Our Team.

As a person who has watched Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films one too many times and as a person who has partaken in the trashing of Game of Thrones Season 8, Eric understands the allure of the neomedieval genre and the expectations it generates. Throughout the design of Shoomopoly, and creation of the fantasy world Estrago it is based on, Eric pulls from his own experiences with neomedieval games such as the Assassins Creed series. This understanding prevents the team from rehashing the biggest flops in the neomedieval genre. Additionally, having worked with go out and vote campaigns that target the emerging voter block of Asian-Americans, he understands the beliefs and assumptions that stop many from participating in civic life and politics. Eric provides the team this additional expertise, as they craft a game that targets an emerging electorate in the form of young American “Gen-Z” voters. Just like many other team members, the issue of big pharmaceutical lobbying is very important to him as he, like countless other Americans, have shelled out exorbitant amounts of money to be able to afford lifesaving medicine. This connection gives Shroomopoly its personal feel as the themes weaved throughout Estrago are based on real experiences instead of theoretical musing.

Neomedieval worlds has been a part of Jonathan's life since he was six years old.  He and his mother read the Harry Potter books to each other every night before bed. They moved on to Narnia, and then Tolkein’s works. Although Jonathan grew out of reading with his mom at night, he never grew out of fantasy. As he got older Jonathan's passion for these fantasy worlds expanded into video games when he discovered The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, whose characters, and whimsical world will always hold a special place to him. His focus quickly turned to darker stories like the souls games and Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series. Estrago is a bit of all of these worlds thrown together. On the surface, it’s silly and whimsical, but still deals with darker themes such as greed and suffering. Seeing his parents stay at jobs they hated just to keep their healthcare benefits inspired Jonathan to use Estrago to raise awareness about lobbying and the pharmaceutical industry.

Alex has always had an interest in medievalism. As a kid, something about being part of a kingdom, fighting with swords, and wearing armor always seemed appealing. In fact his first video game was RuneScape. A MMORPG, based in the world of Gielinor, a medieval fantasy realm. From there he began reading some books like the “Ranger's Apprentice” or “Game of Thrones” based in the medieval era which further piqued his interests. Since then, he has learned that there is so much more than just kings, armor and swords to medievalism. Currently, he is even taking an entire English class centered around neomedievalism. He has learned about the culture and all the nuances in that era and how they differ and are reflected from the present. In addition, Alex loves being creative. Whether it is making a website in the WebDev club or making a video game in VGdev club, all he wants to do is create something that could leave a positive impact on someone. After a class discussing how large pharmaceutical companies profit at the expense of our very own people, Alex and his friends decided to do something about it. Using his knowledge of user experience from creating websites and video games he has gained a better understanding of how users are motivated, engaged and affected by a product. Combining this with his general affinity for medievalism, he and his team decided to create a board game set in the neo medieval world of Estrago in order to open the public's eye to the injustices of lobbying that is happening right under their noses.

As a lifelong fan of games, be they board or video, Mike has always held a fascination and enjoyment of the influence that games can wield. Among the genres of games that he has explored, the neomedieval genre has held a special place in his heart; these games have dominated Mike's playtime statistics for years, and the genre inspires personal excitement by its appearance alone; similarly, He has found that neomedieval games have been some of the most effective at conveying their message to the audience, with many being discussed years after their release date. The tropes related to this genre often conceal the deeper purpose behind the game during the initial stages, but by forcing players to experience foreign scenarios and gradually drawing back the curtain, the player can achieve a new realization while the developer avoids turning potential players hostile to the game before they have even purchased it.