[RR Interview] A Game Nerd in a Game Company
Hyunwook Nam — What does it take to be a game nerd?
Q. Could you please introduce yourself briefly?
My name is Hyunwook Nam, and I work as a software engineer in Reality Reflection.
Q. That is a very brief and to-the-point introduction of yourself. Are you aware that you are a game nerd between your co-workers? I must ask, what does it take for people in the game industry to call you a game nerd?
Well, I encountered ‘game’ when I was in 1st grade. I started with a flash game.
Q. OMG Is this Pikachu Volleyball?
I was 7 when my older brother brought a tool called “RPG Maker.” It was nothing too complicated or fancy like the tools that we use now. I did not know much, but I could work it out a little bit, using stuff that was already there. I enjoyed it.
“I remember using it all through my elementary school.”
Q. So you started developing game since you were 7? You are like…born to be! So when did you really start programming?
When I turned 5th or 6th grade, I realized that I need something else than the RPG tool to make the game in my head.The games that are developed with RPG tools need the rotation to fight; the characters take turns to hit another in the battle. I wanted the characters to fight simultaneously, but the RPG tool did not support such.
I tried other tools, but it did not work as I wanted. Well, then I learned that I need to learn something called C language and use programming to create the type of the game I wanted. So I tried to learn to program when I was 6th grade; it had something like ‘if door’ and ‘for door,’ but I had no idea what those mean. I almost gave up on it; then I had a friend who was taking a programming class. Knowing someone in my age doing it, really motivated me. I ended up starting to understand those when I was in middle school.
Q. So you learned to program to develop a game? Aren’t they different? Programming definitely sounds complicated. Wasn’t it boring?
Well, I am a math person. When it comes to math, you find an answer to a specific question.
“For programming, it is like solving a problem and finding a solution that applies to all the related problem set.”
I found this much more attractive. As long as I find an answer to one question, I can solve all the other ones that are similar or related to it.
Q. So I am talking to a gifted, am I not? I heard that you chose to go to programming academy instead of college. I mean you can learn to program in college as well. Is there a reason why you chose the academy?
I started learning to program because I wanted to make a game. To do so, I need to learn game engineering. In college, you do not get to learn engineering; you just learn the basic theories about it. By the way, I do love those theories.
However, what I would like to do for life, and what I would like to do for a hobby are different. I can learn those theories by myself.
Q. I respect that! I mean I do! It must be a huge decision to make. Moreover, Facebook and Apple prove that college is not always the best answer (wink). So what was the best part of the academy?
“I liked how I met the variety of people in the academy.”
I can bet my life that the diversity of the people in my academy were much bigger than that in a college. I mean there are some odd or unique (laugh) people. For example, a good friend of mine majored Oriental Painting at Seoul National University. You get to learn a lot by talking to these people. I enjoyed doing projects with artists or former artists there.
Q. Did you get to make games in the class?
Yes, there were projects like that. I liked our teammates. We were all from such a different field: philosophy, literature and all. We all had different views, but we enjoyed mediating our opinions. I still meet up with them.
Q. I see! Well, you have been developing games since. Now I am curious about your future game plan. What kind of game do you want to develop?
There are some inspirations and motivations I find around me. I would like to use the core value of those and make an entertaining game using them.
“What I would like to do right now is making a very exciting game: a good game.”
I think it always stays the same: a better and finer game. (laugh)
Well, I cannot wait to see the better and finer game! I will look forward to that! (wink)
(laugh) Hope I can come back with it! :)
