D.R.I.V.E.
E-Sports Lab
Mission
Focus Areas
- Competitive Gaming
- Broadcasting
- Streaming
- Tournament Operations
- Shoutcasting
- Media Production
- Event Management
- Digital Content Creation
D.R.I.V.E. in the E-Sports Lab
Research — match analysis, opponent scouting, telemetry and statistics, audience research, platform economics.
Innovate — original broadcast segments, community events, content series, accessibility improvements, culturally grounded show formats.
Visualize — careers in production, casting, coaching, analysis, event operations, marketing, community management, and league administration.
Engineer — network and hardware configuration, streaming and encoding pipelines, audio and lighting, replay and observer systems, business and sponsorship operations.
Track Record
Since Ka Makani Kāʻili Koa’s founding, the E-Sports Lab has maintained a supporting presence at the e-sports competitions held at Kawaii Kon — Hawaiʻi’s largest anime convention. Supporting an established competition is how a programme learns event operations honestly: the stakes are real, the audience is real, and the failures are public.
Career Pathways
| Pathway | Roles |
|---|---|
|
Competition |
Player, team captain, coach, analyst, scout |
|
Broadcast |
Shoutcaster, host, observer, replay operator, producer, director |
|
Production |
Audio engineer, lighting, camera, stage manager, technical director |
|
Operations |
Tournament administrator, referee, scheduler, venue operations, safety lead |
|
Business |
Sponsorship, marketing, community management, league administration, content strategy |
Wellbeing and Competitive Integrity
Competitive gaming carries real risks: overuse injury, sleep disruption, harassment, gambling exposure, and unhealthy screen habits. The E-Sports Lab addresses these directly as part of the curriculum rather than treating them as someone else’s problem.
- Physical health — warm-up and stretching protocols, ergonomics, vision breaks, hydration, and scheduled rest built into practice.
- Mental health — tilt management, performance anxiety, loss processing, and clear referral routes to qualified support.
- Conduct — an enforced code covering harassment, slurs, doxxing, and cheating, applied to players, staff, and spectators alike.
- Balance — academic standing and family commitments take precedence over competitive schedules; program participation is contingent on it.
- Integrity — no program-sanctioned gambling or wagering content, and age-appropriate title selection reviewed by staff.
Jack Hobbs IV
Jack K. Hobbs IV is a 23-year-old Hawaiʻi-based game designer, educator, community organizer, and tabletop game professional whose work bridges game development, Indigenous storytelling, youth mentorship, cultural education, and community-centered creative technology. He serves as Chief Operating Officer of Project K4, a QBIPOC educational organization based in Hawaiʻi, and is the founder of INdigenous Games Design, a Project K4 D.R.I.V.E. program licensed to Ka Makani Kāʻili Koa’s Under the Helmet STREAMY initiative.
Raised in Nānākuli and active in Hawaiʻi’s game-development community since age 16, Hobbs brings approximately seven years of experience in game design, development, and gaming community leadership. His journey began as a student at Nānākuli High School, where he was introduced to game design through community-based educational programming. Since then, he has grown from student designer to instructor, advisor, program founder, convention leader, professional Dungeon Master, and game-industry advocate.
Hobbs is also a Co-Owner of Theorycraftist Games, a Hawaiʻi-based game company rooted in the belief that games can teach systems thinking, culture, social change, creativity, and collaboration. In his capacity as a game designer with Theorycraftist, he has co-developed a diverse portfolio of tabletop and interactive game concepts, including Hō‘akaua, a competitive card game inspired by the wars, warriors, and martial traditions of ancient Hawaiʻi; The Depression Game, a social deduction game in which players take on the roles of high school students navigating the daily realities of depression; The Nānākuli Esoteric Order of Investigators, a mystery and time-travel game originally envisioned as an augmented-reality experience where students move back and forth through time to solve mysteries connected to Nānākuli High School; and Namja Myeon, a playful restaurant strategy game in which one player serves as the cook while others play as devoted fans, competing to build the most successful restaurant in town through K-pop-inspired humor, food culture, and themed ingredients.
Across these projects, Hobbs’ design work demonstrates a broad creative range: culturally rooted competitive systems, socially conscious educational games, mystery-driven narrative design, augmented-reality concepts, comedy-based tabletop mechanics, and youth-centered interactive storytelling. His work reflects a commitment to designing games that are not only entertaining but also capable of opening conversations about identity, history, mental health, community, and imagination.
As founder of INdigenous Games Design, Hobbs champions tabletop games, digital games, roleplaying systems, worldbuilding, and interactive storytelling as tools for cultural education, leadership development, and creative career pathways. His approach centers Indigenous perspectives, local youth, and community knowledge, helping students understand that games are not only entertainment but also systems of learning, identity, strategy, and imagination.
Hobbs has been involved in Hawaiʻi’s gaming and convention ecosystem for nearly a decade. At age 18, he began teaching game design nationally and entered senior leadership roles with both Kawaii Kon and TableTop Con, giving him approximately five years of experience as a game-design educator and convention leader. By age 20, he was serving as an advisor and professional Dungeon Master, bringing approximately three years of experience in advanced mentorship, tabletop facilitation, campaign design, and collaborative storytelling.
Beyond the game industry, Hobbs has held leadership and service roles across Native Hawaiian, youth, civic, and charitable programs. He previously served as an officer of Nā Koa O Ka Mōʻī, also known as The King’s Guard, under Ka Makani Kāʻili Koa’s Nā Koa Hawaiʻi programs, and serves as a Unit Commander supporting Shriners Children’s community service activities. These experiences continue to inform his leadership style: disciplined, youth-centered, culturally responsible, and rooted in service.
Currently pursuing a degree in Game Development, Hobbs represents a rising generation of Hawaiʻi-based game creators building pathways for Indigenous, local, QBIPOC, and underrepresented students in the global games industry. His long-term vision is to expand Hawaiʻi’s presence in game development by creating programs, games, and educational models that prepare students not only to play in imagined worlds but to design, lead, and own them.
Hobbs welcomes scholarship, mentorship, publishing, industry, and educational partnership opportunities that support his continued development as a game designer, educator, and cultural technology leader.
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