Jessica Mak

Last updated

Jessica Mak (born 1981/1982) is a Canadian video game developer known for designing the music-themed games Everyday Shooter (2007) and Sound Shapes (2012). In 2021, it was announced that Mak was developing a game with Annapurna Interactive.

Contents

Early life

Mak was born in Toronto, Canada in 1981 or 1982. [1] [2] She developed an interest in games by watching her two older brothers play video games when she was young. [2] She also worked in her father's computer store, and started programming games in 1997 or 1998. [2] [3] According to Polygon , Mak and Dyad developer Shawn McGrath became "minor rivals" while schoolmates, being the only ones at their school who created games. [4] Also interested in writing music and playing the guitar from a young age, Mak later told Gamasutra : "When I was a kid and I wrote my first song, it was super empowering." [2] [5]

Career

Early work and Everyday Shooter

Before she developed her 2007 shooter game Everyday Shooter, Mak independently developed around ten games under her studio Queasy Games. These games included Gate 88, a real-time strategy game, and Bubble Thing, a game she created during the Toronto Game Jam, a game development event; Mak later called her early work "stinky." [2]

Mak developed Everyday Shooter in the span of two years while working a job that would allow her to pay rent. [2] First developed as a puzzle game inspired by Lumines and Every Extend Extra , Mak chose to create a shooter game after experiencing development difficulties. [3] Mak also chose to develop a game that was simpler than her last project, Gate 88, which she felt was a "complicated mess of rules and controls", [6] a decision which ultimately resulted in a game which she described as a music album containing shoot 'em up games rather than songs, with levels which greatly differ "visually, musically, and in terms of gameplay." [2] [7] After Sony Computer Entertainment noticed the game at the Independent Games Festival in 2007, where the game won three awards, Everyday Shooter was made available on the PlayStation 3, distributed through Sony's PlayStation Network games download service. [8] [9]

Wired reported that, for her presentation at the 2008 Game Developers Conference, Mak solely played "catchy music" and dispersed balloons into the audience, rather than speak about game design. [10] [11]

Sound Shapes and future work

Mak was a designer of the 2012 musical platformer game Sound Shapes, published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Vita. Engadget said that the game stood out because of an "unforgettable soundtrack" with contributions from musicians Shaw-Han Liem (also known as I Am Robot and Proud), Jim Guthrie, and Beck. [12] Liem and Mak decided to work on a project together after meeting at one of Liem's shows and found that they enjoyed each other's work. Sound Shapes was the "ninth or tenth" of video game prototypes that the two worked on. [13]

An untitled project being developed by Mak was revealed by video game publisher Annapurna Interactive during its online showcase of projects in 2021. [12] [14] Polygon said the project, like Mak's previous games, drew inspiration from music games including Rez . [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Game Developers Choice Awards</span> Annual award for games and developers

The Game Developers Choice Awards are awards annually presented at the Game Developers Conference for outstanding game developers and games. Introduced in 2001, the Game Developers Choice Awards were preceded by the Spotlight Awards, which were presented from 1997 to 1999. Since then, the ceremony for the Independent Games Festival is held just prior to the Choice Awards ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Epic Games</span> American video game company

Epic Games, Inc. is an American video game and software developer and publisher based in Cary, North Carolina. The company was founded by Tim Sweeney as Potomac Computer Systems in 1991, originally located in his parents' house in Potomac, Maryland. Following its first commercial video game release, ZZT (1991), the company became Epic MegaGames, Inc. in early 1992 and brought on Mark Rein, who has been its vice president since. After moving the headquarters to Cary in 1999, the studio changed its name to Epic Games.

IO Interactive A/S (IOI) is a Danish video game developer based in Copenhagen, best known for creating and developing the Hitman and Kane and Lynch franchises. IO Interactive's most recent game is Hitman 3, which was released in January 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CCP Games</span> Icelandic video game developer

CCP hf., doing business as CCP Games, is an Icelandic video game developer based in Reykjavík. Novator Partners and General Catalyst had previously collectively owned a majority stake in the company, and in September 2018, CCP was acquired by South Korean video game publisher Pearl Abyss for $425 million. CCP Games is best known for developing Eve Online, which was released in 2003 and has since been maintained.

Housemarque Oy is a Finnish video game developer based in Helsinki. The company was founded by Ilari Kuittinen and Harri Tikkanen in July 1995, through the merger of their previous video game companies, Bloodhouse and Terramarque, both of which were founded in 1993 as Finland's first commercial developers. Housemarque is the oldest active developer in Finland and has about 110 employees as of 2023. It was acquired by Sony Interactive Entertainment in June 2021, becoming a part of PlayStation Studios.

<i>Everyday Shooter</i> 2006 video game

Everyday Shooter is a multidirectional shooter developed by Jessica Mak and released for Microsoft Windows in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indie game</span> Class of video game, generally independently published

An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. Because of their independence and freedom to develop, indie games often focus on innovation, experimental gameplay, and taking risks not usually afforded in AAA games. Indie games tend to be sold through digital distribution channels rather than at retail due to a lack of publisher support. The term is analogous to independent music or independent film in those respective mediums.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frictional Games</span> Swedish video game developer

Frictional Games AB is a Swedish independent video game developer based in Malmö, founded in January 2007 by Thomas Grip and Jens Nilsson. The company specialises in the development of survival horror games with very little or no combat gameplay mechanics. It is best known for its games Amnesia: The Dark Descent and Soma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rockstar Dundee</span> British video game developer

Rockstar Dundee Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in Dundee. The studio is best known for developing Crackdown 2.

