The Day Before Hand-In Reflection

In this project I have faced a few problems but have been able to overcome all of them, I have learnt a lot of new skills and how to do different things on UDK and 3D Studio Max. Overall I have enjoyed this project but felt that it was a bit too long near the end and started to get a bit fed up of it! Thankfully I had chosen a topic that I have always been interested in, so even in my breaks from work I was watching films and tv dramas that were set in manor houses so could be classed as research.

This project has literally taken over my life for the past few months, resulting in me rarely leaving the house, so I think that after I have handed this in (and celebrated with my classmates) I will be living in the gym, but my main focus will be finding a job! I have already been working on my CV, covering letter and portfolio website to build more of a professional image, but I will put a lot more focus into these and finding a job will be my job for the moment.

I am really looking forward to my upcoming graduation, I am very hopeful that I will get a good degree at the end of this because I feel that I have learnt a massive amount in such a small amount of time. Considering that before I joined this course, I had never touched a 3D program and had very limited Photoshop skills, I feel that what I can create now is actually unbelievable and has definitely made me grow as a person. Initially I never wanted to go to university but after contacting a few games companies, and realising that making games wasn’t just a job that you could learn from shadowing someone in the industry, or having a few weeks of unpaid tea making, I hesitantly joined university not knowing how much there was to be learnt. (Also the prospect of the raised uni fees pushed me in the right direction!)

At the end of this course I am happy that I came to university, I have learnt so many new skills and more about the games industry, also living away from my parents home for a few years has made me more of an adult, and made my confidence grow.

I have gone from a shy and lonely teenager with a few art skills, to a determined, hard-working and industry minded adult with a great knowledge of building 3D games and I cannot wait to get a job!

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Maffy Lees ~ Third Year

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