Chun Wah Kong
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| Chun Wah Kong | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 1974 Hong Kong |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| 📆 Years active | 1993—present |
| Known for | Plok!, Tin Star, Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, The Getaway, Millie & Molly |
Chun Wah Kong (born August 1974 in Hong Kong) is a British video game designer, best known for designing Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage and The Getaway[1]. With other notable games in his softography from the golden age of 16-bit console era such as Plok![2], Tin Star[3], Equinox and Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball.[4]
Career[edit]
A film student and an arcade diehard, Kong took a job as a video game tester during his gap year in 1993.[5][6][7]
Kong cited the turning point for his career change was when Software Creations director, Richard Kay, reassigned him to design duties. His first design assignment was Marvel's Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage, a game considered one of the best comic book-to-game adaptations in history.[8][9][10]
Further titles followed, including Cutthroat Island, and Venom/Spider-Man: Separation Anxiety.[6] Kong parted company with Software Creations during the production of Spiral Saga for Sony Europe, a launch title on the Playstation that was ultimately cancelled.[11]
In 1997 he joined Psygnosis to work on Lander in his first role as lead designer. The game was announced at BAFTA as the first Dolby Digital Interactive DVD game,[12][10] utilising MPEG-2 full-motion video, Dolby Digital and 5.1 channel audio, setting a new industry standard. It is also "The first game to be [exclusively] written for the PC DVD-ROM" format.[13] The tech advances of Lander made it a popular game sold bundled with DVD Drives, and graphics and sound cards.
“It was a time when some companies finally started believing in the need for designers”. Kong was quoted during his time at Psygnosis, “I don't believe in the concept of design by committee – what you end up getting there is a soulless by-product of committee thinking, a mess that is neither here nor there”.[6]
In February 1999, he was transferred to Sony Computer Entertainment Europe after its acquisition of Psygnosis where he played a key role in conceiving and developing as the lead creative designer of The Getaway, which became one of the PlayStation 2's most iconic and seminal titles.[1][14][15] The game is known for its authentic recreation of Central London[16] as its backdrop, with real life actors, licensed vehicles and branded outfits. Cutting edge digital scanning and motion capture technologies used to create the cinematic feel of The Getaway broke new grounds and set a new benchmark for the medium.[17] Kong went on to establish The Getaway franchise with The Getaway: Black Monday and The Getaway: Gangs of London.[15]
A TV adaptation of The Getaway: Gangs of London premiered on Sky Atlantic in 2020, shortly followed by the graphic novel Ghosts in 2022.
Kong also experimented with a Getaway Online multiplayer game, a concept which evolved to become the basis for the 3D social gaming platform PlayStation Home on the Playstation 3.[18][15]
After his departure from SCE Europe in 2005, he founded Skoobie Games to focus on self-funded original, family-friendly titles for the mobile games market.[10] Two original games were released between 2008 and 2018. "Blue Eden"[19] brought awareness to ocean conservation, and "#XOXO"[20] was a social game where players exchanged virtual hugs and kisses.
Kong was unveiled as one of Walter Day’s Superstars of 2018. The Trading Card Awards Ceremony was held at the Arcade Expo 4.0 in Banning, California, on March 17, 2018.[5] The Guinness certified "Father of eSports" and Kong were both featured in the 2014 feature length documentary The King of Arcades, directed by Sean Tiedeman. Kong’s favourite arcade games are Kung-Fu Master and Double Dragon.[21][10] In an interview with Playstation 2 Max Magazine,[22] Kong expressed the influences of arcade action games on his designs and career. His industry hero is Yu Suzuki.[23][10]
In 2020, Kong reunited with former Software Creations colleague Carleton Handley to create Millie & Molly[24] on the Commodore 64 which won Retro Video Gamer’s Game of the Year.[25]
Works[edit]
| Year | Title | Format(s) | Publisher(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Equinox (Solstice 2) | SNES | Sony Imagesoft |
| Plok | SNES | Tradewest, Activision | |
| Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | SNES, NES | THQ | |
| Spider-Man and the X-Men in Arcade's Revenge | Sega Genesis, Sega GameGear | LJN, Acclaim Entertainment | |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Roar of the Beast | Sega Genesis | Sunsoft | |
| Disney's Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Quest | Sega Genesis | Sunsoft | |
| 1994 | Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball | SNES | Nintendo |
| Tin Star | SNES | Nintendo | |
| Barbie: Vacation Adventure | SNES | Hi Tech Entertainment | |
