Chun Wah Kong
Chun Wah Kong | |
|---|---|
| Add a Photo | |
| Born | Hong Kong |
| Occupation | Video game designer |
| Years active | 1993—present |
| Known for | Plok!, Tin Star, Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, The Getaway (video game), Millie & Molly |
Chun Wah Kong (born August 1974 in Hong Kong) is a British video game designer, best known for designing Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage and The Getaway (video game).
Career
A film student and an Amusement arcade diehard, Kong took a job as a video game tester during his gap year in 1993.[1][2]
Kong cited the turning point for his career change was when Software Creations director, Richard Kay, reassigned him to design duties. His first design assignment was Marvel's Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, a game considered one of the best comic book-to-game adaptations in history.[3][4]
Further titles followed, including Cutthroat Island (video game), and Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety.[1] Kong parted company with Software Creations during the production of Spiral Saga for Sony Interactive Entertainment, a launch title on the PlayStation (console) that was ultimately cancelled.[5]
In 1997 he joined Psygnosis to work on Lander (video game) in his first role as lead designer. It is "The first game to be [exclusively] written for the PC DVD-ROM".[6] It features cutting-edge MPEG-2 full-motion video, Dolby Digital and 5.1 channel audio[7] to create a true theatrical experience. The tech advances of Lander (video game) made it a popular game sold bundled with DVD Drives, and graphics and sound cards.
“It was a time when some companies finally started believing in the need for designers”. Kong was quoted during his time at Psygnosis, “I don’t believe in the concept of design by committee – what you end up getting there is a soulless by-product of committee thinking, a mess that is neither here nor there”.[1]
In February 1999, he was transferred to Team Soho Computer Entertainment Europe after its acquisition of Psygnosis where he played a key role in conceiving and developing The Getaway (video game), which became one of the PlayStation 2's most iconic titles.[8] Known for its recreation of Central London with accuracy unheard of in video games with pioneering Motion capture | mocap cinematic techniques.[9] Kong went on to establish The Getaway (video game) franchise with The Getaway: Black Monday and Gangs of London (video game).
Kong also experimented with a Getaway Online multiplayer game concept. Although the project never came to fruition, it became the basis for the 3D social gaming platform PlayStation Home on the Playstation 3.
After he departed from Sony Interactive Entertainment Europe in 2005, he founded Skoobie Games to focus on family-friendly titles in the mobile games market, a shift from the stylised violence, arcade action games he is known for.[10]. Two original games were released between 2008 and 2018. "Blue Eden"[11] brought awareness to ocean conservation, and "#XOXO"[12] was a social game where players hugged and kissed their friends.
Kong was unveiled as one of Walter Day’s Superstars of 2018. The Trading Card[13] Awards Ceremony was held at the Arcade Expo 4.0 in Banning, California, on March 17, 2018.[14] The Guinness World Records | Guiness certified "Father of eSports" and Kong were both featured in the 2014 feature length documentary The King of Arcades, directed by Sean Tiedeman. Kong’s favourite arcade game is Kung-Fu Master (video game)|Kung-Fu Master.[15] In an interview with Playstation 2 Max Magazine,[16] Kong expressed the influences of arcade action games on his designs and career. His industry hero is Yu Suzuki.[17]
In 2020, Kong reunited with former Software Creations colleague Carleton Handley to create Millie & Molly[18] on the Commodore 64 which won Retro Video Gamer’s Game of the Year.[19]
Works
| Year | Title | Role(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Equinox (Solstice 2) | Game tester |
| Plok | Game tester | |
| Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | Game tester | |
| Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge | Game tester | |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Roar of the Beast | Game tester | |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest | Game tester | |
| 1994 | Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball | Game tester |
| Tin Star[20] | Game tester | |
| Barbie Vacation Adventure | Game tester | |
| Moto-X | Game tester | |
| The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk | Game tester | |
| Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage | Game logic | |
| 1995 | Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety | Game logic |
| Cutthroat Island | Gameplay programmer | |
| Mortal Kombat 3 | Quality assurance | |
| 1996 | Spiral Saga (cancelled)[5] | Level design |
| 1999 | Lander | Designer |
| 2002 | The Getaway | Lead designer |
| 2004 | The Getaway: Black Monday | Lead designer, Writer |
| 2010 | Spirit[21] | Special thanks |
| 2014 | Blue Eden[11] | Lead designer |
| 2017 | #XOXO[12] | Lead designer, Artist |
| 2020 | Millie & Molly[18] | Puzzle designer |
Award nominations
For The Getaway (video game)|The Getaway, Kong received a nomination for Excellence in Level Design at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2003.[22]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jones, Darran (July 2004). "Retrospective: Chun Wah Kong". GamesTM. No. 21. pp. 154–155. ISSN 1478-5889.
- ↑ "Do the computer knowledge". UK Life. No. 2.2. Autumn 2004. pp. 46–47. OCLC 56802045.
- ↑ Farrell, Blair. "Chun Wah Kong, level designer on Spider-Man/ Venom: Maximum Carnage". Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ↑ Weiss, Brett. The SNES omnibus N-Z. Vol. 2. p. 198. ISBN 9780764357251.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Yarwood, Jack. "The Tale Of Spiral Saga, The Lost PlayStation 1 Exclusive". Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ↑ "Beta Look: Lander". Total Control. No. 5. March 1999. pp. 56–57. OCLC 877526942.
- ↑ "A chronology of Dolby Laboratories 1990 to Present" (PDF). Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ↑ Murphy, Dennis (December 2018). "The Making of The Getaway". Retro Gamer. No. 187. pp. 84–89. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ England, Jason. "The Getaway - PS2 Second Wind Review". Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ↑ "Games Under Attack". Develop. No. 11. October 2001. pp. 22–23. ISSN 1365-7240.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Boykin, Josh (2014-04-07). "Review Blue Eden (iOS)". Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "#XOXO Social Sim Launches With Hope To Drive Positive Interaction". 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ Friedman, Todd (2019-10-16). "The Walter Dar Trading Cards Collection". Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ Kong, Chun Wah (2018-04-04). "Instagram". Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ "pixelperfect". EDGE. No. 91. December 2000. p. 154. ISSN 1350-1593.
- ↑ Weaver, Tim (January 2003). "The Getaway". Playstation 2 Max. No. 1. p. 13. ISSN 1479-0777.
- ↑ "FAQ Chun Wah Kong". EDGE. No. 118. Christmas 2002. p. 112. ISSN 1350-1593.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Millie & Mollie & Mobile". Retro Gamer. No. 214. November 2020. p. 8. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ Zapiy. "RVG GOTY 2020 Winners Announced". Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ↑ Szczepaniak, John (March 2022). "The Making of Tin Star". Retro Gamer. No. 231. p. 48. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ "Spirit HD for Android". 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ "3rd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards". Game Developers Choice Awards. 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
External links
This article "Chun Wah Kong" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.