Meet the Team: Eddy!

Hey Hexperts!

We've come to the end of our #MeetTheDev series, and we've saved the best for last. Eddy is the genesis of Hexile and of Dystrophic, and the person who brought all of us together. He's in his final semester of college, studying Computer Science, and in addition to game development he's also an entrepreneur and a musician who's produced two solo albums and an EP. He grew up around his parents' home-grown start-up company, and in 2017 he founded Dystrophic--the culmination of most, if not all, of his life experiences.

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Where did the idea for Hexile come from? Why did you decide to pursue it?

It was just a natural progression of things. It started out as a project for a landscape architecture class. I wanted to create a landscape with as little work as possible, so I made one hexagon and tiled it and that was my landscape. Then I went on some wild brainstormings about reasons to justify the existence of this landscape, and eventually stumbled upon a plot. I went to my best friend Austin about the plot and we formulated on it some more while I continued to work on the art project, and we just kind of kept going on it.

I'm in a really unique and privileged position to be able to try something, and if it doesn't work out I still have the rest of my life to get my career together. I have this really rare opportunity where I have all the skills, or am capable of learning all the skills, and have a team who is super supportive and is willing to work, even while they've got their own things going on, and I have something that I feel is worth pursuing. And sometimes even that, right? The idea that you have something worth pursuing, is enough.

What kind of stuff do you do for the game?

(laughs) I feel like the question should be 'what kind of stuff do I not do for the game?' At the moment, 75% of all art in the game,I've made, or we've purchased and I've modified. I've done all the coding, I'm responsible for the creative direction of the game, its technical sustainability, the business behind the game, the contractors outside of Dystrophic working on the game, the marketing--I am responsible for.... the game. (laughs) I delegate where I can, and when I can, and we make the best of it and enjoy the process.

What kind of stuff do you like to do outside of Hexile?

Unsurprisingly, I really like to play video games. I'm getting sucked into Skyrim for probably the fourth time, right now. I also really love making music--I'll be scoring the game and I can't wait to get back to it and making some good music. I also love problem-solving, especially in an entrepreneurial way, so I find myself talking with different entrepreneurs and start-up founders, and I enjoy those conversations.

What's your favorite video game? (Alternatively, what are you playing and loving right now?)

I am playing and loving Skyrim right now, but like, this is Skyrim with like, 50 mods, so arguably it's not even Skyrim anymore. (laughs) I really love... a lot of games. Bioshock Infinite, The Walking Dead... yeah. Uncharted.

What has been the most rewarding part of working on Hexile so far?

Getting to share my passion with the team. And being allowed to lead them, and being trusted with their support. Their belief in this process, and in the game, and me, and giving me that opportunity to really take responsibility for something larger than myself.

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Thank you for reading, and thank you Eddy for being such an amazing team leader! We hope you've enjoyed our #MeetTheDev series--we'll be back tomorrow with an update on Hexile's progress this month.

Olivia