Today we’d like to introduce you to Albert Liang.
Hi Albert, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Creativity, Design & Play
My name is Albert Liang (You Liang). Creativity, Design, and Play have been my passions since I was a kid in China, from a childish watercolor painting that was deliberately destroyed and named “a failed work” to now using gameplay mechanics, music, art, and storytelling to create interesting experiences for players.
My passion for these three subjects prompted me to choose to study architecture for my undergraduate degree, and I also actively tried various design jobs after graduation to explore the possibility of design and creativity. From designing large-scale conferences, exhibitions, and music festivals in China for Slush, a Nordic start-up tech conference brand with a music festival atmosphere as a design and production director, to product design of an AI data processing product at a tech start-up, to independent game studio as a game designer.
Although the design fields I am involved in are quite different, it is interesting that they all have some common theoretical methods and practical tools. This cross-border attempt allows me to switch perspectives more flexibly when I am doing creative work.
In addition to my role as a designer, I have been a gamer since childhood. The cheap game consoles at home and the time playing games with friends in arcade halls on the street are one of the happiest memories of my childhood. During the pandemic, many games have brought positive emotional healing and kept people social at a time when healthy social distancing is required. So I embarked on a new adventure and applied for graduate studies in the game design program at the prestigious USC School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles. Here I learned systematic game design and production methods and met many talented classmates and great professors. In my graduation project, I tried to explore a new possibility of combining music, gameplay mechanism, and storytelling, and as a director with an excellent team, we completed an independent game named Crab Rhapsody (www.crabrhapsody.com).
Now that I am about to graduate from USC as a graduate student in the game design and development realm, this is the end of a chapter of the story in my life and the beginning of another journey. I hope that in the future, as a game designer, I can bring more memorable interactive game experiences to players all over the world so that people can be connected through play and happiness.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a game designer requires mastering many different disciplines such as design, programming, art, storytelling, music, project management, etc. As a design and art background, in order to quickly make game prototypes, I encourage myself to learn to program and make game prototypes by myself and then bring players a better experience through iteration. This process is challenging but also full of fun.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a game designer and developer, creating impressive interactive experiences and stories for global players.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
Risks often come with opportunities, and the world is uncertain and dynamic. I am a person who actively challenges, so the risk is always a topic that cannot be avoided. The only thing we can do is to actively prepare ourselves, predict risks or wait for risks to minimize their adverse effects when they come. This is also the fun of challenges. Like gamers, challenges and risks make the game experience richer and more impressive.
Pricing:
- The Crab Rhapsody game is free to download on Steam soon.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.crabrhapsody.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crabrhapsodygames/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/albert-u-liang/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlbertULiang
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@CrabRhapsody
- Other: https://discord.gg/KfafzXATET
Image Credits
Albert Liang
