It’s no secret that Directive Games, Civitas development team, is proud of its Icelandic heritage and has its largest office in Reykjavik. But did you know that the original Directive Games was a Shanghai-based company that still exists today? Our Shanghai office is the second largest division, and many of its members have seen this company forming from the ground up.
Meet Wang Shihai, Senior Gameplay Programmer of Civitas and a true OG of Directive Games!
— Giorgio “Error 404” Crosali
Hello Shihai! Can you briefly tell our community about yourself and your role on Civitas?
Hi hi, I’m a senior gameplay programmer, and on Civitas, the goal is to present a fun game client, from user interface, to hooking up fancy animations, and whole game logic.
I studied communication science in university, but I’m always more interested in software. And because of an unexpected opportunity, I joined the game industry in 2008.(But hey, who doesn’t like playing video games?) Two years later, I met a bunch of interesting guys in CCP Games, and we’ve been friends from there to Directive Games since then, and it’s been more than a decade now. (Wow, that’s quick)
Like many people at Directive Games, you spent a large chunk of your career at CCP Games. How did it feel to move from a large corporate environment to [what was back then] a small startup?
I must say that I’m more fond of a smaller startup, because first of all we can do things more efficiently. And colleague relations are closer, and it’s much easier to talk to whoever you want to talk to, and probably another half a dozen reasons
But of course, a big corporation has its advantages. There are rules to manage the projects and the corporation, rules that make everything in its order. And luck for us, what we have learnt from CCP is definitely a treasure. It’s now helping us organize the project clearly, and because we are not that big, we can get rid of some restrictions, keep the essence and make it more efficient.
What’s the thing you like the most about working on Civitas?
The core gameplay of Civitas itself is to build and develop, to trade and evolve. There’s a lot of fun work in that already, but that’s not just it. Being a community driven game, Civitas can become something brand new, something different than any game we have. It’s so exciting just to think about that, and I would expect to witness the growth of Civitas, and be part of the developer team.
What’s your take on web3 gaming? What will make it mainstream?
Web3 gaming is really hot these days. However, web3 gaming is still at its early stage, and it has its barrier for people to dive in, and the brand new concept would of course bring lots of skeptical people.
But I think the main thing here is, there is not a fun enough web3 game yet for everyone to have a reason to at least give it a try. A game with great quality is a must to make it popular, so a great quality web3 game is the first thing we need to make web3 gaming mainstream.
Lastly, what are your favorite games and why?
I really like Assassin’s Creed. The scenes are beautiful and spectacular, and the actions are smooth and powerful. Not to mention the stories always make me feel like reading a good novel.
Besides, Football Manager is also a game I love. It always is so satisfying to build my own team and win some titles. And there is nothing better than cultivating a young player and making him a superstar.
When I’m with friends, Pro Evolution Soccer is our first choice for all the fun it brings.
Want to know more about the Civitas team? Check our previous Meet the Team issues on our publication page: https://medium.com/playcivitas/tagged/meet-the-team
