Term 2 Wrap Up

 The second term of my MA Games Design Course is now coming to an end, and so I'm presented with this opportunity to take stock and reflect on my work and progress over the last few months. 

The Positives

Starting with the basics, I am glad to know that I'm still as eager as ever to keep pursuing this path, and haven't had any second thoughts. This term's project work has felt very rewarding because I believe there has been visible improvement in my skills, especially in comparison to the level I was at when I first joined the course. I also feel that my path for improvement going forward is clearer than it has been in the past, largely thanks to this term's research component.

The research work this term in general has proven to be a pleasant surprise compared to what I was expecting. To tell the truth, I was kind of dreading the idea of forced networking for the term 2 essay assignment, as I thought that nobody would respond and I'd just be speaking into the void. In the end though, I actually received more responses than I could fit in my essay, many of which were from people that I really aspire to. A comprehensive response that I received from Chris Karbach, one of the concept artists on Kena: Bridge of Spirits, was a clear example of this because I really enjoyed that game, in large part because of the richness of its world and environments.

The group project was also definitely a positive this term. It was really fun not only to work with my coursemates, but also to work on a project with a very different theme to my personal work. It was a good way for us all to get to know each other better as well, which was definitely nice from a social perspective. Our two day jam was definitely the best part of the group project, and it was great to see how much we were able to get done in that time. 

Hurdles and Learning Opportunities

I'd say my main hurdle this term was effectively balancing the elements of my course. What I mean by this is that when essay time started to come around, I unintentionally ended up putting my practical work on hold until the essay was finished, a few weeks later. This meant that I felt like I was quite behind on my practical work, leading to a bit of a push in the latter portion of the term, to try to recover some of that ground. However, I do think that the essay I produced benefited from the extra time that was put into it, so it wasn't necessarily wasted. More importantly though, in the end I'm actually grateful for the hiatus it caused in my practical work, because while researching and networking for the essay, I learned a lot and realigned my focuses thanks to the things I was hearing from my contacts. In my opinion, this led to the work produced after returning to practical work being some of the best I've put out for the course so far. This is why I think the break will actually have helped drastically in the long run, as long as I continue in this direction. 

Another hurdle this term was definitely that our group project was understandably put on the back-burner once deadlines started to come around. However, I don't think that should negate the work we put into it earlier in the term, and the possibility of building momentum on the project again further down the line is definitely still a reality, as many of us are still keen to continue it.

What's Next?

When I first started the course I was really quite directionless when it came to concept art in general, and I feel that through both my research and my eastern project I have begun to develop a much better grasp of what the role is, and how to best approach it. As a result, the focus of my MA will be pivoting somewhat next term. Rather than looking at designing a world as I've been doing thus far, I plan to convert my blog into a platform. I plan to use my own learnings over the past year to provide information and clarity for those that are completely new to concept art and might be unsure where to start, similar to my position at the beginning of this course. In my blog posts, I'll be discussing relevant mindsets and processes while demonstrating them with practical examples, which will likely draw on a variety of different themes, as I recognise that I also need to be expanding my own portfolio during this time. I can't wait to get started!