This week marks the last blog post of ISM. It was a crazy, intense, difficult, and seemingly unending class, and I am forever glad I got to experience it. I became interested in the art of designing games for a living and met an amazing man who is now my mentor, Mr. Skyler Jermyn. To say that ISM was a fun, life changing class is a gross understatement. The class taught me how to become a professional in the field as well as how to follow your dreams by actually doing the work necessary to be successful in the field. I consider myself very lucky to be able to take such a dynamic class with such an amazing, gracious, and supportive teacher like Coach Goff.

I feel confident in my choice to take video game design and further my studies in the field. In the near future, I plan to become even more involved in the game development community and increase my own skills in Unreal Engine. It will be a difficult journey to take, but what fun and excitement I can have in the future! I recommend ISM to any student willing to put enough elbow grease to succeed in the program.

This week I finally finished the final product. While I feel as if I can make numerous improvements and additions to the level, I must accept that this is the rough block out that I intended to create for my product. This project wasn’t as much of what I can make as much as what I can learn. I researched and learned a plethora of information related to video game design I otherwise would have never learned had I never took the initiative to take on the daunting task of creating a completely original level without any previous experience on Unreal Engine 4.

Looking back, I realize how far I have truly come with the program and what I know now in regards to game design. I am glad to have taken ISM, despite the intense workload and impossibility to slack off and stay on track. While it is not a path for everyone, I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn a great amount about a subject they otherwise would be unable to learn on their own. I am proud of what I have made for “The Sweepster” and I am looking forward to what I am going to do in the field of video game design in the future.

This week I have been hard at work completing the final product for the due date set on the eighth. However, I have so much left that I could do to improve the game, but I cannot due to time restraints and the AP tests being upon me. Therefore, I must divert my attention to completing a successful block out of the game, as well as finishing the presentation element of my final presentation, which will be interesting and fun to present. As I have said many times before, there is a necessity of balance that must be reached when designing the game, but with the majority of my classes at an end, it is becoming easier to set aside time to design the level.

I am not worried about finishing the product as much as I am concerned with how it will be overall. I have a lot of people I don’t want to let down, so I am making my level be the best it possibly can be without appearing overdone. In game design, there needs to be a balance between presentation, gameplay, and enjoyment. If any of these three categories are less than the other, this can cause the game to be not as amazing as the creator most likely intended.

This week I’ve been implementing my own ideas for the level. I have set the lighting and sky box to change the atmosphere from a sunny day to a brooding time of dusk. It was relatively simple to change the sky, but it made all the difference in the world. Now I will need to create a mountain chain to better guide the player to the end goal, which is a cave system where the final boss will lurk. I am unsure whether or not I will implement any game play into my level, but I at least can make the standard level design and portray the basic story.

Some advice my mentor gave to me was to include text boxes labeling each section of the level and what is the purpose of that section in relation to both the story and game play. That way I can better show the audience my basic block out of the level. Even though my level has gone through intense and dramatic changes, I feel like I am better learning the process a game designer must go through when creating their level. Therefore, I must complete the level and finish strong for the Final Presentation Night.

This week I attempted again to show my work to my mentor, but alas, the files have become corrupted. However, my mentor says that we can remedy this by taking screenshots of my current progress so that he can check on how I am progressing. I have a program called Snagit that will enable me to capture the pictures and show them to my mentor, but I am progressing rather slowly through my level, as it is quite challenging to sit down and devote so many hours to one activity. However, this is part of the learning experience and what a level designer does.

My latest meeting with Mr. Jermyn was very interesting because it made me realize that I am truly starting to think and process things like a game designer does. I must take into account all steps in my creation of the game and strive to make those which I already have presentable. While I am creating the level I am also refining it and improving the layout so that I can save more time. Unfortunately, AP tests are just around the corner, so I am balancing my time between studying and creating the level, but that is a basic skill necessary in any profession.