Course Reflection
A semester has passed, and I’ve officially completed Intro to Game Studies at SJSU. I have to say this was one of the most humbling classes I’ve ever taken, and I mean that in the best way possible.
When I first signed up, I wasn’t sure what to expect….. What I didn’t realize was how challenging and complex game development is. During this, I created or assisted with about four games. Each one pushed me in different ways and helped me grow as both a developer and an artist.
Our first project which I created was The Cursed Coin. This was a fun and engaging assignment where I really enjoyed exploring what makes a game work as well using items like game cards amrker to create the fame.I enjoyed learning the mechanics .
Next came the Unity project, where I challenged myself to create a puzzle game. Looking back, I took the harder route, and it turned out to be one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done as a developer. I was hoping it would be a good opportunity to improve my coding skills, but it made me realize how much I need to refine my coding skills. Because I struggled so far, I think having a second developer on the team would have made the experience more manageable, especially for those of us ( like me) who are still building our confidence with development. Despite the difficulty, I’m still proud of the result.
For my final project, I switched roles from developer to artist. It wasn’t easy, but I felt much more comfortable and confident in that position. Even though I faced challenges in both roles, I learned so much about game design, collaboration, and how much work goes into even the simplest gaming experience. One thing I didn’t like about this project was the lack of communication within my team. There were a lot of things that I wasn’t aware of until the day of my presentation. For example, when my team and i started working together we had two developers and then two artists but the day of the presentation say that some how we were three artists instead of two. Another thing that bothered me was asking my fellow artists what kind of programs we were using for the artworks. I was told illustrator but the day of the presentation we presented that we used 4 different progrms. I believe my mistake was not pushing teammates and asking to see the results. All I asked what was needed from me and when I was done I went by my day. However, I was in the impression that we doing good with the project. Overall I was not happy with this project but it was defenitaly a learning experience.
Overall, this class was straightforward, insightful, and a lot of lessons were learnt. I also appreciated the transition from in-person to online classes when I was struggling with my health during the first half of the semester. It helped me both mentally and physically, and made it easier to stay engaged.
Thank you, Professor, for having me in this class. I’m grateful for the experience and look forward to applying everything I’ve learned to future game development projects.
