This week in ISM was all about practicing modeling and texturing on Maya program from Autodesk. I have found many free tutorials online to learn from, so I have been learning the basics of the program. I have found that there are many different ways to do one function on Maya, such as creating a simple cube, so Maya is extremely malleable and able to be set through many different preferences. The main problem with that however is that sometimes basic options and functions are complicated to access. The other one is of course how often Maya crashes or fails, so one has to save their work constantly to avoid data loss.

None the less, I am slowly learning about Maya and what it takes to become a modeler and texture artist. I have found that the entire process is not difficult, but it is very time consuming, which is a problem when you are a student with five AP classes. What I have learned throughout life is that with the things you love, you make time to do them. Therefore, I shall attempt to be on top of my schedule to allow myself to keep using Maya. If I have any hope of completing my product, I need to continuously grow my skills on whatever programs necessary to make the game.

This week was one of preparation. For one, I gathered all the materials necessary to create a functional and effective display board for the upcoming Research Showcase at The Star this Wednesday. One of my mistakes was purchasing a white board, which I’ve learned is quite challenging to make professional and creative looking. None the less, I decided to go on and make it be the best I can. I am quite pleased with the results, as it doesn’t appear to be the most visually appealing nor the most creative, but it is clean and very professional, so it looks good. As someone who is choosing video game design as their possible career of interest, I have the whole rest of my career to demonstrate my creativity!

I also coded a fully functional calculator using C# as the language. It was quite challenging and foreign to me, as I have never seen nor worked with a computer language. It was somewhat exciting though, in that I was available to create something new with a computer that I have never suspected of being able to. I do plan on furthering my understanding of coding, so I must continue practicing on my own time.

For this week in ISM, I decided to practice my drawing abilities and to research what 3D modeling software is the best to use for me. Drawing is an important art skill to have, even if I plan to pursue something on the 3D scale. Concept art and sketching is a critical part to getting one’s ideas across about the video game they are attempting to build, so developing my skills at basic drawing will be beneficial in the future.

The other part of interest that I did this week was researching what 3D modeling software I practice with. The two options I had are Blender and the student edition of Autodesk Maya. I compared the two and found that Blender is easier to learn, but Maya is much more powerful and has more abilities. I also found that my computer’s graphics card can handle the massive program, so I am now going to download it and learn tutorials for Maya. Due to my enrollment in Digital Graphics and Animation, I am already familiar with the interface. I also have plenty of space (2 TB) to store the massive files within. This will hopefully allow me to include objects that I create into my game that I plan to make.

A new year has dawned upon the world, and that means more possibilities to be opened. Over the winter break, I was hard at work completing my game design document for my original work project. I wrote many subjects regarding the game I have in mind to produce, such as character backstories and mechanics within the game. I never realized how many parts a game designer has to consider when creating a game, or even writing down their ideas for the game. It has caused me to better appreciate all of the hard work and talent that goes into game production, which is often unseen and forgotten.

The original work turned out well as I finished it successfully with no major issues. It tested my abilities to think creatively and how to put my ideas onto paper for people to understand. This game design document will hopefully serve as a basic framework I can produce the game from. I intentionally left some sections open to changes so that the document can be more flexible as the game is produced since many original elements will most likely change. The nature of game production is ever changing, so the game design document needed to be able to change as the game becomes a reality.

This week was one of both reflection over my research speech and preparation for my original work. I watched my performance on my research speech and the main object of improvement are my transitions between each point. The transition between my last research subject and my conclusion is especially weak, so that is a definite area of improvement. The other part I saw during my reflection was how lifeless I was when delivering the speech. While I did speak clearly and with a loud voice, I felt like I could have spoken with more fire or passion. To improve upon this, I could potentially practice reciting my speech to get more familiar with it, and then add some flair to it by including fascinating and fun parts of video game design that I have learned.

The other part of this week was to become prepared for the original work. I have realized that making a game or even creating a playable prototype is implausible to undertake with less than a month left to complete my work. Therefore, I have decided to write up a video game design document, which is very essential to the video game development process. It describes what goes into the game and it serves as the basic framework for the video game to be produced from. I am going to include all of my ideas for the game as well as the specifications and basically all that I am planning to include in the game. I shall get started immediately on actually writing and typing it out, but I shall not cease to research and learn more about video game design.

