Welcome to the TentuPlay People series where we introduce our teammates and their roles at Sentience, Inc.
Today, we will be meeting Hyemin Kwon, the Technical Lead/Co-founder of TentuPlay, who is responsible for AI modeling and developing the data collection SDK for TentuPlay.
Q. Would you introduce yourself to our subscribers and tell us about your role?
Hi, my name is Hyemin Kwon, and I am one of the founding members of Sentience. I am currently in charge of managing the development of our game, South Pole Bebop. My main responsibilities include reviewing development-related designs and planning tasks for our team.
So far, I worked in various roles, such as developing and managing AWS cloud infrastructure, data streaming for large-scale game services, ETL technology, data analysis engine, web service, and TentuPlay Unity SDK. I am still handling customer inquiries regarding the SDK and taking charge of additional development and deployment during version updates.
Other than that, I also manage Human Resources and recruiting to promote a transparent and efficient working environment. If you are interested in a developer position at Sentience, there’s a high chance you’ll meet me during the job interview.
Q. You seem to take charge of many things. What do you find interesting about your game development team?
Since taking on a management role, I have struggled to adapt. As someone who started the career as a software engineer, without spending all day writing codes, I felt like I wasn’t accomplishing anything. Before doing the management tasks, I used to get excited about the features I made and the bugs I fixed. Now I’m finding joy in solving challenging situations within our team by observing how my teammates cooperate and overcoming any difficulties they may face.
Q. Would you tell us more about TentuPlay SDK as the one who developed it?
TentuPlay SDK has two main functions: 1) Collecting various events of users and 2) Delivering personalized offers generated by TentuPlay algorithms to users. I created a TentuPlay SDK specifically for UNITY, focusing on ensuring the game runs smoothly and without errors for both clients and players. To achieve this, I implemented safety measures that prioritize performance optimization and minimize data loss.
As a result, we can handle large amounts of data from high DAU games, sudden changes in game state, and unexpected server errors.
We have also developed SDKs for other platforms, such as Roblox and JavaScript, and will continue to develop more in the future.
Q. Personally, I have great admiration for your team's ability to promptly solve any problem. In your opinion, what stands out as the strongest aspect of your team?
I am proud to work alongside such amazing teammates who complement each other's strengths and qualities. They possess excellent technical skills and a broad perspective on the overall picture. They are aware of what they are working on, the context, and the next steps, resulting in significantly improved usability products.
I am delighted to work with them because I can learn from my teammates. Having teammates who are always open to new challenges and expanding their knowledge and experience is also beneficial for a startup like Sentience.
Q. As a Technical Lead, what kind of difficulties do you have and how do you overcome them?
My goal at Sentience has always been to create flawless products from scratch. Although technical challenges can be time-consuming, they can usually be resolved by adopting best practices. While these challenges may be stressful, I enjoy treating them as quests.
One of the difficulties I encounter is ensuring that our products have business significance. This is when I rely heavily on my teammates. Through conversations with them, I can gain insights and make breakthroughs.
Furthermore, whenever I have concerns regarding my work, I always go talk to my co-founders, Hyeyon(CEO) and Marcus(CTO). We discuss ways to boost efficiency, identify any mistakes I might be making, and introduce new processes and systems to create a better working environment.
Q. What capabilities are essential to become a Technical Lead, and what efforts should be made to acquire those capabilities?
Having a solid technical foundation is crucial, and while it's impossible to know everything, connecting existing knowledge and experiences and thinking critically is even more important.
Looking back, long and mundane times when I faced unknown errors and gained hands-on coding experience were essential in developing these capabilities. Although situations may differ, the experiences I've accumulated have prepared me to come through when it matters most.
Q. What futures are you looking forward to TentuPlay and Sentience?
I have two rather small hopes; that our clients continue using TentuPlay's services without issues and that our game, South Pole Bebop players find the game enjoyable when it's officially released.
Based on this, we plan to expand our technology to the Metaverse to bring joy to even more users.
Q. Lastly, what is your personal goal at Sentience?
I am passionate about self-improvement and achieving small goals. Working at Sentience, where I have been with for a long time, has provided me with the opportunity to do just that. My aim is to continuously improve and achieve both in my personal and professional life.
Thanks to Hyemin, our Technical Lead, for taking time to join the interview. Stay connected with TentuPlay to learn more about our teammates and their roles.
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