Today we’d like to introduce you to Dong Zhou.
Hi Dong, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
When I was 12 years old, I was attracted to games. But instead of playing games, I am more curious about game-making. I learned and used a beginner-friendly engine to create my first game in primary school. When my classmates played my game and had fun with it, I knew I should continue. But at that time, I thought only playfulness was vital to the game. Things changed after I went to New York University for my MFA degree. Gradually I learned that focusing on gameplay is only a part of the game. As a media, game can also serve as a tool to express your feelings and thoughts, like books, paintings, or art installations. It can also create a very different experience which a film cannot fully provide. From then, I focused more on exploring the possibilities of the game. After graduation, I decided to run my own game studio Optillusion Games. We are more like a studio between the game and the art, aiming to create some experimental games and push the boundaries of the game.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Taking your first step is never easy. When I decided to run my own studio with my partner Yijia just after my graduation, we did not have any fundings to develop our games. We could have developed the game as a part-time job, but we decided to devote ourselves to it since I thought only when you burned your bridge, could you concentrate and put all your efforts into your work. It was a painful time until we found a game publisher and got some fundings, but not much. We tightened our belts to live for more than three years, but fortunately, when our game was released, we earned back.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our debut game Moncage is an optical illusion puzzle game. I wanted to tell a story without any words and let players experience the mind of a PTSD veteran. I am proud of the details of our games and I tried to do a perfect combination of game mechanism, game art and game narrative. It is hard but worthful. As a designer, I am eager to explore some bold ideas of games. I always try to make a game in an anti-game approach. For example, when brainstorming some ideas, I always think what a game should not be and what a designer will not do in a game. This always triggers some intriguing thoughts.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
My wife Ziyi Cui is the first that comes to my mind. We went through the hardest time together. Every time I feel disappointed about my game (It always happened when you developed the same game for many years), she encouraged me to never give up. She also went to some game exhibitions with me, helping me set up the exhibit space, introducing our game. My mentor Bennett Foddy also helped me a lot. I got some advice from him and learned a lot from his games, like sometimes making players feel painful is not always a bad thing.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.optillusion.games/
