Truth Seeking Through Games Making

Many have asked me what I will be doing next. For the next year in my life, I will be dedicating my time to two of my start-ups, Hatchlings Games and Electronic Sports World. After everything that I have been through for the past 22 years of life, I am now at the peak of my creative, business and personal life. Although these are trying times, I will try till I am tried.

So first of all, I rejoined Multimedia University (MMU), Cyberjaya, Malaysia. I will only be taking one subject, Korean. I, along with Key and Zie Aun plan to make a business trip to South Korea within the next eight months. Really looking forward to learn Korean and speak to Koreans using their language. Koreans have a culture that I really like, especially their openness to gaming. “Tae Ha Ming Kuk…” Korea! Korea! Oh, Malaysia Boleh!

I am not feeling very fresh now, should take a shower. There will be a MMU Game Developers Club committee meeting tonight. I just read a post by the Student Representative Council that we have to observe club constitutions. What exactly are they? Does that mean that every member has the right to VOTE for the club’s officers including the President? We could be too new, and our member base too separated to do so. I do believe that with Iris, GDC will head to a better way. Her goal is to simply unite people and have fun, while Kuan and Syefri will surely be adding very interesting events and programmes to the mix. I really hope everyone can give her your support; she definitely has mine. I plan to speak on certain occasions in GDC events.

Electronic Sports World

As mentioned, Electronic Sports World (ESW) is one my newer ventures. Man, I tend to use acronyms a lot. Anyway, ESW (again!) is an online video show that that feature professional gamers in a truly original locale and setting. It is very original and my partner and I believe that it will really change the landscape of gaming.

ESW is the brainchild of my partner, Y.K. Goon. In my opinion, Goon is a brilliant business thinker. He is very up-to-date with the latest in business thoughts and lifestyle. I first met Goon at a university lab test, where he used to teach computer programming as a tutor. Well, my relationship with him has changed almost completely since then. I said “Almost” completely because every time he shares his business thoughts, I am learning from him.

I am still looking for partners for ESW, especially someone with a passion for professional gaming, film production, and internet marketing.

Do send me an e-mail if you are interested in collaborating, investing, sponsoring or if you just want information on this interesting project.

Hatchlings Games and Project Card-Chess

Hatchlings Games, my other and older venture, have been through frequent transformation that reflects on what Key and I have learned in the industry. Over the last 10 months, we have been trying many things, testing out the waters. This unregistered company is started when five classmates, Paul, Key, John, Chuen Chieh, and Zie Aun decided to take their hobby further. But really, the history and progression of Hatchlings really deserve a few entries of its own.

Project Card-Chess is a MMO-based card game that is played on a board. It has a unique business model that I have been trying to develop. There are a lot of assumptions that will be changing along that model which will change the design of the game – especially the MMO components of the game. We have to ask ourselves simple and fundamental questions like, is the core gameplay mechanics fun? What really is an MMO? What would make people want to try and lay and eventually pay to play? Really simple questions that we be better have good answers to.

Anybody who wishes to see our business plan to give their opinions should drop me an e-mail at johntanslade@gmail.com.

To get updated with the project, or to see the project from another designer’s point-of-view, check out Zie Aun (no-wing)’s Project Card-Chess development diary.

We are always looking for production managers, programmers, 2D and 3D artists, writers, and new game ideas from anywhere in the world. So if you are would like employment or partnership in a young Malaysian game company that creates original IP creator, don’t hesitate to send me that e-mail.

For this project to work, I am devising a different financing mechanism – one where anybody can invest if they trust us. More on that soon!

Anime and Games

Recently I have been downloading and watching two animes and playing a game. The two animes are The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (torrent) and Jigoku Shouju (torrent). Both are excellent animes that I will encourage anyone with the time to watch. Already they are inspiring me with story and world building ideas. The game I have been playing is Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, the sequel to the first “The Longest Journey”. It is the 2^nd part of the trilogy. So far it is a great game, except for the fact that I am stuck in some really difficult path-finding mind-bogging puzzle. The Longest Journey is written and directed by writer/director/game designer, Ragnar Tornquist.

Note: Do not be disappointed with the first episode of Haruhi Suzumiya, instead continue with the second episode, whether or not you finished the first. The episode was produced by the self-proclaimed ULTRA DIRECTOR Haruhi Suzumiya.

Lastly, I would like to recommend a game subscription service, JumboPlay which is brought to you by Josh Galloway’s Dragonback Media Interactive Sdn. Bhd. Do support the local games industry by buying original games.

It has been work, work and more work lately. So much has changed since the last time I posted. I attended two great game development events, HELP Institute’s Video Game Symposium and GDC’s Future Game Creators Seminar. Started work on a project, codename: BattleChess which has been relatively fun. It is a great game, perhaps the best thing I have worked on ever.

