Wisdom From The Women Leading The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries, With Huiting Wang of Resolution Games
An Interview With Fotis Georgiadis
VR, AR and MR technology rely on player body inputs to create great experiences. The current 6DoF controller tracks position and rotation to let the players feel they are using their hands in the VR space, and the hand tracking technology directly tracks players’ hand movements. Future headsets may incorporate new tech like eye tracking, facial recognition, EMG, etc. A lot of data needs to be tracked, and this may cause privacy, security and safety concerns. Our industry will have to be cognizant of risks around user privacy and has to ensure the safety of all users tracking data.
The Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality & Mixed Reality Industries are so exciting. What is coming around the corner? How will these improve our lives? What are the concerns we should keep an eye out for? Aside from entertainment, how can VR or AR help work or other parts of life? To address this, as a part of our interview series called “Women Leading The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Huiting Wang.
Huiting Wang is the head of shared production at Stockholm-based VR games studio, Resolution Games. After earning a Master of Human-Computer Interaction degree from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Huiting’s interest in immersive tech, games and how players interact with games led her to Resolution Games as a player researcher. In the beginning, she helped create great game experiences for early titles from Resolution Games. She then became a producer and has worked with multiple titles such as Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs and Blaston.
As head of shared production, Huiting uses her skills in people, games and process to help and support the ever-growing group of mixed specialists in the shared production field. She believes that great teamwork leads to great products and has actively worked on creating a team culture of passion, humility, and creation.
Huiting is also an advocate for diversity within the games community. She spoke about the importance of diversity at G-Star 2019 on the topic of “The Women behind Angry Birds VR”, has participated in International Girls in ICT Day Stockholm and is a member of the Women In Game STHLM group.
Huiting loves K-pop and K-pop dancing. She is a main member at Resolution Games’ K-pop group and has performed at the company’s Christmas gathering and the 5th-year anniversary party.
Is there a particular book, film, or podcast that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?
I’ve always been a big fan of sci-fi novels. I love to see various possible future worlds through our imaginations and wishes. Among all of the books I have read, The Three-Body Problem is my favorite. I won’t spoil it too much for those who have not read it, but I love the settings, how the storyline progressed, all the stories with scientific metaphors, and how people would react under certain conditions. I was really intrigued when the main character gradually discovered the three body problem through a virtual-reality video game. The first book was out around 2008, so there was no VR headset easily accessible in the market. I remember the excitement I got when the main character wore haptic clothes, put on the headset and started exploring. I was curious about how technology would evolve in the future back then, and I think that moment inspired me to study more subjects related to science and technology. I’m so happy to work with VR, AR and MR games now because I get to experience worlds that I dreamed of when I was younger.
Is there a particular story that inspired you to pursue a career in the X Reality industry? We’d love to hear it.
When I studied Software Engineering for my bachelor’s degree, I started to discover the subject of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). Improving the interaction between computers and humans has always been a topic of interest for me. I wanted to learn more, so I came to Sweden to study HCI at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. In one of our labs, Visualization Studio VIC, we accessed state-of-the-art interactive technology from gesture- and speech-based control, haptic feedback, eye tracking, multitouch to various AR/VR devices and controllers. I spent a lot of time there and made various projects with other students. The most memorable project was an interactive physical/digital experience we created within an AR sandbox. One player controls a penguin on a digital screen to reach candies at different heights while another player modifies the terrain for the penguin by moving sand around. This project showed me the potential of not only how we can interact with the digital world but also how the boundary between digital and reality can come to be. I was curious about how magic can happen, so I decided to pursue my current career.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began this fascinating career?
Back in 2016, we were about to make the game Wonderglade, a theme park VR game that is composed of carnival-themed mini games. It was a normal day in the office. Then after lunch, our boss (Tommy Palm, CEO) announced that we were going to Gröna Lund (an amusement park in Stockholm) that afternoon to do research for the game. It was such a surprise! We tested out different attractions and had a small competition among groups. It was a really fun and interesting experience. I learned the importance of observing, interacting and feeling the vibe on site to make games and experiences in VR that resonates with people.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake I remember is a design decision we made when I started producing Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs. In the VR version, we provide different teleportation points around a level to enable 360 view and let players be creative with their shots. At the beginning, we let players shoot a bird to different teleportation points to teleport. We were so sure it was going to be easy because of the exact same mechanics as the gameplay. However, the playtest results showed I was totally wrong. Most players thought it was not that intuitive because it’s not their direct reaction when it comes to teleporting and they were afraid of losing a bird. Then we changed the mechanics to point and click, and most of the players learned the action very quickly even without the tutorial. The lesson I learned is that we should always test the design on real players and iterate the gameplay together with them. We can’t design purely based on our own assumptions!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
The person I really want to thank who helped me get to where I am is our CEO, Tommy Palm. He is a Swedish game industry veteran, and I feel his rich experience made him a legend himself — he was the spokesperson and Games Guru at King (creator of Candy Crush) and also helped lead the company to its IPO; he has founded several game companies and worked with more than 20 game titles. Resolution Games is my first company to work at. I really appreciate Tommy recognizing my ability and seeing my potential when I was just fresh out of school. He also offered me the chance to work as a producer and work with various great and fun titles like Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs and Blaston. He always values the diversity in the games industry and inspired me to be a role model and advocate for it. For example, I was very happy to speak about the importance of diversity at G-Star 2019 in Korea on the topic of “The Women behind Angry Birds VR.”
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
Yes, I’m working on a super fun project together with our senior game director, Tom Hall. I cannot reveal too much right now, but in general we’re working on enhancing the social aspect of VR in a way that will bring people together and allow them to socialize in different ways.