<i>Sound Shapes</i> 2012 video game

Sound Shapes is a 2012 music platform video game developed by Queasy Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita. It was originally released in 2012 and a port for the PlayStation 4 was released in 2013. The game, designed by Jessica Mak and Shaw-Han Liem, is a side-scrolling platform game with a musical focus. The game also features the ability to create levels and share levels with other users. The Vita version of the game features use of the touch screen and back touch pad to place sounds of different musical instruments during creation of levels. Sound Shapes was shown at industry conference E3 in 2011 and picked up nominations for best of show award from media sites including IGN, 1UP, and Electric Playground. It also received 2 Game Critics Awards, and received three nominations at the 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.

Blendo Games is an American independent video game development company based in Culver City, California. It was founded by Brendon Chung in 2010 and is primarily a one-person effort. Blendo Games gained more widespread exposure with the short form stand alone title Gravity Bone; the following games Flotilla and Atom Zombie Smasher were met with critical praise. The studio has also released several other games in several genres.

THQ Nordic GmbH is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were renamed THQ Nordic in August 2016 after the parent company had acquired the "THQ" trademark in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Microconsole</span> Type of video game console

A microconsole is a home video game console that is typically powered by low-cost computing hardware, making the console lower-priced compared to other home consoles on the market. The majority of microconsoles, with a few exceptions such as the PlayStation TV and OnLive Game System, are Android-based digital media players that are bundled with gamepads and marketed as gaming devices. Such microconsoles can be connected to the television to play video games downloaded from an application store such as Google Play.

<i>Gorogoa</i> 2017 puzzle video game

Gorogoa is a puzzle video game developed by Jason Roberts and published by Annapurna Interactive. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, and iOS on 14 December 2017, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 22 May 2018, and shortly thereafter an Android and Kindle Fire release.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TT Games</span> British holding company

TT Games Limited is a British holding company and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Games. The company was established in 2005 through the merger of developer Traveller's Tales and publisher Giant Interactive. Its other branches include developer TT Fusion, animation studio TT Animation and mobile game studio TT Odyssey. The company is best known for its video games based on the Lego construction toy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Annapurna Interactive</span> Video game publisher

Annapurna Games, LLC is an American video game publisher and developer. The company is a division of Annapurna Pictures, and was founded in 2016. Notable games published by the company include Donut County, Kentucky Route Zero, Outer Wilds, Sayonara Wild Hearts, Wattam, What Remains of Edith Finch, Telling Lies, Neon White and Stray.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Elmaleh</span> American voice actor

Sarah Horn Elmaleh is an American voice actor. She is known for her work in the indie video games Gone Home (2013) and Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (2018) and AAA titles such as Final Fantasy XV (2016), For Honor (2017), and Anthem (2019). Elmaleh became involved with the SAG-AFTRA union after she moved from New York City to Los Angeles in 2015. In 2019, she founded the multilingual, online games conference gamedev.world with game developer Rami Ismail.

<i>Wanderstop</i> Upcoming video game

Wanderstop is an upcoming video game developed by Ivy Road and published by Annapurna Interactive. It is written and directed by Davey Wreden, composed by C418, and created with Karla Zimonja. The game is scheduled for release in 2024 for PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Windows on Steam.

References

  1. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (July 23, 2007). "'Everyday Shooter' Scores Big, Roger Ebert Criticizes Games & More, In 'GameFile'". MTV. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Bell, Erin (October 12, 2007). "Everyday Shooter: One game designer's labour of love". CBC News. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  3. 1 2 Sinclair, Brendan (October 23, 2007). "Q&A: Everyday Shooter creator Jonathan Mak". GameSpot . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ Moss, Richard (May 22, 2017). "Veteran game developers reveal their childhood creations". Polygon . Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  5. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (April 19, 2012). "The 'trial and error' development of Sound Shapes". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on June 8, 2023. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  6. ↑ Wallis, Alistair (October 13, 2006). "Road To The IGF: Queasy Games' Everyday Shooter". Gamasutra . UBM plc. Archived from the original on August 26, 2014. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
  7. ↑ Yoon, Andrew (July 30, 2007). "PS3 Fanboy interviews Everyday Shooter's Jon Mak". Engadget . Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  8. ↑ Bergfel, Carlos (August 9, 2007). "Interview: Everyday Shooter Creator Jonathan Mak". Shacknews . Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  9. ↑ Shamoon, Evan (February 2008). "Garage Game Developer: Our monthly look at the industry's most interesting gigs". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 225. Ziff Davis. p. 33.
  10. ↑ Arendt, Susan (February 25, 2008). "Three Wild Theories About Everyday Shooter Designer's Rant". Wired . Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  11. ↑ Cavalli, Earnest (February 22, 2008). "Balloons, Not Words From Everyday Shooter Creator". Wired . Archived from the original on January 14, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  12. 1 2 Bonifacic, Igor (July 29, 2021). "'Sound Shapes' creator Jessica Mak is making a game with Annapurna Interactive". Engadget . Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  13. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (July 24, 2011). "Interview: Jon Mak On Vita's 'Swiss Army Knife Of Stuff'". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  14. ↑ Mejia, Ozzie (July 29, 2021). "Annapurna Interactive recruits Sound Shapes co-creator for new project". Shacknews . Archived from the original on January 13, 2024. Retrieved January 14, 2024.
  15. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (July 29, 2021). "Annapurna Interactive reveals too many good new projects". Polygon . Archived from the original on February 21, 2022. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.