Meet the Winners: Angela He

After years of training as an artist and animator, Angela He, 17, knew she was ready for a new challenge that would encourage her audience to take a more active role with her creations. The Oakton, Virginia resident decided to develop a game design based on her research into the refugee crisis, hoping to encourage players to develop empathy and understanding as they moved through the game. When Angela learned about the challenges North Korean refugees were facing, she decided to make it the focus of her game. The result, Suppressed, won the High School Unity category of the 2016 National STEM Video Game Challenge. In Suppressed, players attempt to escape a totalitarian regime with gameplay largely driven by a powerful, dark narrative.

“Game design has got to be the hardest thing I’ve ever pursued,” says Angela, “but it’s worth it because you are literally building your own world.” When she’s not designing games or creating works of art, Angela enjoys reading game design research papers, doing homework, and consuming economics, psychology, and business podcasts. After high school, she’s plans to pursue game design, and is interested in developing educational games that are fun enough for students to choose to play even on their own time.

This game contains mature content (violence and death). Please view at your discretion.

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