In Donjon Fauna, players assume the role of a veterinarian responsible for the care of ailing and injured fantastical creatures. — Photos: YONG BANG MING
Dr Yong Bang Ming fondly recalls using a role-playing game (RPG) maker to create a video game as a birthday present for his friend Kelvin when he was just 14 years old.
The game, Kelvin’s Birthday, was set in his school and included his classmates as characters.
“Kelvin really loved the game, and to my surprise, most of my classmates did as well.
“For two weeks, I was a minor celebrity in school as they were waiting for their turn to play the game,” he says.
He describes the experience of crafting something that brought joy to others as truly exhilarating.
“I remember putting Easter eggs in the game, such as overpowered weapons that I was certain no one could find,” he says.
However, to his surprise, his friends managed to find them, which made Yong realise not to underestimate the resolve of passionate gamers.
The former systems engineer claims that game development has always fascinated him and that a well-made game can take players to various worlds and elicit a range of emotions in them.
Growing up, Yong says he was an avid gamer, having played a wide range of titles like Disney’s Aladdin, Street Fighter and Age Of Empires 2.
“I remember when I was in primary school, at about 12, I wrote an email to Capcom about developing a game idea I had. No replies, obviously, but I remember being hopeful,” he says.
Players will need to distract this creature, codenamed Titan, using a bell and then tranquilise it before proceeding with the heart surgery. — YONG BANG MING
Today, Yong is the managing director and lead engineer of Bang Technologies, an indie game studio based in Lumpur.
The company is currently developing a virtual reality (VR) game called Donjon Fauna that lets players take on the role of a veterinarian to treat fantasy creatures that are injured or sick.
“The player will need to diagnose their condition given the symptoms and administer treatment.
“In our current demo, the player is required to tranquilise the creature and perform open-heart surgery on it. In the finished product, we aim to have a variety of creatures in the game.
“As the player is saving the creatures, narrative elements will gradually play out to reveal the player’s true role in the story. In terms of age group, the target audience is teenagers,” he says.
Animal instinct
Yong aimed to create a game that would enable players to interact with fantasy creatures, as he observed that most VR games lacked such experiences or had limitations in this regard, despite being the perfect medium for it.
Yong is collaborating with his brother, Yong Bang Yang, a recent graduate in game design and animation responsible for 3D modelling, while Chong Shu Yao, a digital artist, creates concept art for most of the creatures.
Building Donjon Fauna is a family affair, as Yong (right) is also working with his younger brother, Bang Yang. — YONG BANG MING
To ensure that the creature designs were realistic, he turned to veterinarian Dr Eve Foong.
“She gave us a lot of specific feedback on adjustments that we should consider for our creatures for it to be plausible to occur in nature.
“Additionally, she also provided input on the design of the veterinary centre and the process of administering treatment.
“This is, of course, crucial, as my team and I have limited firsthand experience dealing with the treatment of animals,” he adds.
Regarding the narrative, Yong explains that it revolves around the premise of a world in Donjon where the ruling government has made it illegal to assist the creatures.
“The story is set within a backdrop of conflicts. I have come up with a story that draws inspiration from history, especially the British occupation of Malaya,” he says.
He found that creative writing was not an easy task and sought the help of a friend, Dr Farhana Abdul Fatah, who is a senior lecturer at Universiti Sains Malaysia with a PhD in Linguistics, to assist as a narrative consultant.
“She is very knowledgeable in history, in linguistics, and also an avid gamer herself, possessing a perfect combination of skill sets to provide feedback to our narrative,” he says.
Fantastic journey
Donjon Fauna gained international recognition when it secured the People's Choice Award on July 15 at the Develop: Brighton’s Indie Showcase in the United Kingdom.
“It provided us with validation that we are headed in the right direction in creating a game that people would want to play.
“More importantly, it's a huge boost in motivation for my team to finish the game and release it,” Yong says.
Yong is targeting the release of Donjon Fauna in late 2024 or early 2025. — YONG BANG MING
The feedback from industry experts has also been positive, according to Yong, who added that those who tried the game were impressed that the studio was able to come up with the demo with only a small team and in six months.
Yong acknowledges that government support played a vital role in developing the initial prototype of Donjon Fauna, thanks to a Prisma grant from the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC) in 2022.
“It provided seed funding to hire my team and consultants to work on the game. We were able to significantly accelerate our product development with the grant.
“Otherwise, as a small startup company, it would have taken us a lot longer to achieve the same results,” he says.
Yong, who is on the path to fulfilling his childhood dream, says he has come to embrace certain truths about game development as a profession.
He emphasises the importance of understanding that game developers are making a product for sale and, ultimately, must build a game that others would want to spend money on.
“This means that some compromises to the artistic vision of the game must be made in order to finish the product on time and within budget.
“Like any product, there is also the business side of game development, such as marketing and publishing. This may not be immediately appealing to someone who is only passionate about games,” he says.
Yong is targeting the release of Donjon Fauna in late 2024 or early 2025.
He may also revisit another childhood memory along the way.
“Kelvin and I are still best friends today. Someday, I hope to get around to making Kelvin’s Birthday 2. With all the skills and knowledge that I have accumulated over the years since childhood, I can make an even better game now,” he says.
LevelUp with Yong Bang Ming
Q: What is your gaming setup?
A: My current setup is a small form-factor desktop PC that has a full-sized Geforce GPU, a handle, and fits into a food delivery bag. I had assembled the custom PC on my own, as I wanted to pack as much power as I could in a small setup. The portable setup is needed for VR development, as often I need to bring the PC along for demonstrations.
Q: Describe your gaming experience.
A: I am super lucky to have a gamer wife. We enjoy spending time playing multiplayer games together whenever we have free time. We have spent many weekends at home just gaming together. I do enjoy playing single-player games as well, but not as frequently as I play multiplayer games. And due to the nature of my work now, I also sometimes play games just to see what is out there and to learn from other well-designed games.
Q: What are your favourite titles?
A: They are Doom Eternal, Dota 2, The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild, Valheim, WWF Smackdown 2, Megaman, Pokemon, Guitar Hero 3, The Lab, It Takes Two, and Red Dead Online. Each one brings a unique experience and a lot of fond memories.
Q: Is there a retro gaming title that you wish to revisit?
A: SkyRoads (1993). It is a brilliantly designed DOS game that is easy to pick up and play but is also very challenging to beat. But the earliest game that I remember playing was Wolfenstein 3D at age four. I played the game with my father. It was a lot of fun battling Mecha-Hitler at that age, which also gave me a lot of nightmares. Hopefully now, as an adult and with years of gaming experience, I will be able to make a return to Castle Wolfenstein (without nightmares).
