Some might say Otago Polytechnic students Andrew Napper and Lilian Kidoo are a match made in cyberspace; Andrew has just completed a Bachelor of Information Technology, Lilian has just completed a Bachelor of Design (Communication) and they both love gaming. 

Both Lilian and Andrew are developing a game together, ‘Last Souls’, in which Lilian has designed the characters and Andrew has done all the coding and programming.

“It’s a survival game, with a map, and it’s much like chess but in a modern way with five characters on each side versing another person through the internet,” says Lilian.

“It’s a simplified version of some of the big games which are very competitive. This will be much more fun,” says Andrew.

Lilian grew up in Japan where gaming is more advanced and really popular. She says that from the age of six or seven she was always playing Pokemon. “I feel quite lucky because when I came to Otago Polytechnic I thought there’s no way I’d meet people who are into gaming as much as me - then I met Andrew and his entire flat was into gaming.”

“Otago Polytechnic is a great place for gaming. A lot of students in my Communication Design class were into art and making characters and everyone was really friendly, it felt like family. We were always looking at each other’s work and getting ideas off one another,” says Lilian.

Lilian is currently on a ten week internship with local gaming company Runaway Play and Andrew is working in IT, and they’re both continuing to develop ‘Last Souls’.