Behind the Scenes: Meet the Product Team Behind NEXUS World, Buddy Arena, and Affyn’s other Innovations
How do you develop a technology that has no predecessor? Such is the gargantuan task facing the product team at Affyn. They must not only build individual games like other developers, but they must also situate them in a sprawling metaverse.
While there have been many metaverses before, none is arguably as ambitious as Affyn’s NEXUS World. The Nexus World will target an audience that has gone unserved by previous metaverses, aim to have the strongest online-to-offline connection, and build a sustainable economy that has long eluded the industry.
Tackling these challenges head-on are Games Director Calvin Tee, Product Manager Surya Jaya, and Technical Lead Hejun Wong. We spoke to them about what it’s like to work on Affyn’s pioneering product team and build innovations like Buddy Arena and the NEXUS World.
Q: What are the overall strengths of Affyn’s culture?
Calvin: It’s friendly, vibrant and professional. Despite having separate departments, the company is very close-knit and interwoven. I really like our company’s signature work motto: “As long as the work gets done.” Everyone has individual ideal preferences in work settings in which they’re most productive, and the fact Affyn allows us that choice knowing we can trust and respect each other to deliver, is a big contributor to the successes we’ve had.
Hejun: The strengths of Affyn lies in the people. We recruit our talents based on their skill sets instead of past academic qualifications. Diverse views and feedback are welcomed and discussions are done in a respectful and objective manner. We conduct monthly retrospectives to inspect and adapt our technology, processes, and people matters to ensure that we are continuously progressing in the right direction. This fosters a healthy and safe environment and we are determined to make this stay.
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Q: How has the working culture changed as Affyn has refocused on its product development over the last few weeks?
Calvin: We’ve reverted back to something a bit similar to how the company was in its earlier days. Things have become a lot more compact and concentrated. Overall, there have been losses and gains in the work process, one of them being individual voices are a lot more heard now.
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Q: Would it be possible to give broad hints about what is to come for Affyn’s product roadmap?
Hejun: We are bringing in more Web 3.0 elements in the near future and you can expect to see tighter integration between our product offerings and our partners.
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Q: What excites you about Affyn’s upcoming product roadmap?
Surya: When I know the product has a clear impact, solves real-world problems, and is innovative, then there’s no reason for me to not be excited, and I believe our upcoming products meet the three attributes I mentioned. We develop actual problem-solving and innovative products, not just Web 3.0 jargon.
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Q: Why do you find your work on designing Affyn’s product personally meaningful?
Calvin: It’s the opportunity to be a part of making something of meaning — something not just for financial benefit or fame, but something that really tries to take a step in the direction of improving people’s lives in one form or another.
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Q: How will Affyn’s NEXUS World provide value to users in ways that other metaverses do not currently?
Surya: Many of the current metaverses focus on building a really great digital space, which is great, but neglect the fact that people still need to live their life in the physical world. NEXUS World will not only focus on building an awesome metaverse experience, but at the same time benefit their life in the physical world, and vice versa. We don’t want people to neglect their life in the real world just because they spend too much time in the metaverse. We want to build a metaverse that still encourages people to do real world activities.
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Why should Affynians continue to remain proud to be part of the Affyn commmunity?
Hejun: A good story always has its ups and downs. We celebrate our successes and learn from our failures. These strengthen our resolve to do better and be better each time we move forward and we hope you will continue to be part of our story.
Surya: I cannot tell why you should be proud of Affyn, but I can tell you why I’m proud of Affyn. We’re not just building for the sake of making money, but we want to improve people’s lives through technology. With a clear direction for the future, I know a great product will come out at the end of the tunnel, and when that time comes you can decide whether you will join me as a proud Affynian or not (I believe you will!).
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Q: Can you share your perspective on why the NEXUS World will also be ideal for brands?
Calvin: Collaborating with brands is an integral part of the metaversal ecosystem we’ve defined. Without going too deep into detail, the NEXUS World brings to the table a much more intimate way for users to discover new brands and for brands to reach new audiences, becoming a bridge that connects people of different needs and solutions together seamlessly.
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That concludes our Behind the Scenes interview with Games Director Calvin Tee, Product Manager Surya Jaya, and Technical Lead Hejun Wong. To follow the team’s progress in building the NEXUS World and games like Buddy Arena, join our Discord community here.
Affyn is building a blockchain-powered Multiverse of interoperable games and metaverses. Together with a global community of co-creators, we are forging a sustainable economy converging the virtual and real worlds. Affyn is based in Singapore.
