Get to know some of
the cool people at Mojang Studios!
The Asian American and
Pacific Islander Heritage Month – the month in which we celebrate the culture
and contributions of the AAPI community, is coming to an end. Well, at least
for this year. We obviously have many more Mays ahead of us, which means AAPIHM
is guaranteed to return!
Over the course of
this month, Mojang Studios has participated in this important initiative, raising
awareness and sharing stories from Asians and Pacific
Islanders across the world. We’ve even toured a virtual Chinatown!
On this last day, we turn to people within
Mojang Studios to both highlight their achievements, as well as bring awareness
to their struggles and experiences. Today, we meet Chi, Rebecca, and Patrick.
CHI WONG – NETHERLANDS
The first in our
terrific trio is Chi – Mojang 3D artist extraordinaire (as well as a frequent
savior of certain Minecraft.net editors in need of art for their articles).
Born in Rotterdam of a Chinese family, Chi can speak three different languages:
Chinese Cantonese, Dutch, and English – and soon Swedish, thanks to his studies
in Stockholm. His artistic side, as well as his passion for building, seem to
run in the family – his older brother is an architect who shares Chi’s passion
for games.
“Most of my days
growing up were spent playing Super Mario World, Legend of
Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Super Mario Kart” Chi tells me.
“Later, my brother and I would buy the next generation of consoles and
handhelds. It was the start of a very interesting roadmap.”
A roadmap that would
expose Chi to many different games! His discovery of Minecraft came during his
studies of 2D/3D Visual Arts at Breda University of Applied Sciences. While
making next-gen 3D game art, he was invited to join a friend who was already hooked.
“When I entered their
server, they had hours and hours of playtime. The world was filled with awesome
creations. I knew that this game would be hard to turn off. I had nothing on my
character, so I started punching a tree…”
Today, Chi works with the
Vanilla team delivering cool features for the Caves &
Cliffs Update. And before you ask: “Which cool features did Chi work on?!”,
feast your eyes upon these adorable creatures.
Your assumption is
correct, esteemed readers – Chi helped design the axolotl!
“I’m proud of all the
visible and invisible work I do, and especially of the Bedrock
achievement art that I made,” he says. “Internally, there are many
things that I’ve done that don’t make it to the public eye, but I’m still proud
of the work that I put into it because it could empower others to do their work
more efficiently! In the end, we’re all part of one team.”
AAPIHM means a lot to Chi, who feels connected
to the group. “My parents moved with their parents from China to Europe in the
late 70's in hope of finding a better life outside their home country. They’ve
contributed to society the best they can with the least amount of onboarding or
integration the Netherlands could provide. Thanks to the AAPIHM, even my
parents get a bit of recognition across the seas now."
REBECCA GORDIUS – USA
Seattle-based Korean
American Rebecca is no stranger to Minecraft. For six years, she’s been working
as PR Manager, fostering relationships with Minecraft’s YouTube, Twitch, and
video community. In her free time, however, she works more on her mountainside
dream home in Creative Mode. Did we also mention that she has an adorable
skinny pug named Pumba?
"Minecraft might
look simple from the outside in,” Rebecca tells me. “But people who play it and
work on it know that it’s actually quite complex. It’s a wonderful feeling to
work on something that so many people love, and I’m proud to be part of a team
that wants to have a positive impact on the world.”
The global pandemic
has created many challenges in bringing people together – but only to a degree.
Recently, Rebecca and her team hosted Mojang Studios’ first virtual creator
summit. "It was amazing! We used to all come together in person at the
Stockholm office, Minecraft Live, or community events, etc, but with the
pandemic, we haven’t been able to do that. It was lovely to have that old
'convention' atmosphere and get to hang out with friends and colleagues. This
has been a tough year, but I’m glad we can still find ways to come
together.”
Growing up in a small town lacking diversity,
Rebecca felt that she was noticeably different from her classmates – something
that led to struggles with her own identity. “It’s hard as a kid to feel like
you don’t belong or to not have that many role models or characters to relate
to in movies, TV, games. However, I think times are changing and more people
are making an effort to embrace different cultures and be more inclusive, so
I’m optimistic that things will be better for the next generation!”
AAPIHM is one example
of an inclusive initiative that has helped Rebecca. It has given her the
opportunity to discuss her own Korean heritage with friends and colleagues, to
give them knowledge and perspective.
