Why are you studying games?
Games have always been my passion, and I want to use the medium to create positive, meaningful experiences for people around the world. I believe that people can connect with games emotionally in a way that other mediums don't achieve, and as games are becoming more and more prevalent in our culture, they represent the best opportunity to teach and connect with people on the deepest levels.
Describe your favorite project made by a classmate.
Chris McGinnis' Search and Destroy. Like Battleship, you're trying to kill the other person's units without knowing where they are. Each player has three units, and on each turn they can move then shoot. The further away they fire, the smaller the blast radius. The blast circles stay on the screen, so you can't move through them, and it creates the game board as you play longer. You also see where your enemy's units started on their last turn. It's a nice system.
Describe your most embarrassing playtesting moment.
We had an assignment to make an intervention game that plays with a public space or social situation. Our group's game was to use a circle in the pavement outside school as a field to make human goal posts to try to get pedestrians to walk through without realizing what was happening. The day before the assignment was due, they put a giant Christmas tree up right where the circle was! Luckily there was a slightly larger circle on the other side of the plaza, and we were able to adapt the game.
What's your secret weapon?
My bok choy and garlic recipe...either that or tornado kicks.
Describe one memorable lecture, assignment, or exercise you've had at the Game Center.
Every lecture in Games 101. Learning about the history of all of the different game genres has been full of little gems, like the queen originally having the same movement as the king in chess, and League of Legends evolving from the Brood War custom map Aeon of Strife - I stopped playing it before that map came out and never knew!
How has the Game Center changed your thinking about games?
I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't very familiar with the indie scene before starting the program.
What do you hope to accomplish after school?
Make games that are meaningful and impactful.
What's the last great game you played and what's great about it?
I'm pretty addicted to Mini Metro right now. I'm not sure if that's a good or bad thing. But it's perfect for my brain.
I also recently played some of the games from Kris Burm's Project GIPF, and they were really interesting. The whole idea of all of the games connecting into one overall game is pretty awesome.
What's your favorite New York City spot?
I tried Juliana's pizza for the first time a few weeks ago with a friend from out of town, and we met Patsy Grimaldi. It was one of those quintessential New York experiences, and probably the best pizza I'd ever had.
