To me, games are the best form of entertainment. Not only playing them but creating them.

They allow you to develop whole new worlds for people to explore and let you express
yourself in any number of ways. This is why this course is perfect for me as it will help to
refine my skills in this form of media. My main passion when it comes to game design is
asset creation as I find you can tell a story from the simplest of objects if they are modelled
and textured correctly, such as a chair that may have a cracked leg. It gets the player thinking
about how it happened and who did it. Along with that, I enjoy level creation. It allows you
to create a visual story without the need for any words and moving one object can change
the whole meaning of the scene. Your course also covers areas of game development which
interests me, such as storytelling/quest design and project management – these are
elements which I am very much excited about developing new skills in.

For almost a decade I have been using Blender as my modelling software of choice where I
have followed hundreds of hours of online courses and spent many hours on YouTube to
keep up with all the latest developments in the software. Along with that I have used
Substance Painter for texturing, allowing me to make my models look realistic. I am also
quite experienced in Fusion 360, a CAD software which I use to make dimensionally accurate
models for 3D printing. For my 3D printer, I make a variety of items such as cosplay, bespoke
tools for a local construction company and a model of our family's house build that which I
part-designed.

I am currently studying the Access to HE Media Diploma at Bournemouth and Poole College.
This course covers a variety of different areas of media such as photography, filmmaking,
film studies and video editing. Although on paper these subjects may not seem relevant to
game design, they have many different aspects that can be integrated into making a game. A
significant one of these is lighting which I learn in photography and filmmaking.
Understanding how lighting can change the mood of a scene and how it can also direct the
attention of the viewer translates extremely well to game design. Along with that film
studies teaches me to analyse how or why something has been done and to understand the
effect something might have on the viewer.

A few years before starting the Access course I studied at Aim Arts Academy. During my time
there I got the opportunity to attend a talk at Bournemouth University from a Game
Designer who had worked on the Hitman games where he talked us through their process of
making and releasing games. In addition to this, I also had the opportunity to visit Amuzo
Games in Bournemouth, which included a tour of the facilities and I was introduced to the
founder, who was also one of the creators of the first Tomb Raider games. After I had
finished my studies at Aim, I stayed on as a volunteer helping other students learn about
filmmaking and video editing in programs such as Premier Pro and After Effects. Although
before studying at Aim I was already interested in the world of game design all the
opportunities I encountered there cemented this interest in place.

Before starting the Access course, I worked at an events company as a Technical Production
Assistant where I mainly set up lighting and stage sets. This has given me more insight into
real-world lighting compared to the virtual lighting used in game engines and made me even
more aware of how similar the two are. This job has given me more experience working in a
high-intensity environment with other team members, external companies and solo.
I am really keen to join this course as my first step to deepen my understanding of game
design and to learn much more about the in-depth mechanics of game creation. I hope that
you will consider my application and would welcome the opportunity to attend an interview
with you to discuss things further and answer any questions you may have.