Why I Choose To Design

To answer the question of why I want to be a game designer, I need to start from the beginning. As a child of the 80’s, growing up in a family that is heavily into technology, bonding time with my dad consisted of building towers and stand-alone CD burners. My entire family consists of entrepreneurs. My parents alone have 8 companies between the two of them. My mom has 3 and my dad has 5. The constant obligation to travel, high stress, long hours, and constant strain are the typical life of a business owner. My parents are workaholics and so am I. Because this type of lifestyle is the only type I’m accustom to, the pace of the industry fits me perfectly. Relocation is something I’m happy to have as part of my career. In fact, I have already relocated several times to be in more advantageous career positions.

Most parents encourage their children to follow their dreams. Mine did not. Even now, as an adult, my family cannot understand why I would rather stay home and play video games than do anything else nor do they believe I can do anything with a degree in game design. The doubt my family had and still has in me is my driver to succeed no matter the adversity. I will prove that having a career in gaming is not a waste of time. Every challenge is an opportunity to grow, learn, and maximize success. Constant learning is something I thrive on and I do what I can to broaden my horizons on a daily basis.

Passion is a key word I hear a lot from people who are in the industry. You must be passionate, love what you do, and be able to demonstrate that level of passion in your work. Although I have the passion, I’m also surrounded by a lot of doubt. I think my gender may have a supporting role in that. I feel it may be a challenge to be taken seriously as a designer, being that I am female. In introducing myself to new people, I typically have a hard time being taken seriously as a gamer simply because of my gender. Although, I’ve also heard that the industry needs more women and would embrace me. So definitely some concern around finding a job, like everyone, but also concern around my gender working against me. I feel I’m tested more than a male gamer because it’s expected of a guy, not a girl.

I also know it’s all about who you know. You can’t get a job if you don’t have experience and you can’t get experience unless you have a job. My plan is to attempt an internship when I get to Jacksonville or maybe shortly thereafter. I know there are a few gaming companies in Florida and some are looking for interns, including Artix Entertainment, EA Tiburon, n-SPACE, Puppy Punch, Row Sham Bow, Six Shooter Games, Sky Parlor Studios, Trendy Entertainment, Werd! Interactive, and ZeeGee Games.

My education is a platform to getting from where I am today to where I want to be. The biggest conflict in information I receive is weather or not I need a master’s degree. The general response is to just get my bachelor’s and get a job from there. After you get that initial experience, you’ve made contacts and may be able to take off from there with the right level of success. I’ve also heard that if you want to be working for a larger type company, you need the master’s degree. My goal is to eventually get to Sony or Square Enix. Given that they are such large companies, I think the master’s may be a good idea. The master’s degree coupled with internships will get me to my eventual goal of working for Sony or Square in Tokyo, Japan. I know right out of school there’s no way I can work for such large companies so I’m going start small, take the baby steps I have to, and do everything in my power to make the right contacts to get where I want to go.

To answer the most loaded question, why? Why go through all of this? Why put so much blood, sweat, and tears into a possibility that nothing may come out of it? The gaming industry is just like any entertainment industry. It’s cut throat. Why put myself through it? I could say passion. I could say happiness. I could say because I’ve always been a gamer but it’s so much more than that. I want to bring something fresh to the industry. I want to make a difference. Video games can change people’s life just like anything can. A good book, good movie, or good game can inspire others to do things they never thought possible and teach things they never thought they’d learn. If I can make a difference in one person’s life, then I’m happy. I’m not trying to become rich or famous. I just want to do what I love.

#opinion #design #personal