Introduction & Aspirations

Welcome to my new blog. Here I will be documenting my journey as an MA Games Design student at UCLan. I will be studying full time for 1 year and, if all goes well, graduating in Winter 2017.

First, here's some info about myself. I am a 22 year old aspiring games designer from Cheshire, UK. I have been passionate about playing and designing games my whole life - as a kid I would draw level designs and character on any scrap paper I could find. In my teens, I began to create mods for Bethesda games and simple levels in Unreal Engine. I started my Bachelor of Arts degree in Games Design at UCLan in 2012 and graduated in 2015 with a 2.1 grade. I then took a year out and worked on some personal projects and also worked as a QA Tester at Traveller's Tales for 4 months over Summer 2016.

I have returned to study Games Design at Masters level so that I can continue to develop my skills and further my career after graduating. I would like to be able to get a job as an environment artist in an established studio such as Traveller's Tales, Rebellion or Bethesda (the ultimate goal!). Alternatively, I might pursue a career in QA and eventually try to advance to a senior role. I also hope to develop my 2D game skills so I can release app games independantly.

My first task is to answer some questions about myself, so here goes:

What skills do you bring to the MA?

I have been interested in playing and designing games for my whole life, and have gained and developed many skills up to this point.

I specialise in 3D modelling, prop/environment art, 2D games and audio and music for games. These are the areas in which I am most skilled. I first began to really delve into 3D modelling and environment art when I was in my 2nd year of BA study. 3D modelling seemed to come naturally to me and I quickly became used to using Autodesk Maya and Unreal Engine to create scenes and environments. My final honours project in 3rd year was a 3D diner environment, created in Maya, textured in Photoshop and built in Unreal Engine 4 - check out some pictures of it here.

A presentation shot from my honours project - "Diner in the Desert"

I have been creating 2D browser games in Construct 2 since June 2015. My first game was a simple, single-level platformer called Spaceship Mechanic. My other games include Puck, which is a 2 player Pong clone with an ice hockey theme, and Snowman Creator, a seasonal dress-up game that allows players to make custom snowmen. 2D game creation has become on of my favourite things to do and I hope to become skilled enough to make my future games available on the app market. Because I got into 2D games after all of my 3rd year work was finished, I have never submitted a 2D game as part of my university work.

Screenshot from Spaceship Mechanic - my first browser game.

My 3rd main area of focus is game audio and music. I have been producing music for over 3 years and I create all the music and audio for my 2D games myself. I also sell music online for others to use in their own projects - some samples of this can be heard here. I also produce non-game music as a hobby under the name Denim Kid.

I have many other skills that I picked up during my time as an undergraduate: I have a deep understanding of game mechanics and gameplay systems and game concept origination. I also have experience in character design, digital painting and concept art.

Finally, I have 4 months experience as a QA Tester at Tt Fusion. This was an incredibly valuable experience for me. It helped me to better understand how games work, how studios operate and how to better diagnose and solve bugs in games. I am a credited QA Tester on LEGO Stars Wars: TFA and LEGO Dimensions (Year 2 content).

LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens credits

What interests you?

A collage of my favourite games.

The aspect of playing and creating games that interests me the most is the creation of immersive, fascinating, richly detailed universes and environments, which is why I chose to specialise in environment art. I enjoy games that tell stories through the environment. Atmospheric games with attractive environments are my favourite games to play and I aspire to achieve atmosphere and immersion when creating my own games.

I am interested in how ambience and immersion are created through the combined use of environment art, lighting, particle affects, audio and music and so on. I am interested in level design and quest/dungeon/puzzle design.

In terms of playing games for own enjoyment, I am interested in games with historical settings and themes. I also enjoy challenging, goal based games for the sense of achievement that they offer. Games with quality audio and soundtracks also appeal to me. My favourite genres are role playing games, real-time strategies and first-person shooters. I am predominantly a console gamer. I play on Xbox 360, Xbox One and PS2. I occasionally game on PC. I enjoy same-console co-op ("Couch Co-Op") and multiplayer.

Outside of games, I am also interested in films and TV, history and music. I like looking at buildings and considering the thought that goes into the planning of public spaces/cities. I find that visiting museums and historic places and being in nature also inspires me.

What is your initial idea for your MA study?

I have a few ideas for what I would like to study for my MA.

I am considering looking at how real-world medieval history/culture has influenced the design of RPG and RTS games, for example, how Norse architecture influenced environment art in Skyrim, fictional representations of real-world weapons, medieval tactics in the Age of Empires franchise etc. This would allow me to combine my interest in RPG/RTS games and history and would help me to develop my own design skills. This would involve researching medieval history, military history, lifestyle, culture and so on, and seeing how this is portrayed in video games and how it influences design.

An example of a game featuring medieval settings/themes.

Another possibility is to look at how toys-to-life games could be brought to the mainstream and to a wider audience, e.g, marketed towards adults rather than marketed mostly to children as they are currently. This is something that I often pondered while working on LEGO Dimensions at Traveller's Tales and I think that my experience at Tt would be useful if I took this route. This would involve looking at games marketing and demographics and the potential of toys-to-life games, which is a relatively new and potentially lucrative concept.

LEGO Dimensions. A successful toys-to-life game.

My final idea is to look at how atmosphere and immersion is achieved in video games. As an environment artist, this would be an interesting and useful line of research. I would research how all the different aspects of a game, including environment art, mechanics and audio, come together to make an atmospheric game. I would also look at how films, TV and museums create convincing environments and experiences. This would help me to become a better environment artist, which is one of my future career aspirations.

By the end of the MA course I hope to have an in-depth knowledge of games design that will allow me to pursue my career in the industry.

What things are you going to look at?

I want to look into immersion, environment art, 3D modelling, texturing, games marketing, mechanics and audio. I also plan to look at things outside of the world of games design. Things like architecture, design of vehicles/products/furniture, history, art, films, music, nature and anything else that could help me to become a better designer.

Activities that I could do to help develop my knowledge and inspire me include:

playing games of varying genres on different platforms and games from different generations // attending games conferences // talking to my peers about game design ideas // reading books, magazines and articles // watching videos and software tutorials // visiting museums and art galleries // researching art and design principles // visiting new places and environments to broaden my mind and change my perspective // playing board games, physical games, sports etc // creating 3D models, environments and 2D games // listening to music and game soundtracks that inspire me.

I'd like to come out of the MA course with an indepth understanding of my areas of interest that will allow me to continue my games industry career in the future.