33. On Being Asian

Staring at Screens.

We are joined by special guests Brian Kwek of Witching Hour Studios and games journalist Cassandra Khaw this week as we discuss how being South-East Asian has influenced our enjoyment, creation, and discussion of games. But before that, a lively discussion of why Remember Me was disappointing, and Cassandra introduces all of us to A Dark Room. Meanwhile Dave gets lost while playing Survivor Z, and Vick quickly disses Ingress. But only because she was playing it in Singapore.

In a small departure from our usual gamut of topics, this week the crew and guests explore broadly how being (South-East) Asian has affected their careers are game writers and developers. Naturally, parental expectations are discussed, as well as these careers being 'outlier professions' in the eyes of Asian society, issues of creative and technical competency in the region, and the struggles of independent game developers in Asia.

Definitely a topic in which we would like you to join the discussion: do write to us at [e-mail] or tweet us @StaringScreens.

Links:

• Cassandra wrote about Handsome Jack and Angel in Father Knows Best (Unwinnable)
• Witching Hour Studios' latest game Ravenmark: Mercenaries (Yes, Brian and team wrote this, not outsourced to someone from the UK)
• Venus Patrol's Horizon being an alternative E3 (Joystiq)
• And if you haven't played it yet, Candy Box
• If you like indie games, a good resource can be found here.
• We also think you should follow @johnpolson, @CPriestman & @weetim.

Addendum:

• The ARG game that Dave and Vick were playing on their iOS devices a few years ago is Shadow Cities.
• Dave only has about 215 T-Shirts, not 300, including those not from Threadless.