Education Ecosystem Blog

Liam Craver is a Computer Science student from New Orleans, United States. He founded Lime Studios, an independent game development, and design studio. Liam’s also the creator of the game Project Arrhythmia. He additionally made Gerald Bot. A chat bot made exclusively for LivecodingTV. He streams majorly on Unity3D and game related stuff.

Real Name: Liam Craver

Alter ego: lcraver

Location: United States

Power/Abilities: C#, Full stack Web developer, Unity 3D

Username: https://www.livecoding.tv/lcraver

Profession: Student of Computer Science at University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Q:  How and when did you start developing an interest in Unity 3D? Did you always preferred to be a GameDev?  

A:  I really first got interested in coding due to games, but mostly did web stuff till I got into highschool around 6 years ago. Around then I started development with the now defunct XNA game engine. After that was dropped by Microsoft I moved over to Unity and have been using it (and loving it) ever since.

Q: How long did it take you to learn good GameDev skills?

A: I’ll say the cliche that I’m constantly learning and so I’m not sure if I can call myself “good” yet. I mean heck I even learn stuff while streaming all the time. That being said I’d say after I made the first demo for Project Arrhythmia I finally realized I was apparently pretty dang good at this stuff!

Q: Could you please elaborate your exclusive work on livecoding.tv “Gerald Bot”?

A: A while back I saw a contest held to make Livecoding.tv chat bots and Gerald was created originally for that. However, he has become a regular part of my streams, almost like my wingman of sorts. I streamed nearly his entire development adding a voice to him as well as many useful features. People seemed to really enjoy him so I actually made him open source and free to edit on github.

Q: What challenges did you face with the development of your game “Project Arrhythmia”? How long it took you to complete the full game?

A: My biggest challenge was definitely figuring out the direction of the game. This being my first official release under Lime Studios I wanted everything to be perfect. The problem? I became obsessed with all these small stupid details and really got trapped in a loop. I would work on small details then seeing I was making no progress get annoyed and would not want to work on it.

Q: Would you bother telling the viewers more about your creation Lime Studios?

A: Lime Studios has always been my dream. To start an small gamedev company. I got the name from my nickname “Lime” from the way people used to mispronounce my name “Liam.” Remember that super bowl commercial with Liam Neeson and Clash of Clans? Well that’s spot on! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC2qk2X3fKA]

Q: What are the other projects you’re working on right now? Please share.

A: I’m also working on an unnamed RPG. Not much but a base at the moment but it’s shaping up to be a cute low-poly standard JRPG. I also just recently finished a gamejam game called Takoyaki Run. [https://limestudios.itch.io/takoyaki-run]

Q: What challenges do you face every day as a Game Developer?

A: Since I can’t work full time, being a full time student. The biggest challenge is finding the time and energy to work at least a little on my various projects every day. I love nothing more then getting to sit down for a whole 4-8 hours on the weekends to simply code.

Q: Which all programming languages are you learning at college?

A: My year is the last to have a C++ curriculum, they are switching to Java. Other then that we’ve learned basic Assembly. That being said, I was already well versed in C++ before coming to college.

Q: What is the demand of GameDev’s in The United States lately?

A: Honestly not sure, sadly all the internships I’ve gotten have not been gamedev related. However, I certainly hope it’s high 😉

Q: What would you like to advice to all the newbies entering the world of Game Development?

A: Start small and get something done. Do as I say not as I do in this case. I started with Project Arrhythmia and it’s taken years to finish. I would recommend get a much smaller game out first, instead of having a massive project like Project Arrhythmia be your first game. It will boost your confidence and get your name out quicker. Once you get the first one out then it’s up to you go wild!

Check out lcraver’s latest Stream on livecoding.tv Chat Bot below.