Back to where it started

Back in 1998, my friend Rick Hou and I started making board games under the name “Walking Ideas.” We were young, brave, and naive. I spent one summer working the circular saws and sanding game pieces by hand, then took our games to a street fair to play with kids and parents. A math teacher bought three sets for her class. A young working couple, who turned out to be avid chess players, picked one up. And a grandmother bought two for her grandkids, who wouldn’t stop hogging our demo table.

That’s when I knew making games would always be part of my life.

In 2005, we turned one of our board games, Oshiro, into an online game. It won the grand prize in the GameTrust Evolution Challenge and was published on shockwave.com. It was the first time I got paid to make a video game. Later, I worked on an unannounced MMORPG at Gazillion Entertainment. I also partnered with my college friend Tommy Wu (who crushed me 20 to −2 in Quake the day we met in the dorms), and together we co-founded a couple of VC-backed companies in social games and interactive narrative. In between, I worked at several healthcare tech startups, but I always hoped to come back to games one day.

Last year, my mom passed away from cancer after a long battle. As an immigrant mother, she worked tirelessly to raise my brother and me, and I don’t think she ever gave herself permission to pursue what she loved. “I just want to take care of you and your brother,” she always said. After she passed, I began thinking seriously about what I’m doing with the life and time she gave me, and I realized I shouldn’t put off my passion projects any longer.

So here I am, returning to where it all started. I’m working on a few ideas I’ve long felt strongly about: using games as a way to tell stories and create meaningful, thoughtful experiences for players.

I hope you’ll enjoy what I make on the journey ahead.