Research into Progression Routes
I have a lot of universities that I want to pursue, but I am limited to 5 maximum.
London South Bank University (L75) Game Design and Development (W212)
University of the Arts London (U65) Games Design (I600)
University of West London (W05) Games, Design and Animation (I603)
University of Westminster, London (W50) Computer Games Development (GG46)
open days
London South Bank Uni - Undergraduate - Southwark Campus - Saturday 16 November
Talk with University Students
26th Sep MM XX IV
Today we had a talk with a couple of university students, who were former Stanmore college students. That came in and discussed how the path to university would be like, and how their entire experience was to them.
University Experience
The university experience is characterized by a significant degree of freedom compared to other educational systems. Unlike a levels or college, where teachers provide a continuous support system. Universities provide a more highly individualized learning, in which students are expected to be independent and proactive in seeking assistance from instructors when needed.
Basically you are mostly on your own, but you aren't dismissed or talked down for trying to ask for help.
Then accommodation was asked about. Despite the current cost of living crisis, student accommodation is still very accessible, and a great way to be in the "uni life" mindset. As you are close or living with other students, and is another option to socialise and build connections. But for me, in my current situation, I don't think I am able to go for accommodation, as I am more pressured to be around my family.
One new thing I learned was a thing called "society". A club system ran by students, and funded by the school. Aim of the "society" system is to bring students that have similar interest closer together. It helps with alleviating pressure off students, and to make them more comfortable when settling into university.
The last thing that was drilled that we had to prepare and be ready for, was creating our portfolios and CVs. A portfolio is a good way of showing to employers, and education boards, your accumulated visual/written/etc. work. We was told that the portfolio needed to be first understandable and easy to navigate, as when someone doesn't know where anything is, then simply the person will move on. And this ones obvious, but the portfolio work needs to match or be in the same work field as the ones you are applying for. If that's difficult, then making two or multiple portfolios tailored for each type of work is a good alternative.
Overall, I liked the insight I gained from talking to alumni students, and how they are handling university as of right now. I would like to attend university right after college, but still iffy on accommodation. I don't know about working while doing university , but that's for future me to worry about.
Courses and Modules:
Courses are usually particular and focus on a certain skill set. Modules cover the subset of skills available in your courses and often give projects simultaneously. Sometimes you are even torn between which one to spend the most time on because you want to finish first/with more quality in the work.
UI Design Industry Workshop
Today, we were introduced to Michael, a former student who in our course who has advanced into the Games industry. And was here to discuss his experience with us within the industry.
We were taught the importance of knowing a lot of people, not just to use them as a way rank up the hypothetical corporate ladder. But they are good to have, as you might need them, or you are needed later on by them.
Then there are times when you work with people, who don't know anything about how games are made, or even the slightest clue about the process of making a game. Their lack of knowledge, will make them act more hostile towards you, as they don't know why you can't seem to understand about something they also don't know much about. So that is why communication is important, as things will go smoothly, if no troubling waters are set afloat.
Modular building was another concept talked about, it is good to work in a modular way, as when you work on a piece of project. It is good if you can easily remove or add things that don't require, THAT much work to do so. If a contractors, or overseer doesn't like how the colour of the sky is, it should be easy to change some settings quickly and appropriately in a timely manner.
So tl;dr: maintain friendships/contacts, think and work in a modular way, fail fast.
For the practical part of the workshop, we were assigned roles to research and create certain UI aspects that would match the game genre.
I thought we had to make some "non-UI" elements, but I slowly figured that we heard our task wrong, and then started working on the right tasks.
Overall, this was a fun and concise workshop for me, as I learned what employers and people who are already in the game industry want with me.
University Requirements
Personal Strengths and Weaknesses
CV Writing
Some time in Early November MMXXIV
A CV, or "Curriculum Vitae" is a document filled to the brim about information of your professional and academic history. Including but not limited to work experience, education, skills, achievements, and any and all relevant details. Unlike a resume, a CV is a shortened down, summary version, which is only one page. Whereas the former, can be multiple pages long.
A CV is cut down into small sections. Making it readable is the goal, as well as laying out the most important information first. A typical layout would combine some of the previous listed items into:
UCAS Form(s) and References
Personal Statement
Draft
A game that I still remember to this day is ‘Citizen Sleeper’. Its dystopian cyberpunk world immersed me, forcing decisions I never thought I'd make. My fight for survival felt real, even though they were just bits and pixels. It was real to me. Because of that game, and many other experiences, I want to explore the idea of crafting compelling games. By studying Game Design at university, I aim to develop the necessary skills to make a memorable experience that people will remember.
My worldview of making games was limited, as I didn’t know how to enter the industry. Before college, video games were a leisure activity, and I would be funnelled into other pathways. Early on, my journey began by working on a couple digital and physical game projects, by creating a few 'Choose Your Own Adventure' style games on paper around the age of thirteen, which I would share them during middle school, and later developed simple platformers using ‘GDevelop’ once I got the hang of a computer.
Entering college, my worldview changed, my perspective broadened as I was no longer working alone, and had to cultivate my skills further. This involved participating in various group projects during my game design and animation course, which included: creating a small game, producing a one-minute animation piece, and developing a playable game within one week. Bit by bit, I accumulated a lot of sweat, and tears, which helped me cultivate the skills and experiences needed to work on my own projects.
