SIPBLOG: Overcoming challenges – 6/30/21

Hey there! I’m Darren Chen, a senior Computer Science major at Temple University and the producer for Team Diplomat. At the time of writing, we’re into our sixth week of MassDigi’s Summer Innovation Program and still going strong

For those of you not in the know, our team name comes from the “diplomat” in diplomat cream: a unique blend of pastry cream and whipped cream that combines the light, fluffy texture of the latter with the rich flavor of the former to create the best of both. Not a bad way to describe the “blend” of talent in our team – which leads us to introductions!

Introducing Team Diplomat! Pictured from left to right, Niko Olivo from Northeastern University is working remotely as our 3D artist and animator. To their right is Calvin Tillman, our audio producer from Berklee College of Music who is working with all the SIP teams this year. Below him is another of our artists, Sarah Madar from Becker College (transferring to Clark University), and in the center is Michael “Mikey” Schubert, our lead programmer who also hails from Becker College (also transferring to Clark). Next we have Dorothy Zhang, our lead 2D artist and animator from the Rhode Island School of Design. To her right is yours truly, and to mine is Jack Hill, our third representative from Becker College (transferring to Clark), who is also working remotely as our lead designer and programmer.

We’ve been hard at work on our idle game, in which you play as a witch running a boba shop! Our team  struggled the first few weeks, experimenting with different concepts and trying to nail down the fun of an idle game. Now, we’ve reached a point where we’ve built out and refined what we believe is the “first fun” of our game: tapping to create boba tea, and watching the drinks assemble in a “juicy” blend of prismatic tea and multi-colored boba. Now we’re working on refining the art and UI, as well as upgrades and (most importantly!) the “idle” part of our idle game.

These past six weeks have been a fantastic learning experience. As someone with very limited experience working on a project like this, I’ve found mentors and friends alike who have helped me grow and taught me so much about game development. I have nothing but praise for all the talent in SIP this summer. I’m excited to see the results of everyone’s hard work, and I hope you are too!