This Young Designer Recently Graduated From Game Design School And Caught Our Eye

Every year, Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) hosts an event that gives students and game developers a chance to meet. The event is called Fusion, and graduating students from the School of Interactive and Digital Media (SIDM) are encouraged to attend and showcase their work. Meanwhile, potential hirers from companies like LucasFilm and Ubisoft attend to scope out the talent.

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I recently interviewed Zack Lim, a recent graduate of NYP and a student who showcased his work at Fusion 2014. While Zack has made countless games that span across platforms, the one that he showed off at Fusion 2014 caught my eye.

 

Spectrum is an iOS game that features fast-paced running, jumping, and shooting. While it resembles games like Bit.Trip Runner, it adds a unique element to the gameplay—the ability to change camera locations, essentially turning the 2D world into a 3D world. It gives a new dimension (literally) to the classic runner-style games, and shows off Zack’s talent.

 

 

What is your major and how long have you been with Nanyang Polytechnic?

 

Zack Lim, Spectrum creator: I started studying for the Diploma in Digital Entertainment Technology (Games) (Recently renamed to the Diploma in Game Development and Technology) in 2011, and finished the last semester of the 3-year course in late-February earlier this year.

 

Could you explain how Fusion works?

 

Fusion is an annual 3-day event where graduating students from the School of Interactive and Digital Media (SIDM) in NYP come together to showcase the works they have done throughout the years of their Polytechnic studies. Apart from the public, alumni and professionals from the industry (Ubisoft, LucasFilm, etc.) are also invited to the event as potential employers and/or to give talks.

 

 

What gave you the idea for Spectrum and what other games have you made?

 

The idea for the game started off with the branding of the Fusion event by students from the Diploma in Motion Graphics and Broadcast Design, from which the students from the Diploma in Animation used to create an animation. In order to tie everything of the event together, the game idea was also based off the animation clip (also used as the prologue and epilogue video for the game itself) and the keywords of the branding (Maze, spectrum, prism and light).

 

Some of my other notable works include:

 

1. Ripple, a 2D physics-puzzle game for the 3DS, using water ripples as the core game mechanic, done as a collaboration project between students from NYP and Trident College of IT from Japan during my overseas attachment there.

 

2. Glrow-worm, a 2D Tron/Snake game for the PS3 that supports up to 4 players done as part of the Multi-core Programming module.

 

3. Phantasm, a 3D stealth game for the PC made using the Ogre engine as part of the Programming with Game Engine module.

 

4. Burnout, a 2D RTS/TD game for the PC about global warming and forest fires where you have to harvest energy and build turrets to extinguish the flames for Studio Project 3.

 

You may also view the full list of the works I have done at my gallery.

 

Spectrum is currently available on iOS.

If you are a student with a video game project that you would like to be featured on Siliconera get in touch with us! You can reach the team by e-mailing studentprojects [at] siliconera.com. We look forward to seeing creative games from new developers.

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