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A picture of Pam Punzalan

Pam Punzalan

Game designer

in designer, game, windows, writer

Who are you, and what do you do?

I'm Pam Punzalan, an independent game designer based in Metro Manila, Philippines. I also do speaking engagements, community management, events organization, real estate brokerage, I'm a writer, editor, researcher, and consultant! At present, I've been published in some mid to large scale tabletop roleplaying game projects. There will be a lot more to come by next year.

What hardware do you use?

These days, I'm primarily on my laptop - a Xiaomi Mi Notebook that I bought around 2016. The machine runs on an Intel i5, so it's still extremely reliable. Otherwise, I'm on a custom assembled PC that I put together for my gaming needs. That one is an i7, with one of the nicer NVIDIA graphics cards installed. The monitor I am using with my PC is a wide Samsung monitor from 2018. Both my keyboard and mouse are gaming peripherals from Legion.

Since my work requires regular virtual meetings and running games for leisure or playtesting means having to do conference calls, I can't function without my webcam or my mic. The webcam's an eMeet C960, and the mic is a Samson Meteor Mic. Both of them were gifts from friends in the tabletop gaming industry.

And what software?

I can't live without Dropbox and Google Drive. My entire life is on those platforms! Then, the Microsoft Office suite pretty much covers all my other needs. Whatever Office doesn't end up covering, Adobe Acrobat and the Affinity Design Suite fill in the blanks. Discord is the main way to reach me, and it's also where I do most of my hang outs, games, and marketing. Google Chrome is my main internet browser of choice since it's hella convenient given my current setup. Then, for note-taking, I prefer Google Keep over everything else. Miro is also proving to be one of my new favorites for flowcharts and diagrams.

What would be your dream setup?

I would love to have two monitors set up. That would make my life a whole lot easier! My main issue beyond it being expensive is that I just don't have enough table space for this in my apartment. I'd also love to have fully adjustable camera and ring light stands to make the streams, talks, and games that I do online look even better. A mechanical keyboard would also be great.

If I had even more money on hand, I'd upgrade both my laptop and my PC. Both are due for an upgrade. Specifically, I'd custom build another PC, and I'd angle for an Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 to replace my laptop.