Newsletter No. 447

8 447 • 19.11.2014 本刊由香港中文大學資訊處出版，每月出版兩期。截稿日期及稿例載於 www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/chinese/newsletter/ 。 The CUHK Newsletter is published by the Information Services Office, CUHK, on a fortnightly basis. Submission guidelines and deadlines can be found at www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/english/newsletter/ . 觀看錄像，請掃描QR碼或瀏覽以下網址： To watch the video, please scan the QR code or visit: www.iso.cuhk.edu.hk/video/?nsl447-tsang-ka-chun for whom our games will provide a platform to release their work. It’s a way to support local creativity. Any frustration encountered? The greatest frustration came from my parents who disapproved of my decision. They said, ‘How many Steve Jobs can there be?’ Now, with the performance of the company as evidence, they are more accepting of my choice. How will you develop your business? Dynamix is designed with the goal of attracting as many players as possible. We will keep modifying it. In addition, games targeted at higher profits will be designed. What support have you received from the Pi Centre? The centre provides office space for us to work together. We also received knowledge about entrepreneurship, including how to start a company and business registration. The Pi team helps us to move to the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks. How do you divide your time between work and study? The ratio of time spent on study and on work is 3:7. My work often allows me to apply knowledge before actually learning it in the classroom, so I don’t have to spend too much time for revision. But there were challenges too. The launch date of Dynamix coincided with my mid-term exams. I even had two exams on the same day. As I didn’t have enough time to study for both, I finished the first exam in half the time allocated and used the remaining time to prepare for the following exam. But so far I am handling work and studies quite well. Have you thought of dropping out of university to focus on your enterprise? I have set a profit target for my company. Once that target is reached, I will seriously consider giving up school. What is your plan after graduation? I will fully engage in the creative industry. I hope to host lectures or workshops to share my experience with those who plan to join the business. Do you have a few words of advice for peers looking to have their own start-ups? They should be clear about what they want to do. They should be positive—there are always ways to solve technical problems. Students have nothing to lose and no financial burden. Why not be more aggressive? 畢業後有甚麽計劃？ 畢業後會全力投入創意行業，也希望可以舉辦講座或工作坊， 與有志入行的人分享心得。 有甚麼經驗想與有志創業的同輩分享？ 我認為先要清楚自己的理念是甚麼，並保持正向心態，技術方 面總有解決方法。我推薦學生創業，反正沒有經濟負擔，不妨 放手一搏。 How long have you been playing electronic games? I have been playing for nine years. That makes me a junior player in our team. What triggered you to start a business? My family did not have any spare money for me to spend on toys. I developed my interest in making my own toys with available materials. As electronic games grew popular, I started to learn skills such as programming and drawing illustrations in order to make my own games. I designed my first electronic game by making alterations to a calculator. During the process of learning, I got to know some young people. They wanted to join the creative industry but it was very difficult, resulting in a shortage of manpower in the field. Electronic games is a part of the creative industry. I hope to contribute in my own way and regain the confidence and support of investors. Launched in 2012, the mobile phone game, Puzzle and Dragons , received overwhelming response and made great profit. Having observed that mobile phone games do not need wholesalers and physical shops, unlike traditional electronic games, I decided to go into the business. What is the composition of your staff? How did you come to form a team? My company has five full-time staff and five part-timers, including myself. Some of them were classmates from secondary school and a higher diploma course at CUHK’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies. The rest of them are gamer friends and members from electronic games clubs. I selected them based on their passion in designing games which is critical for team work. Why music games? We planned to design a massive electronic game at the beginning. Due to technical and resource limitations, we modified it to a medium-sized game. It was also a good opportunity to test our ability to cooperate and hone our skills in advertising and wholesale. Players tend to play different music games at the same time. It is easier for us to get a share in the highly competitive market. Moreover, Hong Kong has many potential composers, 曾家俊 計算機科學理學士課程二年級 Tsang Ka-chun Tab Year 2, Bachelor of Science Programme in Computer Science 在Pi Centre支援下，開設C4Cat公司，開發手機遊戲 程式，首個遊戲《Dynamix》於10月30日在Google Play上架，旋即登上銷售榜次席。 With the support of the Pi Centre, Tsang Ka-chun founded his mobile phone game company, ‘C4Cat’. Dynamix , the company’s first game, was on sale in Google Play on 30 October and soon came out second on the sales list. 你有多少年「機齡」了？ 約有九年，在我們的團隊來說，差不多是資歷最淺的了。 是甚麼觸發起創業的念頭？ 因家境關係，沒有餘錢購買玩具，所以，我自小愛DIY，利用現 成物品製成玩具。後來電子遊戲流行，由於牽涉程式設計、繪 畫插圖等多種技能，要DIY，便得自學相關知識。我第一個自 行設計的電子遊戲，是由計算機改裝而來的。 學習設計電子遊戲期間，認識了一些年輕人，他們有意投身創 意行業，卻難以入行，造成這行的青黃不接。電子遊戲是創意 產業，我希望盡個人的能力，恢復投資者的信心，增加投資， 扶植行業。 前年《龍族拼圖》手機遊戲推出，大受歡迎，利潤可觀。我窺 準手機遊戲不像傳統電子遊戲要依靠發行商和實體商店銷 售，便決心創業。 公司由哪些人組成？怎樣聚到一起的？ 連我在內共有全職和兼職員工各五人，部分是中學和中大專業 進修學院高級文憑課程的同學，其餘的是打機朋友和電子遊 戲機迷會成員，全部經我嚴選，因為大家都對設計電子遊戲 充滿熱誠，才能攜手合作。 為甚麼選擇開發音樂遊戲？ 本來我們打算開發大型的遊戲，但因技術和資源所限，唯有先 從中型遊戲着手，並同時測試我們團隊的合作，學習宣傳和發 行。音樂遊戲在競爭激烈的市場較易立足，因為玩家會同時玩 幾種音樂遊戲。此外，香港有不少有潛質的作曲家，遊戲平台 可為他們提供多一個發表渠道，支持本地創作。 創業有甚麼血淚？ 最大的挫折來自父母，他們不看好我的決定，還跟我說：「世 上能有多少個 喬布斯 ？」現在公司有業績，他們才認同。 打算怎樣發展這門「事業」？ 設計《Dynamix》首要是先吸引更多玩家下載，日後會繼續更 新，也會開發其他利潤較高的遊戲。 Pi Centre給了你甚麼支援？ 最重要是提供了辦公室，讓我們可以集中一起工作。其次， 又教授創業知識，好像怎樣開設公司、進行商業登記。在Pi Centre的創業團隊的協助下，公司得以進駐香港科技園。 怎樣分配學習和工作時間？ 現時學習和工作時間分配是三比七，由於兩者處理的範圍相 近，工作時已先行把原應學習的應用出來，故溫習需時不多。 不過，也有遇上狼狽的情況，像10月底要正式推出遊戲，忙得 不可開交，碰巧又是期中試，其中一天要連續考兩科，只好用 一半時間完成第一個考試，利用餘下時間溫習下一科。暫時仍 可兼顧。 有生過輟學專心創業的念頭嗎？ 我已為公司定下一個盈利目標，一旦達標，會審慎考慮退學。 Photo by ISO staff 口談實錄 Viva Voce ’