SUSAN SHU CHANG: Break into game development with Python

ABOUT SPEAKER
Susan Shu Chang is a data scientist by day and game developer by night.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Python has been a life-changer for Susan. Not only did it allow her to launch a career in data science straight out of college, but also to break into the highly-competitive world of game development. In 2019 Susan released her first commercial video game, A Summer with the Shiba Inu, now available on Steam and all major consoles.

A strong believer in giving back to the community, she enjoys sharing her knowledge via mentoring and speaking at workshops and conferences (PyCon Canada 2019, PyCon India 2020, and many others). Susan is also a steering committee member and blog editor of A.I. Socratic Circles, a popular Toronto-based tech group that regularly hosts discussions on machine learning research. (Find the AISC video archive here: youtube.com/c/AISocraticCirclesAISC.)

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susan-shu-chang
Web: susanshu.com/about

ABOUT TALK
Ren'Py is an open source engine used to make interactive fiction games, also known as visual novels (VNs). These include commercial hits with VN elements such as Persona 5 as well as viral phenoms such as Doki Doki Literature Club (2mil+ downloads as of Jan 2018). We will discuss how Ren'Py takes care of memory optimization, cross-platform game saves, and many other important aspects of video game design while examining the source code of the engine.

The audience will also gain a better understanding of the independent gaming industry and how they can break into it by following Susan’s footsteps.