So… Why Video Games?

My first video game was Tekken 5 for the PlayStation 2 in 2007. At 3 years old, I felt passion for video games for the very first time, and from there, that passion would only continue to grow.

I primarily grew up with Nintendo franchises such as Super Mario and Fire Emblem and PlayStation classics such as Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and Persona. I also go crazy for the Ace Attorney series!

The passion I feel for developing video games is unmatched to any other passion I have had before. Video games allow me to utilize all of my favorite hobbies (writing, drawing, creating music) in one place, and because of that, not only could I enjoy a game’s well written story and gameplay, but I was also able to cultivate my other hobbies as a result. Because of this, my goal is to contribute to the development of games with rich stories that are accompanied by engaging gameplay. The challenge of balancing the quality of story with the quality of gameplay is one I have been confronting since the start of my Game Design studies at UCI, and the challenge only becomes more fun over time.

My primary goal for the rest of my undergraduate studies is to expand my portfolio as much as possible. I want to experience working in several teams with different dynamics amongst the members and departments so I can improve my production skills. The more people I interact with in game project settings, my skills as a producer gradually improve, whether I realize it in the moment or not!

After working in various projects for the past 3 years, I’ve come to realize that as much as I enjoy working in almost every department for a game project, production holds a special place in my heart. For game projects, I love working with different departments to guide them on what tasks need to be accomplished for the week (I’m a huge advocate for the Scrum framework). I’ve helped lead UCI’s game jams as a mentor for the game jammers, and as a Reader for Professor Linden Reid for the Introduction to Programming for Video Games series, I love contributing to the teaching team by sharing insights with the professor and TA as a student, as well as assisting students with their assignments as a teaching figure. Outside of anything related to Game Design, I was named as the Lead Administrative Assistant at UCI’s Summer Session. I was tasked to mentor new hires through the extensive procedures in the office, as well as help them with the job at a moment’s notice.

Despite me going on about how much I engage with the Game Design community, I wasn’t always a GDIM major. I was initially a Computer Science major! I chose to make the switch from CS to Game Design because I ultimately realized that as much as I enjoyed programming and the theory behind Computer Science, I didn’t want to work as a software engineer. Although I’ve been out of the CS major for over a year, I still apply my knowledge of it as a producer. I’ve been able to help fellow producers and team leads without programming experience to create an appropriate sprint for the programming departments. I think having knowledge on different departments and skill sets makes someone a strong producer, because being able to understand their tasks in depth helps the producer create more realistic timelines for their team.

If you made it this far, I just want to thank you for reading my entire About Me page! No one is ever obligated to read this entire page, but I appreciate you trying to learn more… about me! Until next time o7

Fun fact: My first and only tattoo is inspired by Persona 3, my favorite video game! My next tattoo may be related to Silent Hill…