Hey everyone! I have been living in Stockholm for a little over a month now, attending Futuregames. It has honestly been a really good experience so far, particularly with the people I have met and the knowledge I have gained. So far, I've completed an individual 2D platformer project and a collaborative physical board game. Both were done in about three weeks and taught me a lot about different processes. I particularly enjoyed the board game design course, as I never really knew much about its process and design. I worked with an excellent group of three others to make a simple and social game called Meandro! Both of these projects can be seen on my portfolio page, with a lot more information and visuals if you're interested.
Outside of school, I have been interested in learning how to develop mods. While there are a ton of games to start with, I felt the right place for learning and community support would be the legendary Skyrim. I have been following Bethesda's tutorials on the Creation Kit while also asking questions through an excellent Discord community I found, Arcane University. They essentially help people learn how to mod, answering questions, giving advice, and even grading assignments. Their overall goal is to help you improve, with the hope that you'll eventually join their community mod projects, such as Beyond Skyrim. I would love to join a project like this at some point, but I am slowly learning the Creation Kit methodically first. I specifically chose to focus on level design as I want to learn more about this role, and I think it will be beneficial for Futuregames as well.
In the last month or so, I have really become better at documenting efficiently for almost any and every project. School projects and my modding journey are obvious reasons for documenting, but I have also started to record and take notes on any video games I'm playing. I'm unsure if I'll use these to make a video essay or not at all, but I feel like it has helped me understand game design better as a whole and has gotten me into a good habit of documenting.
Even though I love video games and game design, I need a break from it at times. I found a football (soccer) team to play with each week, which is a lot of fun. They mainly speak in Swedish, which can be hard to understand while playing, but it gives me even more motivation to keep learning the language. All the guys are super friendly and can speak English with me when I have a question or need instructions. So essentially, living in Sweden has been pretty great so far! It was definitely something to get used to at first, and I don't know everything, but I think I'm progressing and am excited for the next couple of months. Our first big Game Project 1 is coming up, so stay tuned!
Hello, everyone! The bad news is that I have missed several months of this blog, meaning I have failed that sub-goal I set at the beginning. However, the good news is that I missed it because I have been very busy with other projects, graduation, and my next step in my career!
Firstly, I recently graduated and finished my B.S. degree at Oregon State University! It was a great four years in Oregon, where I learned a lot in the realm of Computer Science and Game Development, but I also grew as a person. It was tough saying goodbye to friends and acquaintances I had made over the years, but it is exciting to see what each of them will do next. The final project I completed was my capstone project, where my team created a 3D game in Unity. It was the most work I have put into a game project so far, and it was a blast to have other students, professors, and judges try it out at our Engineering Expo event. I will be updating the website here shortly to include all of my work, as I believe it showcases my progression as a game designer and team player.
I am absolutely thrilled to say that I have been accepted to Futuregames Stockholm to study Game Design for the next couple of years! This is an excellent opportunity for me to continue my growth and explore a new country. While getting everything in order to move to Sweden is time-consuming, it is also exciting, with great things to look forward to. I have also been trying to find time to learn more about Unreal Engine so I can start a longer-term personal project. I want something to work on during downtime or prototype with when I have new ideas. I am looking forward to Futuregames starting in Fall 2024 and hope to create some awesome new game projects!
Hello, everyone! Unfortunately, I've fallen behind on my goal of blogging monthly, primarily due to focusing on my capstone project and internship responsibilities. However, I'm excited to share that my capstone team has made substantial progress, and my internship is nearing its end.
As the Winter term draws to a close, I'm down to just one quarter before I receive my Bachelor's degree from Oregon State University. I'm thrilled to have chosen this institution for its outstanding education and the multitude of academic and professional connections it offers. Throughout my classes this term, I've honed my skills in modeling, computer graphics, texturing, and shading. While my primary career goal remains game design, I've found it extremely beneficial to gain an understanding of all aspects of game development. Besides, I thoroughly enjoy the creative process of crafting artistic elements!
My internship at Inorganic Games has been a valuable learning experience, marking the first time I've collaborated with a full team of specialists on a game project. I've been responsible for designing and prototyping various armors and abilities for the player in the game "Writhe." This role primarily involves shaping the mechanics of the game, reaffirming my preference for technical game design within the field of game development. In addition to my individual contributions, I've found it refreshing to engage in brainstorming sessions and bounce ideas off my colleagues during meetings. Witnessing the impressive work produced by my talented teammates has been both inspiring and motivating as well.
I believe it's important to mention that I've also been in the process of applying for Futuregames in Sweden, a renowned game development school. My goal is to enhance my current programming and design skills by having the guidance of mentors, engaging in collaborative game projects, and learning from other talented individuals. Futuregames has an excellent reputation and offers a program with classes that I believe will greatly benefit me (specifically game design). I've been revising my current documents detailing my experiences and working on additional work samples to finalize my application before submission. I'm particularly eager for April when I should find out whether or not I've been accepted. The next couple of months are shaping up to be very busy but also exciting for me. I hope to update this website with more information as soon as possible!
Happy holidays, everyone! I wanted to provide a quick update on my recent activities over the past month. I successfully completed my Fall quarter at school, returned home for the holidays, and took part in an exciting game jam!
During the final weeks of the school term, I focused on completing an animation final project for one of my courses. This project, based on a shiba and its owner, involved extensive research and experimentation with special effects and particle systems. The result is a three-minute short animated story, marking my first substantial animation project. I'm proud of the final product and the learning journey it entailed. If you're interested in more details, you can find them here.
After finishing the school term, I decided to participate in the Jame Gam Christmas Edition game jam hosted on itch.io. Serving as the sole designer and developer, I used Unity and Aseprite to create a 2D present stacking game where players control an elf. Despite the time constraint of one week, I'm pleased with the outcome. If you're curious, additional details can be found here.
Looking ahead, I'm excited about my upcoming internship with Inorganic Games, set to kick off in January. We've already held several meetings and planned tasks for the future. I'm eager to collaborate with a talented team to design and develop a game. Additionally, the anticipation for Spring 2024 is building, as that's when the game we're working on will be released for WebGL and Mobile platforms!
Hello, everyone! Welcome to my very first blog post. I've created this space to share my thoughts and experiences from time to time. While it primarily serves as a personal journal for me to revisit, I hope it might also pique your interest. For this initial entry, I'll keep it short and sweet.
I'm currently immersed in the world of 3D animation with Blender as part of my animation course. My project revolves around the idea of penguins playing soccer. To kick things off, I began by sculpting a penguin character, using YouTube tutorials to grasp essential techniques and navigate the Blender interface. As I progress, I'm increasingly aware of the challenges that 3D modeling and animation pose, but I must admit, I've found immense enjoyment in the entire process. Looking ahead, my next personal prroject will be to craft a realistic 3D environment with a focus on high-quality models, topology, and captivating lighting.
In recent developments, my teammates and I have been diligently planning our capstone project over the past couple of weeks. Our ambitious endeavor involves the design and development of a vehicle simulator. I'm brimming with excitement at the prospect of diving into Unreal Engine 5, and my aim is to master the intricacies of game engine physics, lighting, and processes. While we have a preliminary concept for our implementation, our initial focus will be on constructing the drivable vehicles, a task that will demand some time and dedication. This gives us ample room to brainstorm and refine our approach in the coming months.
Lastly, I'd like to mention that I'm in the process of crafting a plan to participate in a game jam as soon as possible. I want to experience the conditions of a short development period, but also practice these important skills with a team. I have a couple of people in mind, as well as ideas for a game to get started, so fingers crossed the plan goes accordingly!