surface”, I set out to make a game about a giant monster lurking in the depths, part sandworm from Dune, part Moby-Dick. I started with building a little drivable boat: you sail around collecting treasures drifting on the water, while the monster tries to swallow you whole. The game takes place at night, hoping this would cover up any art assets that look too rough around the edges. ...

I spent a few days prototyping a turn-based tactical RPG, a genre I’ve grown to love. X-COM: Terror from the Deep hooked me when I was a kid, and I’ve been looking for similar games ever since. It’s great to see the genre making a comeback with titles like The Banner Saga and X-COM: Enemy Unknown. Like any proper tactical game, players choose their actions turn-by-turn: moving, attacking, or guarding. During the computer’s turn, it identifies the nearest player character and moves in to attack. The battle ends when either side is defeated. ...

Lately I’ve been tinkering with a small first-person RPG prototype in Unity. It’s very old-school, inspired by games like Ultima Underworld and Daggerfall, the kind of games I could really get lost in as a kid. The goal is to create a small vertical slice of the game, with a single dungeon level, a few enemies, and some basic RPG mechanics like combat, loot, inventory, and character stats. ...