Experience

“It’s just a game” my parents said to me, concerned that I was wasting my time by gaming, and have expressed multiple times that they would rather have me do anything else than play video games. However, to me, video games were more than just a game. In my childhood, I was always drawn in by the complexity and fun nature of video games, but did not have many opportunities to engage with them. After I got my laptop in junior year of high school, that changed and I had the means to play video games at my own leisure. 

Throughout online school, I spent an avid amount of time gaming, and the games I played helped shape who I was today. I made new friends and joined communities through online games, and was captured by the beautiful worlds that gaming had shown me. For me, gaming was more than just a cheap form of entertainment, it was also art, and at times social connection. Through gaming, I’ve made some lifelong friends and have made memories that I’ll never forget. Some games I played told perspective changing stories that have shaped how I live and have made me aspire to become a game developer, because of all the potential it has with human interaction. 

For my current journey in game development, I am learning a lot of different programs such as Maya, Houdini, and Unreal Engine. Game development is a very large field, with lots of different roles, and I’m still learning and exploring my options. When entering Purdue I thought that I would mostly be a programmer for games and have never had a lot of past experience for my artistic things. After taking courses at Purdue going over things such as modeling and animation, I’ve found that I enjoy those things as well. Though I am unsure of my direction in the future, I am happy with what I am doing and am looking forward to being in the gaming industry in the future. I think that this is the golden era of video games, with technology and computers being more accessible than ever and with infrastructure supporting accessibility with games, and I hope to be able to inspire a future generation with the games I create in the future.