Since the beginning of my degree in Game Design, one of the biggest questions that I have had hounding my steps is what will I do once I graduate? It is the same with everyone, I know, and while the idea of leaving the comforting world of academia and branching out into the professional industry is a terrifying one, now that I am at the end of my studies, the answer still alludes me.
I started this degree because, simply put, I enjoyed playing games, and the actual process behind creating a game--from the initial concepts, to the completion of the project--fascinated me. For the past four years, I have dedicated myself to building up my skills and expanding my knowledge on a subject that has continued to intrigue me; and while I have come far, and learned quite a lot, I know there is still so much more for me to accomplish in the future.
My passions in gaming are level design and narrative construction, because both of these areas appeal to my innate desire to create things. These last few weeks I have been searching online for any kinds of opportunities that might allow me to gain a foot in the door, so to speak. While looking through the various job sites and accumulating a list of skills that I would need to successfully enter the industry, I came to the realisation that I already possessed a majority of the core skills required, though perhaps not to the standard most companies demand. This is, of course, more a matter of experience than anything, and a fault that will no doubt be remedied as I move on to bigger projects.
I was lucky enough to sit down with a group of industry professionals only a week or so ago, and the advice that they gave me has certainly given me a solid understanding of how I could improve myself, to make myself more appealing to potential employers. While yes, I have managed to make myself into a rather well-rounded game designer, and while many gaming companies prefer to take on juniors that they can train to fill what gaps they have--I needed something more than the current projects I had completed to really showcase my abilities.
I am a level designer, but I know that I have no large-scale evidence of my skills in this department. While the projects I have worked on in the past have all had aspects of level design in them, I need a project that was fully dedicated to this area of my skill-set. I need to be able to present proof that I understand the concepts that are crucial to the design of a proper level, and my abilities to physically build it.
As such, for this coming semester, I will be creating a looping level, not dissimilar to one seen in the original Sypro trilogy, to demonstrate my advanced knowledge of level design, as well as my ability to construct a physical recreation of my concepts. This project will particularly show many of my pre-production skills, my experience with modelling tools such as Maya, and my skills with the Unity Engine.
By creating this project, I will have tangible proof of my abilities, and will fill this rather glaring hole in my portfolio.
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