| Moto-X[26] | SNES | Trimark Interactive, Piko Interactive | |
| The Simpsons: Bart and the Beanstalk | GameBoy | Acclaim Entertainment | |
| Spider-Man & Venom: Maximum Carnage | SNES, Sega Genesis | LJN, Acclaim Entertainment | |
| 1995 | Spider-Man & Venom: Separation Anxiety | SNES, Sega Genesis, PC-CD | Acclaim Entertainment |
| Cutthroat Island | SNES, Sega Genesis, GameBoy, Sega Game Gear | Acclaim Entertainment | |
| Mortal Kombat 3 | GameBoy | Williams Entertainment | |
| 1996 | Spiral Saga (cancelled)[11] | PlayStation | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 1999 | Lander | PC-DVD, PC-CD | Psygnosis |
| 2002 | The Getaway | PlayStation2 | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2004 | The Getaway: Black Monday | PlayStation2 | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| 2010 | Spirit[27] | iOS, Android | Marco Mazzoli |
| 2014 | Blue Eden[19] | iOS | Skoobie Games |
| 2017 | #XOXO[20] | iOS | Skoobie Games |
| 2020 | Millie & Molly[24] | C64, iOS, Android, Nintendo Switch, Steam, Atari 7800 | Bitmap Soft, Thalamus Digital, AtariAge |
Award nominations[edit]
For The Getaway, Kong received a nomination for Excellence in Level Design at the Game Developers Choice Awards 2003.[28]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Murphy, Dennis (December 2018). "The Making of The Getaway". Retro Gamer. No. 187. pp. 84–89. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ Szczepaniak, John (June 2020). "The Making of Plok!". Retro Gamer. No. 208. p. 54-59. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ Szczepaniak, John (March 2022). "The Making of Tin Star". Retro Gamer. No. 231. p. 48-49. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ Szczepaniak, John. The Untold History of Game Developers. 5. Chun Wah Kong. pp. 304–305. ISBN 979-8391091547. Search this book on
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Day, Walter. "2854 - Chun Wah Kong - Game Designer". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Jones, Darran (July 2004). "Retrospective: Chun Wah Kong" (PDF). GamesTM. No. 21. pp. 154–155. ISSN 1478-5889.
- ↑ "Do the computer knowledge". UK Life. Vol. 2 no. 2. Chun Wah Kong - Lead Designer, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. Autumn 2004. pp. 46–47. OCLC 56802045.
- ↑ Farrell, Blair (16 May 2021). "Chun Wah Kong, level designer on Spider-Man/ Venom: Maximum Carnage". Comic Book Video Games. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ↑ Weiss, Brett (2019). The SNES omnibus N-Z. 2. Spider-Man/ Venom: Maximum Carnage, Insider Insight - Chun Wah Kong. p. 198. ISBN 9780764357251. Search this book on
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Friedman, Todd (2023-10-04). "Trading Card Spotlight - Chun Wah Kong". The Walter Day Collection. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Yarwood, Jack. "The Tale Of Spiral Saga, The Lost PlayStation 1 Exclusive". Time Extension. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ↑ "A chronology of Dolby Laboratories 1990 to Present" (PDF). film-tech.com. Retrieved 8 November 2022.
- ↑ "Beta Look: Lander". Total Control. No. 5. March 1999. pp. 56–57. OCLC 877526942.
- ↑ Brotherson, Corey (12 December 2017). "How pioneering open-world blockbuster The Getaway squeezed London's criminal underworld onto PS2". PlayStation.com. Retrieved 24 January 2023.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 "Chun Wah Kong". The Getaway Wiki. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ↑ England, Jason. "The Getaway - PS2 Second Wind Review". New Rising Media. Retrieved 5 November 2022.
- ↑ Moltenbrey, Karen. "Character Driven". Computer Graphics World. Retrieved 15 January 2023.
- ↑ Barker, Sammy (8 November 2013). "PlayStation Home Started Life As a Multiplayer Mode for The Getaway: Black Monday". Push Square. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Boykin, Josh (2014-04-07). "Review Blue Eden (iOS)". gotgame.com. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "#XOXO Social Sim Launches With Hope To Drive Positive Interaction". Real Otaku Gamer. 2017-12-13. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ "pixelperfect". EDGE. No. 91. December 2000. p. 154. ISSN 1350-1593.
- ↑ Weaver, Tim (January 2003). "The Getaway". Playstation 2 Max. No. 1. p. 13. ISSN 1479-0777.
- ↑ "FAQ Chun Wah Kong". EDGE. No. 118. Christmas 2002. p. 112. ISSN 1350-1593.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Millie & Mollie & Mobile". Retro Gamer. No. 214. November 2020. p. 8. ISSN 1742-3155.
- ↑ Zapiy (12 January 2021). "RVG GOTY 2020 Winners Announced". Retro Video Gamer. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ↑ Yarwood, Jack. "Cancelled Motocross Game For SNES Finally Released Almost 30 Years Later". Time Extension. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
- ↑ "Spirit HD for Android". CNET.com. 2020-01-20. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
- ↑ "3rd Annual Game Developers Choice Awards". Game Developers Choice Awards. 2003. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
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