Allison Huynh Discusses MyDream

Recently, I have had the pleasure to speak to Allison Huynh, the CEO of MyDream Interactive about the details of MyDream and its Kickstarter Campaign. The game has already exceeding its funding and now it working its way to some stretch goals. The campaign is to end April 12.

Here is what she had to say:

Cliqist :

Allison Huynh : MyDream is a user-generated game that actively creates new heights of fantasy role playing.  It’s a voxel-based 3D sandbox world built by community members available on PC and Mac right now in alpha/early beta.  It combines geocaching treasure hunts with a progressive metagame and endless possibilities for creative world building complete with myriad biomes (gaming environments to build and play in).

Cliqist : There are many aspects of MyDream that appear to be heavily influenced by Minecraft and various open-world building games. What exactly inspired the creation of MyDream?

Allison Huynh : MyDream was inspired by Mark Davis, Matt Laverty and (my)my free-roaming childhood. Growing up in the Alaskan and national parks, these friends were always pushing the boundaries of what to explore next.  They created imaginative landscapes and characters that allowed them to foster creative identities and reign supreme across the vast acreage they were able to discover in the process. (I) wanted a free roaming game that captured that sense of possibility while also promoting collaboration and creativity– hence the choice of a sandbox game.

Cliqist : What sets MyDream apart from other user generated sandbox games? What can players expect to be different?

Allison Huynh : It’s visually stunning with charming characters and aesthetic scenery that make the player feel privy to adventures (called quests) as they build worlds and kingdoms.  Young adults love it and it has been tested by kids at over 31 schools. Stretch goals include a survival system, farming system and transport system. There is also the meta-game, which allows players to utilize our systems and toolsets to create games for their friends.

Cliqist : I don’t think anyone would turn down snuggling with a rock, especially the Rock Buddies in MyDream. What is the purpose of the ‘Rock Creatures?’ Where/when can we expect to see them when exploring?

Allison Huynh : The rock creatures are companions that allow you to feel a sense of connection and accomplishment as you harvest them.  They are mischievous when you don’t pay attention to them and that’s why you resonate with them — they are cute and demand your affection.

Cliqist : The Kickstarter claims that some of the gameplay can be connected to real world life skills? How will playing MyDream impact these skills and improve them?

Allison Huynh : Sandbox games naturally encourage creativity and collaboration, especially if it’s a multiuser environment in a pure creative mode. We have adventuring and hope to add survival and other modes, depending on our stretch funding goals to make our game more fun and engaging with the help of our backers and community.

Cliqist : Many projects have come before attempting to do something along the lines of MyDream but technological issues have crippled them. I had read that the servers will be hosted by the MyDream staff. What other preparations have been made to handle the massive amount of data involved in a project of this caliber?

Allison Huynh : The Mac alpha and PC early beta is live and we have been offering multi-user mode. Since it’s still early, we are planning to scale organically so we can grow our technology as we grow our player base.

Cliqist : In addition to my previous question, why specifically utilize voxel based technology for this project?

Allison Huynh : Voxel technology creates a richer, more textured 3D world.  It allows for greater flexibility. We wanted our world to be enhanced by a voxel engine because it allows for more variety on a deeper and more refined level.

Cliqist : As mentioned on the developer blog, a lot of preparation and marketing ahead of time was done which actually contributed greatly to the success of success of the project thus far. Why specifically did this method work?  What other tips would you recommend for like to pass on to people interested in Crowdfunding their game project?

Allison Huynh : When you spend 3-6 months doing pre-marketing for every $100,000 raised, you are able to lay the groundwork for the intensive time crunch of raising awareness within the limited time frame you set for your fundraising goal.  It’s important to make sure that within that month or so long period that your campaign is featured on Kickstarter, that you have a well organize outreach strategy.  It’s important to hit that sweet spot of building community and creating media intrigue simultaneously. We have hit our funding goal but we are still learning many pieces of the puzzles along the way–especially with community building and social buzz. What you don’t prepare for, you have to learn quickly while you are on the road.

Thanks to Allison for taking the time to answer our questions!  You can learn more about MyDream on it’s official website.  If you would like to back the MyDream Kickstarter project you can do so until April 12th.  And don’t forget to look at our hands-on preview of the game as well.

[facebook][tweet][Google][pinterest][follow id=”Cliqist” size=”large” count=”true” ]

 [author image=”http://cliqist.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/julie.jpg” ]Julie Morley is a freelance writer and comic artist from Spring, Texas. She attended the Academy of Art University for two years, studying Animation and Illustration. Whilst here, she learned about writing comic scripts, storyboards, and general storytelling.  Since leaving college, she has been working on personal comic projects, stories, and illustrations. She aspires to release a self published comic within two years. For the majority of her life, she has been playing console games, typically being third-person shooters and sandboxes. Her favorite game of existence is Dark Cloud II (Dark Chronicle) and her favorite Indie game is Gone Home.[/author]