tian nya

Game Developer & 2D Artist

Elite Exorcist Miko
WOWOWOW KORONE BOX
PROJECT AMATSUKI
Older Projects
Digital Art
hololive Animations

About

I'm a Toronto based game developer & artist. I spent most of my life in Ontario, and ever since childhood, I've had a passion for drawing and a knack for computing. I studied piano for 8 years, often participated in holiday concerts, and won several awards from local competitions. My first exposure to video games were Super Mario 64, Runescape and Generation 3 Pokémon, and my favourite genre is the shoot 'em up.Even when I was around 10 years old, I often sketched out hypothetical game ideas and user interfaces (not even knowing the term existed). I made enough of these sketches to fill entire scrapbooks.In 7th grade, I discovered MIT Media Labs' visual programming language Scratch. Scratch was my first experience with programming in general, and many years of experimenting and creating projects would evolve into an earnest interest in developing games. I also picked up game modding in my free time, giving me firsthand experience with real game systems. I realized that I could apply all of my skills — design, drawing, music, computation — towards doing something I loved.Over the years, I put the various skills I learned into practice. I believe that a valuable member in a development team is someone with an understanding of all aspects involved in the development of a project, such that they can perfectly cooperate with their teammates of varying talents. To that end, I aimed to improve myself equally in a wide array of skills, and I continue to do so today while picking up new ones as well.Some of my favourite games:
• Touhou Project
• Nuclear Throne
• Enter the Gungeon
• 100% Orange Juice
• Team Fortress 2

Elite Exorcist Miko

Date	2024 (ongoing)
URL	Steam
Genre	Shoot 'em up

Elite Exorcist Miko is an ongoing fangame project based off of hololive production, published under holo Indie. Starring the talent Sakura Miko, the game is a twin-stick shoot 'em up with roguelite elements and a focus on boss battles and melee combat. Inspirations include but are not limited to Touhou Project, Suguri, Nuclear Throne and Enter the Gungeon.The game is intended to be both accessible to new shoot 'em up players and enjoyable for veteran players as well. The player is given a variety of options to customize their experience to their liking, including equipment customization and different combat styles with varying levels of risk vs. reward.The scale of the game is planned to be greater than all of my previous projects. While I am responsible for a large portion of art and all programming/design/music arrangements, I am receiving help from many other skilled creators with this project.The game is currently released in Early Access, with a full release projected for 2027. A free demo is also available to play.

A selection of some of the art I created for Elite Exorcist Miko. Much of the art is done by me, but I am receiving help from many other artists, particularly for backgrounds and character portraits.Owing to the game's nature as a project based off of hololive production, much of the art here, primarily character art, is based on existing designs.

The following is a selection of gameplay streams from hololive talents.

WOWOWOW KORONE BOX

Date	2021
URL	Steam
Genre	Shoot 'em up

WOWOWOW KORONE BOX is a fangame based off of hololive production. Originally published on itch.io, as of April 12, 2024, it is a title officially published under holo Indie. It features Inugami Korone, member of hololive GAMERS. The game is a top-down shooter with the objective of collecting as many Korone Boxes as possible without getting hit even once. Korone must contend with many enemies and boss battles, but is given a variety of weapons to help her survive. The game is inspired by Vlambeer’s Super Crate Box and Nuclear Throne.The game is intended to capture Korone’s personality and content in a fast-paced and punishing but addictive experience reminiscent of arcade games. Combining the one-life and random weapon acquisition loops of Super Crate Box with the top-down twin stick style of Nuclear Throne, the player is constantly kept on their toes as they progress through an increasingly difficult horde of enemies. The weapon the player has on hand at any given moment determines what tactics are effective, especially when facing the many different bosses.I am responsible for most of the art and all of the programming. The many character designs in the game are based on official hololive designs as well as Korone’s own creations. I arranged the game’s soundtrack, remixing various tracks by other artists. A full list of credits can be found in-game.

The following is a selection of gameplay streams from hololive talents.

PROJECT AMATSUKI

Date	2020
URL	itch.io
Genre	Shoot 'em up

PROJECT AMATSUKI is a vertical slice of a 3D bullet hell shoot 'em up, developed together with Dexter Truong and Nicola Battista as part of the capstone year at Sheridan College’s game design program. The design goals were to provide a semi-hardcore experience for seasoned players of similar genres, while tackling the challenges in translating traditionally 2D design to 3D space.The player is given access to a multitude of abilities, including free flight, dodging with invincibility to projectiles, time slow, and a plethora of weapons adapted to different scenarios, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The player must traverse through several levels consisting of waves of different enemies that fire dense projectile patterns, ultimately culminating in a challenging boss battle.My responsibilities on this project were as follows:
• Create concept art for the player character and boss with attention to their functionality
• Design, prototype and program gameplay and systems
• Design and implement the boss battle
• Create 3D animations for all characters
• Implement sound and compose background music
• Create user interface and visual effects

Older Projects

Collection of older projects, many of which were developed for school assignments.

Holoware (2020)

Holoware is an incomplete fan project inspired by WarioWare and based off of hololive production, featuring its various virtual YouTuber talents. It consists of a large collection of microgames that must be cleared one after another, with the game’s speed steadily increasing as you progress.This project served as a means of experimenting with many different types of games, and quickly designing and prototyping them. Designing Holoware presented the unique challenge of translating different visions, contexts and scenarios from the source material (hololive streams) into playable formats.I am responsible for all art, game design, programming, and some music arrangements.

Sapce Snake (2018)

Sapce Snake (spelling intentional) is a shoot 'em up prototype developed in Unity, where the player controls a backwards-shooting ship that collects parts for enhanced firepower and an elongated body.This game was developed in a team with Ata Dogan, Ashwin Kamath and Gabriel Duarte. It began as one of many prototypes, and was polished over the course of a semester. I designed and programmed player/enemy mechanics and interactions, and was in charge of FMOD implementation and sound design.

I Wanna Be The Ball (2019)

I Wanna Be The Ball is a short but difficult 2-player co-op puzzle game where one player controls the ball and another rotates the entire level, with the goal of bringing the ball to the goal without touching any hazards.This game was developed in a team with Nicola Battista as part of an assignment where our game is required to draw on a specific emotion. Our target emotion is frustration, which the game evokes like its namesake, Kayin’s I Wanna Be The Guy.

Some Stock Game (2017)

Some Stock Game is a 2-4 player competitive stock trading game where the goal is to earn $1 million before other players do. To this end, one must invest in shady corporations and play dirty if they are to pull ahead.Players may invest in 4 different companies by buying their shares, contributing to their growth and improving their unique services. Shares can then be sold to return a profit if their value had increased since the time of purchase. Players may analyze trends to determine their best course of action while actively impeding their rivals.This game was developed in a team with Dexter Truong, Zhe Yue and Nicola Battista as part of an assignment on economic systems where at least 2 resources were required to interact in complex ways. I directed and designed this project, and led the game’s programming.

Nyaha (2017)

Nyaha was a co-op shoot 'em up boss fight developed in Unity using the HappyFunTimes library. An unlimited number of players may join the game using their smartphone and work together to take down a giant cat boss.Nyaha was developed in a team with Patrick Li, Allison Langlois, Dexter Truong and Selina Muriel, as part of the Sheridan Game Design program’s Winter 2017 Design Week challenge. I developed the entirety of the boss itself, from visuals to mechanics, as well as a significant portion of the game’s systems. At the time I was still very new to Unity, and had to learn a great deal of how things worked on the fly and within a very short time.