My motivation in year one was reflective of the stress and excitement of starting and getting into the swing of a new system and place. After adapting to the University and curriculum, I felt that my main motivation was finding my place in the course. I came in with a background in programming and a desire to get into games, but didn’t exactly know where I wanted that to be. A large part of the motivation was in researching and finding what interested me and what direction I wanted to head in.
The projects and briefings helped narrow that focus into a clearer direction. Getting more involved with the University and the Course helped massively as it gave me a sense of belonging in a course/place that I felt so outside in. The constant encouragement from tutors and new friends was a large source of inspiration for me.
I felt the largest de-motivators I felt were the anxiety and fear of starting this journey and not performing at a degree in which I felt I was capable. The fear of letting myself and other down was a large source of pressure. Exasperated by the fact of moving countries to study. With time, and finding a community at the Uni, that perspective became clearer in it’s irrationality.
Goals
Now that it seems I have found my motivation and footing going into second year, I want my motivations and practice to be more defined. Because I have taken on more responsibilities in the University and in the course, it will be more important to set aside proper time for research and practical work. I plan on collaborating with as many different artists and developers as I can. A further goal I have is in Tools Programming and getting the experience of working with as many different designers and seeing how they work and what they need to be successful, I think will further my own knowledge in how to design tools that are useful and necessary for them. Lastly, I wish to reach out to industry folks and get as much knowledge and experience as possible before attempting to enter the workforce in a short time. Building the industry folder is a constant, but reaching out and having real conversations with people I want to learn from/respect I think will fuel that motivation and will offer guidance to where I want to end up.
A few stretch goals would be to design a game programming workshop for incoming / visiting students to engage with the course and show the less popular path of the Games Development course. Another stretch goal is to continue my own personal game (A Narrative-Puzzle game). The tools I have made for that game have influenced what kind of practice I have for this year and the narrative design is something I wish to continue and use further in my career as more of a side passion within the games industry.