It’s 2:00 a.m. on a Friday night in January of my sophomore year. I’m surrounded by a team of peers eating cold pizza, chatting about nothing and everything. We have little over 24 hours left in the 2023 Global Game Jam to complete our silly game about cooking soup, and I’m in over my head ironing out bugs in the program while the others bounce back and forth implementing sound effects and buttons. It was pure chaos, and I wouldn’t have traded it for the world.
There I was, ready to pull my hair out – until I reminded myself that I had people right in front of me to bounce ideas off of and ask for help. This was no solo assignment – we were a team united by our aspirations and a deadline. That was when a thought first hit me: “This is what college is really about.”
Throughout high school I was conditioned to believe that I was nothing more than an A+ or a 100% on a math exam, while friends were merely distractions. However, college life taught me that I can have my cake and eat it too – that I can reach great heights alongside others, not in isolation. That I can pursue my passion for game design while honing my craft for a variety of applications. College is not just courses, it’s the connections we make.
I could talk on and on about my favorite game-related experiences at the University of Connecticut and what they taught me. From watching people play my capstone project, “Scrap Mechanica,” at the DMD Senior BFA Exhibition and STEM Scholar Showcase, to playing Dungeons and Dragons until 3:00 a.m. with the same group I participated in two other Global Game Jams with. But for those starting out in a creative major, here’s some other pieces of advice I learned over the years:
Never burn your bridges.
It’s easy to not get along with certain people. It’s even easier to lash out over it. But considering that you could be sharing the same campus and classes together until graduation, it’s better to stay patient. Who knows – one day, that same person could be the key to a job opportunity.
It’s all about balance.
College life taught me to work as hard as I could, but to rest when I needed to. I learned to be independent and self-sufficient, while knowing when to ask for help. I learned to be comfortable when alone, and to value my time with others. Your needs ebb and flow like a tide. Health is a balancing act, and your actions tip the scale.
If you’re going to pursue what you love, aim to be the best at it.
Creative fields are competitive. If you lack ambition, skill or consistency, you’ll be lost to obscurity. I fear this abyss every day – all the more why I worked so hard learning to program, 3D model, animate and more throughout the years, and will continue to do so after graduation.
As addressed before, connections are essential. Forming a cohort of fellow creators provides a team to reach new heights with, as well as some friendly rivalry to push you to improve individually. Whether you fly solo to have more control over your creative vision, or alongside others to maximize efficiency, at the end of the day it’s all about creating something that stands out from the rest. Considering that people judge such works not by ideas but their execution, this becomes a lot easier to do when you have the skills to make something of high quality. So go forth and hone your craft, and surround yourself with the people who encourage you. Shoot to be the best among your peers, but be humble when you are proved otherwise. There’s always another mountain to climb, after all – and I have a lot of climbing to do.
I thank the friends I made in game design and my family back home who have supported me and pushed me to do my best throughout my time at UConn. I thank The Daily Campus for my time as a copy editor through my sophomore year and as a digital producer through my senior year, and for giving me this chance to voice my parting thoughts. I wish the best of luck to the rest of the graduating Class of 2025!