Game Developers Club

• Future Game Creators Seminar
• Only one day: 29th of May
• The seminar went well, speakers were:
• Kevin Larken, Art Director, GameBrains
• Mike Ooi, Lead Game Designer, Phoenix Games Studio
• Hafiz Pon, Chief Technology Officer, Phoenix Games Studio
• I had to sponsor the event myself.
• The games the MMU student showcased were pretty impressive.
• My favourite game was Han Sing’s Cubic Island.
• I owe 11 participants the participant fee which was cancelled. I hope they will be patient.
• I have personally found a successor for GDC.
• Her name is Lim Hui Wen or Iris as she is known here in MMU.
• I still need to hold a meeting with the committee to decide if they agree with my decision.
• The GDC committee meeting should be on Monday night.
• Followed by another meeting on Tuesday night with the incoming President.
• It has not been easy to look for the next GDC President. My other choices were Zaki and Kuan. Both are excellent choices.
• Zaki’s confidence really went down after the last Business Game Workshop testplay. I hope he regains that confidence. If Iris is selected I will recommend to her Zaki to be the publicity manager. If he accepts it, he should be assisted by a strike team of Alex and Augustine.
• Kuan is a very responsible person, but he said he would be pressured. Granted that Iris is selected, Kuan already agreed to help her with the game development related activities of GDC.
• Although she is younger than the other candidates, Iris is wise and has a strong character. She have played games for at least 10 years. She will be in the creative industry and is currently a member of Hatchlings Games.
• Although the committee has not agreed yet, I have faith that they will. Do give her your support

Hatchling Games

• Flash Game for GameBrains
• We were going to do a flash game with a soccer theme.
• Moy and Joshua are handling this one. I don’t think it is going too well.
• Moy joined an Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company, so I hope that Moy will still believe and will contribute to Hatchlings Games.
• Business Game Workshop
• We have to continue our testplay sessions next MMU trimester.
• I will meet up with Lewis Lim, my co-game designer for this edutainment game.
• I will be handling the project to Mary who is very eager about edutainment.
• Since she just started, she still has alot to learn about entrepreneurship.
• She sould be assisted by Hoi Lee and Zaki.
• Project BattleChess
• Zie Aun’s brainchild.
• A combination of board strategy and collectible card game.
• We will make it an MMO.
• This is a very exciting project. Most people who have heard it are excited about it.
• The biggest project that Hatchlings Games have ever done.
• I have yet to tell the whole of Hatchlings Games about this project yet as we are still in conceptual stage.
• We will announce it before next week-end when we are scheduled to testplay the game.
• Key found Samin who is an excellent programmer. He will be prototyping the game.
• Revamped Management
• It has been 10 months since the founding of Hatchlings Games.
• So far we have been doing research while testing out some ideas and doing some outsourcing working.
• But now is the time to really start moving forward towards our goals.
• After the Video Game Symposium, Key and I have a renewed mindset and have revamped the our management and operational guidelines.

Electronic Sports World

• WarCraft III: DOTA Reality Show
• My internet was down for a month, and during that month I didn’t do much about this.
• I really need to spend more time on this.
• It is a project that I believed in.
• Perhaps its time for me to recruit a few helpers here.
• The main thing to do now is to research and put everything into a coherent business plan.
• To kick things off, I think I will contact someone at TMNet.
• OH, I am REALLY sorry to Goon.

Current Projects

Game Developers Club

• Future Game Creators Seminar – 29th/30th May
• Need a successor, a new President – volenteer yourself

Hatchlings Games

• Flash Game
• GBA port of adventure game made with Scum (Game Engine)
• Business Game Workshop (a floor game business simulation for educational purpose)

Electronic Sports World

• WarCraft III: DOTA Reality Show

A side but related story. Sleep is a frequent topic for entrepreneurs, game developers and gamers alike. I have tried different models of sleep but in my opinion sleeping early and waking up early is still the best way for your health. For inspiration, night time is best.

This guy from Vietnam didn’t sleep for 33 years! http://www.thanhniennews.com/features/?catid=10&newsid=12673

Whoo Hoo!

http://mingle.minnamedia.com/

Too bad, really, too bad, that I don’t think I have the $ to attend this super cool event. Key and I would really love to go there. You know, I am sure by March, with Choppin more ready, we would make some impact in that party – 2 young chaps from Malaysia flying all the way to the states to talk about games dev. WHoo hOo.

Well, fact is – it is still not possible yet. The dream is still a dream. It is time to make it into a VISION MAP – next topic.

Whoo Hoo!

Happy Today.

There has been very interesting topics discussed in the IGDA Casual Games mailing list lately. It is perhaps the most active IGDA mailing list, an indication of the popularity of casual games development now-a-days.

Interesting figures:
Top Selling Casual Games on RealArcade

PopCap owns the list with three games on the top 3 and another in the top 10. Zuma Deluxe (1), Feeding Frenzy (2), Bejeweled 2 Deluxe (3) and Bookworm Deluxe (10). My favourite casual game Insaniquarium Deluxe (also by PopCap) is currently ranked number 21 with 14 weeks in the Top 10.