Ok super. Thank you for all that. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. The VR, AR and MR industries seem so exciting right now. What are the 3 things in particular that most excite you about the industry? Can you explain or give an example?
I agree that there are a lot of exciting things happening in our industry. I am really excited about how the industry has progressed within the past five years. Take the VR industry as an example. The headset started from cardboard combined with a phone all the way to a standalone headset. The controller evolves from one button click to 6DoF controllers and hand tracking. It’s amazing that it all happened so quickly. Also, more big companies are entering the X Reality field with new headsets. For example, the next-generation of PSVR is coming to PS5 from Sony; Apple is rumored to work on new MR headsets and it’s coming soon, etc. More powerful headsets from big companies in the market would really help promote VR, AR and MR from a niche and cutting edge field to a more mainstream media. Thirdly, new interactive technologies keep being researched and combined with X Reality tech, like Facebook recently publishing a blog showing how people can use neural wristbands with AR glasses. A brand new augmented reality interface will be created based on new ways users can interact with their computers; also, Valve, OpenBCI & Tobii are together going to launch a VR brain-computer interface named ‘Galea’. All of these are super exciting!
What are the 3 things that concern you about the VR, AR and MR industries? Can you explain? What can be done to address those concerns?
VR, AR and MR technology rely on player body inputs to create great experiences. The current 6DoF controller tracks position and rotation to let the players feel they are using their hands in the VR space, and the hand tracking technology directly tracks players’ hand movements. Future headsets may incorporate new tech like eye tracking, facial recognition, EMG, etc. A lot of data needs to be tracked, and this may cause privacy, security and safety concerns. Our industry will have to be cognizant of risks around user privacy and has to ensure the safety of all users tracking data.
Secondly, there are still difficulties to conquer when it comes to being in VR space such as motion sickness, or more precisely, cybersickness. We need to discover more locomotion methods that do not invoke cybersickness to unlock the full potential of VR experiences.
Last but not least, as the VR, AR and MR experiences are becoming more immersive and more social, the discomfort people can feel from other users’ misbehaviour increases when they interact. We have to carefully consider player safety and comfort when we create immersive experiences.
I think the entertainment aspects of VR, AR and MR are apparent. Can you share with our readers how these industries can help us at work?
The way we work has drastically changed since the pandemic restricted workspaces. Many companies have adopted remote work solutions, but working without the social interaction of meeting with coworkers can feel very isolating. Apart from video conferences and meetings, work meetings and fun events in VR can really bring people closer who never meet in real life.
Are there other ways that VR, AR and MR can improve our lives? Can you explain?
VR has immense potential for social life, self-immersion and learning. For example, VR provides a space for meeting people — you can hang out with friends and family who are literally on the other side of the planet. But VR also has spaces for being alone — you can have a space just for yourself like meditating on a mountain peak or exploring the depths of the ocean. Not to mention the fact that you could learn so much with VR, like experiencing a fishing simulator.
Let’s zoom out a bit and talk in broader terms. Are you currently satisfied with the status quo regarding women in STEM? If not, what specific changes do you think are needed to change the status quo?
When I came to Sweden, I was amazed by how empowered women are here. But even in Sweden, there aren’t many women in STEM fields. I believe role models are very important, and that’s one reason why women are needed in the STEM industries currently. Young girls need female role models to look up to and to inspire them to get into STEM.
What are the “myths” that you would like to dispel about working in your industry? Can you explain what you mean?
The first myth would be that everybody that works in the game industry also plays a lot of games. It’s true that a lot of game devs play games, including myself, but some devs just don’t play that often. The truth is, skill in a field of craftsmanship is what’s truly important for game devs. We have artists who love art, and programmers who love servers. Just like any great production, having a team with all the right pieces is the most important.
The second myth is that there are no talented women in the game industry. I’ve worked with many women who steer the direction of projects or enrich the quality of game experiences.
What are your “5 Leadership Lessons I Learned From My Experience as a Woman in Tech” and why? (Please share a story or example for each.)
Lesson 1: Build trust within the team. Trust is the foundation of working together. Organizing more events, casual talks with my team, or trip reports at the beginning of meetings all helped bring the team together.
Lesson 2 is linked with Lesson 1: After the team has trust, it’s much easier to have arguments and debates without offending others. Healthy conflicts are important to make a great product.
Lesson 3: The longer a team works together, the stronger the bond they have. We have teams that have worked together for a long time. They have stronger bonds and are generally more willing to prioritize the common goal of the team rather than individual success.
Lesson 4: It’s okay to say I don’t know. I used to feel bad when someone asked me a question that I didn’t know the answer to. I learned that it’s okay to say, “I don’t know the answer, but I’ll find out for you.” People won’t feel you’re weak but rather genuine and confident.
Lesson 5: Stick to commitments. I noticed that great managers around me all have this trait. They keep their promises and do what they say they are going to do.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would like to encourage people to pay more attention to the ergonomics in their workplace. I know a lot of young people around me are starting to get back pain, Mouse Arm and other issues related to bad posture and stress with intensive computer work. Take care of yourself while working so we stay away from body pain.
We are very blessed that very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them 🙂
Hayao Miyazaki. I have watched Ghibli movies since my childhood. Miyazaki has directed a lot of movies that I love. Most of the main characters in these movies are girls who are independent, strong, kind and positive. I want to know more about the stories behind all the characters and thank him for creating such great movies that have inspired and will continue to inspire a lot of kids to do great things when they grow up.
Thank you so much for these excellent stories and insights. We wish you continued success on your great work!
Wisdom From The Women Leading The VR, AR & Mixed Reality Industries, With Huiting Wang of… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
