Victoria G Interviews Rong Deng

Victoria G: What inspired you to become a game designer?

Rong Deng: I like making games! Especially engaging and thought-provoking games. There are tons of great stories we have in books and films. Why don't we create some in games!? And I feel games are like movies. They can be pieces of art and motivate others in an interactive way.

VG: Who are some game designers that inspire you?

RD: Shu Takumi, I'm a big fan of the Ace Attorney series. The very first one is my favorite. Frank Sahwit's wig and Wendy oldbag's performance are the most impressive parts for me. Each character and story beat are so well-crafted. Suspense, twist, and turns followed tightly with each other. Hidemaro Fujibayashi, Breath of The Wild is my favorite action game. Every detail is well-designed. I can see the effort behind this wonderful game. As he mentioned GDC 17, a lot of effort was made in BTW to break the convention make it from a passive game to an active game.

VG: What is your favorite thing about designing games?

RD: I like the process of achieving the experience goal: starting with the hypothesis, making prototypes, then playtesting and going back to iterating. Looking at players' comments after playing the game gives me a strong sense of accomplishment!

VG: What was the first game you worked on?

RD: My first game was The Mummy 3 back in 2008 in Gameloft. It's a mobile game for feature phones. I still remember I was in charge of the Sony Ericsson K500 with a 128x160 pixel screen.

VG: What is your favorite project you have ever done?

RD: There You Are is my favorite project. Start with an idea and make it happen to be an experience. Read player's comments and feel so happy about it.

VG: What are some qualities you look for in a project?

RD: I like engaging and thought-provoking games, so those two are the qualities that I'm looking for.

VG: What is it like working for Naughty Dog?

RD: I think it's one of the best places to work. Everybody is so talented, smart, kind, and gentle. You can feel their strong passion for games in everyday communication!!

VG: There You Are, a short film you co-wrote and produced, is an official selection for the 2021 Oscar-Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival. How did your short film get selected and how does it feel?

RD: Thanks to my director Rui Huang. She is the best! We are so happy that TYA can be selected by HollyShorts!! We only have limited teammates and limited time working on this during COVID. We didn't know how far we could go. Thanks, HollyShorts to give us this opportunity!

VG: There You Are was a game before it became a short film. How did the concept of making your game a short film as well come about?

RD: The game and the animation actually started at the same time. We decided to use the same story to play with different storytelling methods.

VG: What was the inspiration behind There You Are?

RD: There You Are is a thesis project for my MFA degree. At the end of 2019, Rui and I got the idea that we could create a story and make it a game for my thesis and animation for her thesis. We always want to create engaging and thought-provoking stories. We decided to talk about unresolved grief. Because in life, the loss of loved ones is inevitable. Those who can remember our first encounter with death know that childhood experiences can be frightening and lonely. If handled with warmth, understanding, and caring, our early experience with death can be an opportunity to learn about living and dying. We wanted to create a gift for young people. We got inspiration from two of our friends' experiences. One lost her father when she was very young, and another lost her mother in her elementary school years. Rui witnessed how her childhood bereavement changed her mentally and behaviorally. So we wanted to do something for them.

VG: How would you describe yourself in three words?

RD: Dreamer, hard-working, and childish

VG: What are your social media handles?

RD: Twitter: @rongdengdesign

VG: Where do you see yourself in ten years?

RD: Make more games!! I love this industry and think it is the best for me long term! I hope to finish at least three indie game titles and some AAA games to contribute to the game industry.

VG: What are three qualities every game designer should have?

RD: Passion, fast-learner, and team-player

VG: Do you have any advice for an aspiring game designer?

RD: Have a skill in the art, coding, writing or music, etc that could express your idea. Play more games and have insights into them and love life.

VG: What's next for you?

RD: We're working on polish There You Are and another VR experience we made before. And working hard to be a more professional game designer. :D

VG: RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS What's your favorite film genre?

RD: Comedy!!

VG: What's your favorite movie?

RD: The Apartment by Billy Wilder.

VG: What is your favorite pastime?

RD: Studying at USC.

VG: Who's your favorite superhero?

RD: Xuanzang, he's a Chinese monk who made a 17-year journey to bring Buddhist teachings from India to China.

VG: What's your favorite candy?

RD: M&M's

VG: What is your biggest fear?

RD: Cannot marry my loved one.

VG: Do you have any pets?

RD: Not yet, but I really want to have a dog or a cat!

VG: What did you do while in quarantine?

RD: Making There You Are with Rui Huang.