Lee Kee Chong
Game Designer
OTHERS
How it all started
I guess the word that most developer talks about, and true to, is passion. Since young, i've been exposed to playing alot of games, because of my father. He taught me how to play different chess games, used match sticks to give me fun problems (pick up 2 sticks and put them back to increase the number of triangles by 1).
From going to my grandmother's place to play Civilization on my cousin's computer before even knowing how to read, to playing different gameboy games, to having both Tamagotchi and Digimon, playing my first owned console game (Tekken 2) on my playstation, to grinding 300 bosses on Diablo II daily, to guarding maplestory map and intense levelling, to the competitive warcraft III, starcraft, and LoL player. I've been gaming all my life.
Choosing Game Design as my career
I went to an engineering course for my diploma knowing my strength is in math and physics. And I haven't even decide on what I want to do for the future. Then I came upon watching a documentory saying that the sole purpose in everyone's life is to make this world a better place, and there are 2 kinds of people who make the greatest impact in this world - the politicians and the entertainment industry. The gaming industry is the largest entertainment industry, and I am better at gaming than I am at math and physics.
Developing games, now and beyond
Apart from that, I've also had some side projects that includes UI design and app development under RHS and Inno4. I enjoy the design process and app development, and it is generally easier. Some of my friends from DigiPen eventually got into government jobs that do app development, and they are paid generously. I understand that I can go into other more stable career path, but I know it is not what I truly want.
I'll end with a famous quote from Steve Jobs. "Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it."