Reflecting on Studio 1

Studio 1 was the most pivotal subject for me personally so far in my degree at SAE. Not only did i learn a huge amount of skills i found out incredibly helpful things about myself, for example i found that the way i learn best is by listening so I've taken to recording myself when doing my work in a game engine and listening back while i write my dev diaries about the work i completed. Studio 1 was also the first time i got to work with my now great friends Victor and Darryl who i was lucky enough to work with over the holidays at the Make-A-Thing game jam. Studio 1 was huge for me on a personal level because throughout any kind of creative practise i have had over my life I have always had great doubt in my capabilities and to an extent i think it held me back in studio 1's beginnings. Over the course of the 13 weeks i realised what assets i can bring to the table which gave me greater confidence in both my work and myself.

In my soft skills meeting i spoke to Tony and Steve about wanting to do narrative games in Studio 2 as that was something i felt i was strong in from my background in comic book writing. Over the holidays i did some work on some side projects and looked into some of my unused stories which i could potentially adapt into a game, i did find many possibilities but it got me thinking whether that was really what would be best for my future as a game developer. I decided that instead of focusing on something i was strong in why not focus on the weaker aspects of my development skills and hone them throughout studio 2. This started me researching a multitude of topics, finally i stumbled across this tweet showing a amazing piece of work created with the Unity Particle system. This has driven me to want to really focus on making beautiful particle effects and adding post processing onto my Studio 2 games which i have yet to have the chance to do.

I want Studio 2 to be an outlet for me creativity and give me a chance to create without super strict briefs, which what I' have seen so far is the case. One thing Brendan my lecturer said during our first class was that it doesn't matter how bad we are at coding to just do it, and one of the things that has been holding my confidence back is that i know my coding isn't to a standard that i wish it was. Just the statement Brendan said has given me drive and more confidence to attempt more ambitious things and if i get stuck have the confidence to ask for help.

Overall my end goal for game design is to bring people together, my fondest memories of gaming stem from playing games couch co-op with my brother David and some of these memories are what made me into the man i am today. I want to give people the chance to have to moments together by playing my games.

We have just got our first brief and are tasked with making a personal game, i have spent time brainstorming and have come up with a ambitious task for myself. Can't wait to share it with you all. Watch this space!

Paul