I’ve become a jack of all trades from the versatile skill sets I have accumulated. I learnt the game engine ‘Construct 3’ in my course, which sets me up to learn more advanced game engines down the line. I am also a competent music producer, using the application ‘FL Studio’ to create music for people to chill or study to. I created music for a couple game projects in my course. As I was able to produce multiple music tracks on a big team project, under a time constraint. In addition, I learnt other Adobe softwares, like ‘Premiere Pro’ and ‘Photoshop’. Especially ‘Animate’, as I learnt to animate in 2D for my course. Being Versatile is my specialty.
In my spare time, I do some freelance work, editing videos, creating music, etc. And in my quest to be more independent, I learnt to cook during the times before we called quarantine. Taking scenic photos on a semi-regular basis, of things I find "aesthetically pleasing". Watching numerous movies, tv shows, and yes games too.
My goal is to make a small name for myself. Albeit a music artist, animator, or a game developer. I want to be able to use this opportunity to undertake higher education, as I see myself having a fulfilling career around the games industry. I can use this as an opportunity to improve my soft skills as well. Learning to put myself forward, learning to stand out. University will be my chance to set an example to be remembered by. As even having one piece of media that people remember me by, is enough.
I want to pursue Game Design to be able to understand how to create games, learn the creative process, and be a part of like-minded individuals. My top priority is to share experiences with others in my journey. I am more than happy to pursue Game Design at university and contribute to the wider gaming industry. My own experiences and passion for games drive me to succeed in this field.
I got many critiques regarding my first draft of my personal statement. From my peers, and lecturers I was told to expand more on who I actually am, and be less 'robotic' and 'tame' in how I presented myself. The first paragraph was a great introduction into my interests and hobbies, on how a piece of media affected greatly to encourage myself into getting into the 'Games Industry' in the first place. But the body of text slowly lost grip of itself, and I knew I had to keep re-writing and mould it into something readable.
Final
Here is the final Personal Statement, after 4 to 5 structural shifting's of the text.
Portfolio
CLICK ME TO GO TO THE WEBSITE!!!
Interview Practice w/ Feedback
Our aims for today was 'to develop a better understanding, through role play practice, of interview etiquette and questioning.'
The types of questions we might be asked are in the following categories:
- Their school/background
- Competency-based questions
- Subject specific questions
- University & the course
- Topical questions
And we were tasked to come up with questions and possible responses to those questions. I came up with some joke questions, but immediately scrapped them and made some actual questions for the interviewee to answer to. These were the questions I came up with:
- How would you approach quantifying your portfolio work
- How do you manage expectations?
- Can you tell me an approach you would take to consider strategies in choosing the right programs and applications for your workload?
- What was the process that you took to researching and choosing this university
- What did you think of latest "insert game or genre they might like" stuff
But I found out quickly that the flow of the interview was a bit dull and too all over the place, so I added some warm up and follow up questions when I did the mock interviews
Mock Interviews
I was first assigned to be the interviewer, and pretend to discuss with other classmates in turns. And it, surprisingly, went well, even with me having a harsh and demeaning attitude towards the students. One thing I learnt, was that the shortest question, "How do you manage expectations", was the one question all of my interviewees had the most trouble answering. I thought that the long question about 'choosing the right programs' and whatnot, would be the one to give anxiety, with how difficult I tried to word it.
1 Year Progression Plan
Here are the options I have chosen for university:
- Games, Design and Animation (I603), University of West London (W05)
- Games Design (I620) at Brunel University of London(B84)
- Game Design and Development (W212) at London South Bank University (L75)
- Computer Games Development (GG46) at University of Westminster, London (W50)
- and Games Design and Development (W246) at Middlesex University (M80)
I circled back on a lot of my choices, obviously I do not want to go Westminster. I only chose that as my backup option incase I somehow wasn't chosen for any of my other choices. LSBU, Brunel, and Middlesex are key contenders for where I would like to study. However, with more research about Middlesex, I found its status and prestige as a campus to not be as highly acclaimed as the other two universities. As if I want to go ahead with a Masters, this would be difficult with where I have studied.
I don't want to not go to university, as I was originally meant to be going to university last year, but due to external factors outside of my control, here I am now attending college. So yes, I am behind when compared to my peers and friends outside of England. But at the same time, I am content that I have more time to prepare myself for university, as I knew I would have chosen the wrong subject and course last year if things went smoothly.
I currently don't have any alternative applications as of now. As I already made my mind up to go and pursue university.
During University, in my first year, I expect to be given the tools and resources necessary to learn and adapt to the new course flow. Where I might be using programs that I already am familiar with, and applications that I have never touched before.
I don't particularly have a specific segment of the course that I would point out and say that I would enjoy that, but learning the programs would be fun and challenging for me. As I feel most productive when I am trying to grasp and understand new skills or tools that I will need. Which forces to me learn quicker.
Other than Game Design and going to university. I have been actively going after music production, more importantly, trying to be a music artist. By utilising my music production skills, I can also use my vocal ability, where I am still improving slowly, but I feel comfortable enough to be able to share it now.