I admit. I have been slack. Last Friday night, Key, Aznan, Zie Aun, Fang Kai, Joo and I went to play DOTA. This is only my second time playing so I still suck a lot. Before the game, I thought I could use my WarCraft III/StarCraft micromanagement skills to good use. It turns out that I was wrong. DOTA is game with pretty interesting strategy. It is an extremely easy game to pick up but not very easy to master (but definitely not as hard as traditional real-time strategy games).

I realized that your Hero/Item combos are very important to win. Timing your hits while creeping is also very important for your gold flow. We chose to play at InfernoWorlds, SS15 because that is BB’s current cybercafé partner for MAS-1, Malaysia’s premier gaming group. InfernoWorlds is a great cybercafé, at least an improvement over those that I used to play in when I was still in my multiplayer gaming days.

The gaming reality-TV show that I am doing with Lewis, Goon and BB is going pretty well. There is a lot of synergy when working with like-minded people. So if you haven’t already, you really SHOULD go your way and FIND like-minded people and work together. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

I need to get back to developing games – and not just helping others with their assignments.

I went to a preview seminar of a successful entrepreneur trainer with Key. The seminar is known as the Entrepreneurs Action Program (EAP) Boot-Camp, flagship programme of a Singapore-based entrepreneur training company, Exec-Directions mainly owned by successful Singaporean Entrepreneurs Wendy Kwek and Jerome Tan.

The preview session was held at a conference room in Holliday Villa with Jerome speaking. The session and I suppose the EAP Boot-Camp itself is motivational. I usually attend technical and/or business funding seminars but rarely motivational ones. There aren’t many good and cheap motivational speakers / programmes in Malaysia. Jerome reminds me of a Singaporean Anthony Robbins.

Exec-Directions is expanding at Malaysia. In Singapore, they have had over 300 graduates of the EAP Boot-Camp. The programme has received very good testimonies from some of their graduates. Check out their websites to see some of them. The main idea of the seminar is ACTION. It is for those who want to be entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs who want to learn to:

1. Remove mental obstacles for entrepreneurship (courage building)
2. Understand and implement the key success factors in entrepreneurship

Well, it feels that I am advertising for them. Oh well, I guess it is because I intend to attend their first session in Malaysia (which is at a 50% discount from the normal Singapore price). I think their first session will be held in March. Speaking of price – it is about RM3, 000. It is a relatively cheap for the huge load of content and a long contact time (the EAP boot-camp is spread over 3 weeks).

Jerome is an excellent speaker. He has a very unique style – Sing-lish Anthony Robbins style. I also find that I have some traits in common with Jerome like our passions for bootstrapping, reading and personal development.

I expect to learn the following skills from the seminar:

• Make money with little or no money (bootstrapping) for ANY kind of business
• Maximizing marketing efforts with little money
• Creating synergy in Teams
• Networking with liked-minded people
• Get reviews for my business plans
• Sell anything to anybody

Remember, one of the key to success in life is to: Constantly and Never-Endingly Improve (CANI). We have to feed our natural growth instinct.

Go and start investing as much as you can in the highest leverage possible: your education!

If you are a school leaver and you are truly passionated about becoming a game developer, through whatever discipline, you would have heard of local tertiary institutions’ game development courses. If you want to take these courses, you have several options:

1. Multimedia University
2. Lim Kok Wing University College
3. Tengku Abdul Rahman (TAR) College
4. HELP Institute

Personally, I do not agree with attending college to acquire these skills. No college can train you to be a game developer. There are many benefits of attending college so don’t skip it. I just do not think you should join a game development course yet. It is too expensive an investment without enough returns. Take some time to figure out what field of game development do you like to start with (Programming, Art, Game Design, Audio, Writing, Management). Then enroll in a course that teaches you just that – Computer Science/Math, Film, Psychology and Technology Management. When you are in college, join a Game Developers Club. If your college doesn’t have one, start one. You must take the innitiative to realize your dream.

There are still many things you will learn in college but it is not so obvious. You have do plenty of soul searching. College is also a place to build your character – your courage, your integrity, etc. These so-called soft-skills are incredibly important for your career and personal development.

The best way is to learn on your own and find a mentor. Even if you attend colleges, you still have to spend the majority of your time learning on your own – in many cases outside your university’s syllabus. But make sure you are commited and disciplined enough to learn whatever you set out to learn. To know whether you are in the right track, post in the forums (see below for the links).

Another thing you should do is to stay updated on local industry events and happenings. You can do this through online forums and local networking events. Keep track of the IGDA.my and MyGDC Forums.

Everyone have a particular mp3 playlist when they code/do their other PC-oriented work. My favourite nowdays is Enya’s new album Amaratine. It’s music is very soothing and helps the mind to focus and feel relaxed at the same time.