“I love the different
heritage months throughout the year because they’re a great time for people to
feel proud of their culture and for others to learn. AAPIHM is special in
particular because Asians and Pacific Islanders are so diverse – there’s such a
huge cultural diversity in this category.”
And it’s not just
culture that one can be proud of, but also people! For Rebecca, there are many
awesome AAPI people worth highlighting, but one that comes to mind is her
colleague Stephanie on the Minecraft team.
“She has done an awesome job starting the dialogue
within the team around the treatment of AAPI people in the US historically and
with the recent surge in hate crimes. We’ve had some great discussions as a
team and I think we’ve all learned a lot. I also have to give a shout-out to
Youn Yuh-Jung, the Korean actress who broke new ground winning an Oscar for her
work in the movie 'Minari' – go check her and the movie out!”
PATRICK LIU – SWEDEN
Last, but certainly
not least, is Patrick Liu, Mojang Studios’ very own Head of Games. Before you
ask, no, being Head of Games does not mean you get to play games all day – even
if you’re the head honcho. Instead, it’s Patrick’s job to head up all
game-related endeavors Mojang Studios undertakes. A passion for games is
obviously a plus, which he reassures me he has.
“I still love it! I
have tried a number of things that aren’t games-related, but keep coming back
to it. My first game console was a Vectrex, maybe that dates me."
The Vectrex-dated
Patrick was born in Sweden to Hong Kong-born parents and has worked with games
for over 15 years, which means he’s older than Minecraft itself. Wait! I'm also
older than Minecraft, so why didn't I have a Vectrex?
“I played Minecraft
for a while in the early years, way before I started working at Mojang of
course. Back then I was working with very different types of games and was
fascinated – both professionally and as a player – by what was going on. My
fondest memories of playing it are really just playing it with other people and
the stories you create together. I remember one time we really wanted to build
a house in the sky (inspired by Laputa: Castle in the Sky). It didn't get quite
that majestic, and there were plenty of "accidents" building so far
above the ground...”
Much to Studio Ghibli’s relief, Patrick is no
longer building castles. Instead, he and his colleagues work more as “shepherds
of Minecraft”, which he describes as a balance of creating things that are both
familiar and adds something new to its universe – something that can be both
scary and very exciting at the same time.
“I'm very happy to be
able to grow the Minecraft universe outside of Vanilla, figuring out what fits
and what doesn't, what excites our players. I'm a big board game fan, so it was
incredibly fun to produce a board game with Ravensburger. It turned out
better than I could ever imagine. Also been a long-time Nintendo fan, and to be
able to collaborate so closely on including Minecraft in Super Smash Bros Ultimate was
another big moment for me.”
As a leader of Mojang
Studios, Patrick sees the AAPIHM as an opportunity to build empathy for both
Asians and other groups by sharing his experiences living in a society with a
culture and heritage that are different from his own. He also highlights the
minority myth: the Asian stereotype that they’re hardworking and more
successful than other immigrants. “It may not sound bad, but it in practice
erases diversity in Asian cultures, puts us as perpetual foreigners – and worst
of all – hides the actual racism that marginalizes us.”
Racism and prejudice
are ever-present issues we face in society that constantly need to be called
out. It’s also something Patrick has experienced himself, first-hand.
“For me, it's been a
time where I've more gone back in time in my own history and reflected on what
I've been through. It's been enlightening and I've surprised myself with how
emotional I get when I start speaking about the topic openly. Much of it has to
do with the realization of how much I've suppressed my feelings, experiences
growing up, and internalized racism against myself – in essence being ashamed
of who I am. As I've grown up, I've embraced my roots more, but I have
certainly experienced prejudice in a very practical sense in everyday life and
professionally, like discrimination, outright insults, and even physical harm.”
As much as AAPIHM is
about raising awareness, it’s also about celebrating people, and much like how
Chi wanted to give recognition to his parents, so does Patrick:
“I'll have to thank
them for having moved halfway around the world to find a better life. Moving to
a country where they don't know the language and have no real qualifications
really, to build something from scratch so I could have a healthy
upbringing.”
LEARN MORE
If you’re curious how you can support your AAPI friends and colleagues, as well as learn more about the hardships they face on an everyday basis, the Asian Americans Advancing Justice – an affiliation of five organizations advocating for the civil and human rights of Asian Americans – is a good place to start! Learn more here.
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