Derek Yu
| Derek Yu | |
|---|---|
Derek Yu at GDC 2007
|
|
| Born |
July 2, 1982 Pasadena, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Game designer, artist, blogger |
| Website | http://www.derekyu.com/ |
Derek Yu (born July 2, 1982) is an American indie game designer, artist, and blogger.
Yu is best known for his games Spelunky, Aquaria, and Eternal Daughter. An early exposure to the Nintendo Entertainment System explains why older titles provide him with inspiration.
Early in his game-creating career he was associated with a freeware game website solely distributing its own wares, including Diabolika and Eternal Daughter.
Eternal Daughter (2002) is a platform game that was developed over a two-year period.
A platformer that Yu helped create, I'm O.K - A Murder Simulator, was a response to Jack Thompson's open letter "A Modest Video Game Proposal".
Yu has worked on several indie games, games sold outside of traditional distribution channels.
A collaboration between Yu and Alec Holowka, Aquaria is a side-scrolling video game that takes place underwater. It won the Independent Games Festival's 2007 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, was available as a download, and was also sold in a Humble Indie Bundle.
According to Yu, "Not only did Aquaria sell well enough that [Alec Holowka and I] could continue making games full time, but the positive feedback we received from players and critics also validated us as artists and helped to put to rest our doubts about whether we were making something worthwhile." However, Bit Blot has yet to produce another title, and the last update to the company's website occurred in 2011. Yu and Holowka live in separate countries, and Holowka cited the long distance nature of the collaboration as a source of tension during a 2008 interview.
...
Wikipedia