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Introduction

Previous related work:

  • A-Level Graphic Design
  • A-Level Computer Science
  • BSc Computer Science
Design Skills:
  • Blender
  • Unity Game Engine
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • HTML & CSS Web Design
Desired Design Skills:
  • Unreal
  • Maya
  • 2D/3D Animation
Interests:
Puzzle games such as Portal (2007) and The Witness (2016). The challenge of the game is almost entirely puzzle solving. Even if a game wouldn't necessarily be described as a puzzle game, I enjoy solving the problems they present you with, especially if they allow the player to be creative with a solution. For example, Resident Evil is primarily a survival horror series, but each game involves puzzles in some way, whether it's figuring out which key fits which door or deciding on the most optimal way to organise your inventory. I have been recently been playing The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023). This game has the best level design in terms of puzzles of any game I have ever played. It is as if each puzzles has not been designed with an intended solution, but instead the player is required to think creatively and laterally in order to solve the puzzle. For example, if the player needs to cross a large gap, they could build a bridge out of objects in the environment. They could also find a way to get up higher and glide to the other side, or move an object toward them from the other side, hop on it and reverse time so it carries them across. The gameplay is extremely rewarding in this respect as it gives the player the sense that they have solve a problem in a way the developers may not have expected.
Fantasy and Dungeons & Dragons. I have always loved the fantasy genre and enjoy playing the Tabletop Role-Playing Game (TTRPG) Dungeons & Dragons. Being a game of imagination, the only visual design involved is what is found in source books. However, Baldur's Gate III (2023) is a game that took the D&D framework and built a world around it. It has excellent visuals and some of the best level design I have seen in recent years.

Why MA Games Design?
I chose to study games design because I have always wanted to work in game development. I have never had a specific role in the industry I am most interested in; I enjoy programming, art, and level design. Having learned programming through my computer science BSc course, it felt like a logical next step to expand my knowledge of another area of the games industry that interests me but I don't have much experience with. In regard to an "initial idea" I hadn't thought about it at all before the course started so hopefully I will be able to discover something through research. I like the idea of puzzles present in the environment and scenery of an area, as opposed to a section of a dungeon that sits in front of the player and screams "I am a puzzle". But that's barely an idea currently.

What am I going to look at?
I have have played games from a variety of different genres and with different art styles so I think I will begin with some broad research. I think it is important to research a breadth of games rather than just ones of a specific genre because there are ideas presented in some genres that would work excellently in other others. An example of this is Slay the Spire (2017), which combined deck-building strategy with the roguelike loop that was becoming very popular at the time. Another example of this that worked surprisingly well was the amalgamation of a dating sim and a psychological horror: Doki Doki Literature Club (2017).




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