This week I was able to meet with Mr. Jermyn, a video game designer at Gearbox Software in Frisco Square. I was looking forward to this meeting tremendously because he is involved in such a large company and studio, which is what I wish to do in the future. Not only did he answer my burning questions about the industry, but he also gave me a personal tour around the facilities, and what I saw excited me. It was not a typical place  of work like business or any desk job takes place, on the contrary, it felt like I could spend hours at a time in the building and not become bored. Seeing this place and talking to Mr. Jermyn reinforced my sureness that this is the industry I wish to become involved in.

The number one thing he advised me to do is to develop an extensive profile that demonstrates my skills and knowledge of the industry. He stated that it does not matter what I take as a major or study, as long as I have a strong portfolio, it is very possible to land a job in the video games industry. I need to direct my attention towards building my credibility, which is what ISM and the original work will allow me to do.

This week was one of the first times I tried my hand at video game creation and development on the game engine Unity. I learned how to make a simple game composed of a ball falling down on planks to get to the bottom by using a series on YouTube made by Brackeys. I kept up with most of his teachings, although some of the things that he mentioned were far more advanced than what I know, specifically in coding. To make the game, I scripted in JavaScript, even though I’ve been learning how to use C#. The reason as to why I used JavaScript is because Brackeys said that it is easier for beginners at coding, which means that I am very fortunate to come across a simple tutorial where it assumes the viewer has no past experience.

I must continue on this tutorial series, since it is teaching me the basics of Unity as well as fundamental coding. It is important to not get discouraged by Unity’s complexity or by its completely open interface and ability to take any outside assets and incorporate them easily into the game. It is no longer a question of if I am going to do it; instead it is a matter of what I am going to do now.

It was a week of learning and trying out new things, since I started to start coding on C#. I found a YouTube series by Brackeys, who specializes in tutorial videos about Unity and other coding languages. I also was able to download my own studio that allows me to practice C# for free that isn’t a free trial like so many other programs are like. That way, I can get started on learning how to utilize Unity to design a game, but I also plan to write down my ideas with the plot and various aspects of the game.

I also plan to draw concept art for the game, so my enrollment in the Digital Graphics and Animation course helps tremendously with sketching and drawing skills. By concept art, that includes setting art as well as character designs, which I already have a design for the main character thanks to DGA. I also have free access to teachers who are skilled in coding and drawing at FHS and at universities such as University of Texas at Dallas and SMU Guildhall.

I want to write the story premise as well, but the script and dialogue will come later. I will also need to decide whether I want to have voice acting in my game. I need to keep in mind how large I can go since I have a limited time frame to produce something demonstrating my abilities with video game design. It therefore allows me to have a deadline to meet, much like actual gaming companies have to do as well.

This week in ISM was one of excitement and potential. I not only connected with many other professionals in the industry, but I most importantly witnessed what a college class in video games would be like. On Saturday, November 5th, I attended the University of Texas at Dallas’ Scholar Day, which provided me insight into how the ATEC program is and what a session would feel like. I had my session with Dr. Evans, a professor studying games and how their psychology, teaching us about virtual communities and how it is to study video games for a living. Overall, the class excited me as she delved into why video games matter to society and the purpose of her studies, which is to show the world why games need to be more recognized in society.

Dr. Evans put an emphasis on why video game’s communities are very important to study and take note of. They can serve as a model of how a general population acts as well as what we can do to improve society for the better. By adjusting the game and improving upon it, the resulting community is directly impacted in how they react and enjoy the game. More research is therefore needed upon what most impacts a gaming community and what successful ones look like.

This week I decided to shift my research attention from a general video game design topic or idea to a very specific problem and situation in the video game development field, which is narrative versus game play and how they balance each other out. In order to create a successful and engaging game, it is necessary for a developer to have advanced knowledge on both elements, which is what I focused on.

In the article, I understood some of the parts, but it showed me that I need to engage in more research about the various different parts of the video game development process, like scripting, writing, and animating. I should also see how each part works together to create the games, as well as how the meetings are carried out and how ideas and designs are approved and made.

I am planning to learn a coding language, most likely either Python or a type of C code so that I can begin my journey to build games. I also want to become familiar with game engines so that I can start creating and designing some of my own games so that I can have a competent portfolio and to just gain experience.