The Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2022 which took place in San Francisco from 20 - 24 March will always be a memorable experience for Industrial Design undergraduate student, Yong Zhen Zhou to fondly look back on.
His project, Pastry Panic, shortlisted and showcased at GDC under the alternative controller category together with other projects from across the world. Pastry Panic clinched the audience award based on a high number of votes from visitors to the conference.
Describing the experience as "inspiring and eye-opening", participation in the conference helped Zhen Zhou gain first-hand industry exposure. This marked the first time he presented his work to the public while sharing the stage with industry veterans.
The game uses haptic feedback sliders to cut, knead and prepare sufficient dough before time runs out. The dough will be fed to a cat who is the star of the game. Players will earn a higher score depending on the quantity of dough consumed by the cat. Â (In a nutshell, the more dough the cat eats, the more points a player can score!)
Watch the Pastry Panic GDC submission video below:
GDC is the game industry's premier professional event, championing game developers and the advancement of their craft.
Besides forging new connections and gaining a fresh perspective on the strategies other designers used in their projects, Zhen Zhou says a key lesson that attending the conference gave him was the importance of constantly trying new ways of doing things.
Experiencing these changes fosters more clarity on how game development can be further honed.
"Pastry Panic is not perfect, and it is certainly not finished but the process of making it to an exhibitable state allowed me to learn things that I would not have otherwise", he said.
Zhen Zhou's passion for developing games was commended by Assistant Professor Clement Zheng (Division of Industrial Design).
"It is heartening to see our student put his project out there and share the floor with other professionals in the field," Prof Zheng said, adding that he is looking forward to seeing what CDE students will achieve next.
