Being a game developer and designer, I want to create things that people can enjoy. I think that video games are a great way to entertain people and give them a break from the real world if they need it. It is a way to give kids a direct window into their own creativity and foster their problem-solving skills. As much of a medium of entertainment that video games are, I think that there is so much more potential for this specific medium of interactive simulation. Some are already beginning to explore these possibilities for things like virtual labs for some learning situations in the pandemic.

​

Even things that are being currently developed for entertainment purposes could be repurposed for educational or even training purposes. Currently in UAT’s Production studio, the VR game traffic cop is a fun game where you assume the role of a traffic cop directing traffic. If someone wanted to, they could take that game and set it up so that real life hand signals and gestures would be traffic is directed. These options are available not to devalue what something made for entertainment could be, but to expand the uses for simulation technology.

​

Video games are also a great medium for storytelling. I think there is value to a good story no matter how it is told. Video games have an interesting opportunity where other stories may not, in that they can make the most interactive stories of their kind. This makes the player have more agency in a story than if one were just watching or reading. Being an active part in a story makes the impact of what is going on that much greater in the player’s mind. Video games could be the only medium of entertainment where a question of moral ambiguity is not explained by what the characters in the story do but can be further elaborated on by the players own actions.

​

Video games have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember and taking steps to further my own knowledge and skillset about working on them feels like the right path for me to go down. There will always be more to learn and do as the industry is ever changing, I can’t wait to play with that UE5 engine. Working in this industry is also a good way of building a network of people with common interests and skillsets to collaborate with in the future. There are a lot of good people working in this field and the opportunity to work with some of them either through production studio or otherwise is a very good thing that has a lot of value. Overall, I look forward to seeing where the field of game design takes me and my work.