As the morning announcements draw to an end, a familiar crowd filters in to the Little Theater. Pamela Lim-McAllister, Zian Liu’s teacher, club advisor, and longtime supporter, takes a seat in the back end of the room, sporting her trademark expression of enthusiasm. Key members of the Dragon’s Fury Game Series Design Team — Richard Yao, Daniel Goldwyn, and Nir Maoz, among others — take seat in the second row. After a brief introduction from Felix Yoon, Liu marches down the aisle donning typically formal attire. As he approaches the podium, he stops momentarily to scan the audience. For a quick second, perhaps to reflect on the years of hard work that have brought him here, he breathes an accomplished sigh of relief. He then proceeds to begin his speech.
In May of 2008, Liu — a self-described “socially-awkward thirteen year old boy” — set out on a mission to create Dragon’s Fury: Legend of the Dragon Master. For the past several years, he’s worked tirelessly on the full-length role-playing game. With the support of many others along the way, and in spite of the occasional self-doubt, he’s finally completed the 57th stage of his game.
As he addresses the audience in announcement of the completion of Dragon’s Fury: Legend of the Dragon Master, which will be packaged for release by February 2012, he devotes most of his speech to thanking the many people who have — either directly or indirectly — assisted him in his creation of the game.
Those who know Liu are well aware of his accomplishments. Whether it’s in Science Bowl, Model United Nations, or merely academics, Liu has constantly excelled in a multitude of fields. In spite of this, he’s ultimately a humble man.
In his speech, this becomes quite apparent. Liu’s announcement speech is not a salute to his own accomplishment, but rather, an expression of gratitude for all those who have inspired, influenced, and supported him in these many years. The speech is also, of course, supplemented with the communist values which comprise the essence this dynamic man.
He ends his speech with a message of inspiration, encouraging others to realize that the seemingly impossible remains within reach. This challenging journey, through dedication, confidence, and countless hours on a dying Toshiba laptop, has proven successful.
