alex tang
queer game designer building immersive narrative experiences through uncommon mechanics
Hello!
I'm Alex Tang (she/her), a passionate game designer, who loves experimenting with different gameplay mechanics to immerse players in narrative experiences.I hold a BA in Computer Science from Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Queens and graduated Coven Coven's Introduction to Game Development Using Unity course.These days, I am currently pursuing a Game Design MFA at the NYU Game Center as a recipient of the Edie & Lew Wasserman Scholarship.
Latest Project:
Trekmech
A 3D physics game in which players deliver passengers to different locations across town and try to keep town damage to a minimum.Inspired By: Robot Alchemic Drive, Steambot Chronicles, and Crazy Taxi
also known as alexandra tang. last edited dec 2024.
about me
Hello!I'm a queer Vietnamese-American game designer interested in the verbs we ask players to engage with in our games and how we can use these to enrich narrative. As a programmer, I tend to focus on gameplay programming and designing mechanics, but I aim to broaden my scope of expertise into narrative and design.My work tends to explore sapphic yearning and the mundane. I'm interested in the smaller, quieter moments that sneakily become the most important ones in our lives. For that reason, I gravitate toward narrative games, especially dating simulators.
Games I Wish I Made:
- American Truck Simulator by SCS Software
- DREDGE by Black Salt Games
- Emily is Away by Kyle Seeley
- Going Under by Aggro Crab
- Persona 5 Royal by ATLUS
- Unpacking by Witch Beam
- Until Then by Polychroma Games
- We Are OFK by Team OFK
Currently Playing:
- Balatro by LocalThunk
- Persona 5 Royal by ATLUS
- Story of Seasons: A Wonderful Life by Marvelous!
also known as alexandra tang. last edited dec 2024.
projects
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trekmech
A 3D physics game in which players deliver passengers to different locations across town and try to keep town damage to a minimum.Inspired By: Robot Alchemic Drive, Steambot Chronicles, and Crazy Taxi
- Built a mech controller rig to control physical movement and camera movement
- Developed a quest management and navigation system
- Incorporated the OpenFracture framework
gặp ma
A 3D walking simulator that explores my family's refugee experience and the ways this trauma manifests in the objects we collect.Inspired By: Gone Home
- Designed 3D room levels to direct player toward key narrative elements
- Crafted a fragmented narrative conveyed through item descriptions
Gachaery Mart
A 2D gacha game in which players gamble tokens to purchase all the items on their mother's shopping list.* No real money wasted, just your time.Inspired By: Genshin Impact
- Designed and implemented the banner screen UI layout and usability
- Utilized animation events to provide visual feedback during splash screen animations
- Programmed cumulative probability rates into randomized gacha rolls
be safe tomorrow.
A 2D work of interactive fiction showcasing the distance that’s grown between a family and the protagonist’s first steps to close it.Inspired By: Florence
- Handled additive scenes for seamless loading and maintenance of persistent data between scenes
- Collaboratively designed level mechanics to convey the mood of each scene to contribute to the overarching story
Tempus Fugit
A 2D narrative fan-game prototype that follows a witch disguised as a humble apothecary owner in a kingdom wary of magic.Inspired By: Reigns, Genshin Impact
- Recreated the Reigns swiping mechanic with UI elements
- Created scriptable objects to handle the different "card" types in the game
- Programmed a parser for Ink files to display the appropriate card type, sprite, dialogue choices, and branching dialogue
- Developed a narrative based on existing characters from another IP
Mothballs
A 2D visual novel that navigates the experience of being both queer and Asian-American through the story of a Vietnamese-American lesbian who has just come out to her family.Inspired By: Gone Home
- Developed an overarching story to be conveyed through the items the player finds in the closet
- Designed and programmed the game's user interface
also known as alexandra tang. last edited dec 2024.