Interview with Recreate Games for Party Animals

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Recreate Games

Recreate Games is the creative force behind Party Animals, aiming to innovate in the realm of immersive next-gen entertainment. Zixiong Luo, an experienced producer, leads the charge in bringing these cutting-edge gaming experiences to life.

1Please provide us with a brief bio of yourself and your background.

Zixiong Luo: I am Zixiong Luo, the producer of Party Animals. Although I was involved in game production for a period in 2005, I later ventured into various other industries, including film special effects, UI design, and even running a game merchandise trading company.

In 2016, my friends and I founded the company we have today.

Recreate Games: Recreate games, a subsidiary of Source Technology, aims to develop cutting-edge immersive entertainment experiences.

Adopting a philosophy of working in compact teams, we're convinced that a small group can unleash significant creative potential. We hold the conviction that the quality of a product is not a function of the size of its team but rather of its members' skill, passion, and innovative concepts.

2What led you to become a Game Developer / Marketer?
Zixiong Luo: As a lead in a small company, one might find themselves needing to wear many hats. This is a common experience for the founders of many small companies as well.
3What is your role in the company, and what traits should a game developer / marketing professional possess to be successful in their role?
Zixiong Luo: As the company's leader, my responsibilities extend to designing products, crafting marketing strategies, managing human resources, and overseeing financial operations.
4Tell us more about your studio / company.

Zixiong Luo: We founded our company in 2016. Initially, we were a VR software development company. If you have an Oculus VR headset, you might have heard of SKYBOX VR PLAYER - that's our product. Even today, SKYBOX is still one of the best-selling VR software on the Oculus platform.

Recreate Games Team: In 2018, we decided to start creating our first game, which is now known as Party Animals.

5What is your own definition of a great game?
Recreate Games Team: Our definition of all outstanding products is similar: they meet the needs of specific people in certain situations or with particular requirements. In those specific circumstances, this product is the best among many. That's what makes a product outstanding.
6Describe the genres of the game(s) your studio / company specializes in, as well as its main characteristics.
Recreate Games Team: We excel in community games like Party Animals. One characteristic of such games is that playing with people you know can make it even more enjoyable!
7Tell us more about your ideation process.

Recreate Games Team: The project was conceived to tackle the challenge the producer and his wife encountered while selecting games to play together. They explored numerous games, each presenting its unique set of problems, which made it challenging for them to agree on and enjoy a game collectively.

Consequently, the producer itemized the characteristics, advantages, and disadvantages of these games, aiming to resolve these issues.

8Congratulations! As the winner of the NYX Game Awards, what does it mean for you and your team to receive this distinction?
Recreate Games Team: For a team creating their first game, we are thrilled to receive the recognition and awards!
9What are the challenges of developing / marketing your winning entry(ies)?
Recreate Games Team: The pressure can be immense because we released a demo in 2020, which was just an early prototype. It took us three years to refine this prototype and add a substantial amount of content. However, for some players, they might not want to wait that long, and dealing with this pressure, along with the expectations of players, can be quite challenging.
10What are the current trends in the game industry that you are most excited about?
Recreate Games Team: In recent years, we've seen a growing trend on platforms like Steam where games developed by small or even individual teams sometimes achieve better sales than those produced by large AAA game companies.
11What resources would you recommend to someone who is searching to improve their game designs and development ideas / skills?
Zixiong Luo: I've watched a lot of videos, such as GDC or GMTK, but what has had the most significant impact on me is still watching a vast number of movies, playing games, and reading books. Just like writing skills, everyone's writing ability is essentially directly related to the amount of reading they do.
12Where do you see the evolution of the gaming industry in the next 5-10 years?
Recreate Games Team: Gameplay is becoming increasingly complex. It's challenging to define a specific gameplay unique to one game; instead, a single game may incorporate gameplay elements from multiple previous games.

Additionally, due to the maturity of development tools like Unreal and Unity, creators can focus more on game development rather than building game engines. It's like not having to invent paper, create ink, and craft a pen from scratch when you want to write a book.

13Who inspired you in your life, and why?

Recreate Games Team: We're inspired by one another, our own family, our pets, movies, games and of course, life around us!

Zixiong Luo: I really like the first part of Steve Jobs' June 2005 speech at Stanford University: "The first story is about connecting the dots." The experiences in my life, whether intentional or not, have shaped who I am today, and it's this "me" that has created my current work. It's a collection of all my experiences.

14What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?
Recreate Games Team: Our success is attributed to a combination of diligent work, thoughtful self-reflection, and a significant element of luck. Embracing opportunities as they arise and learning from each experience are crucial for their growth and achievement.

Winning Entry

Party Animals | 2023

party-animals-recreate-games
Party Animals is a physics based, family and friends oriented party/action game. All our characters are cute little animals. We envision Party Animals to be the …
(Read more at NYX Game Awards)

Recreate Games

Recreate Games is the creative force behind Party Animals, aiming to innovate in the realm of immersive next-gen entertainment. Zixiong Luo, an experienced producer, leads the charge in bringing these cutting-edge gaming experiences to life.

Read more about this interview with Simone Odoardi from Sweden, the Gold Winner of the 2023 NYX Game Awards.

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