My Most Recent Experience
Working as an IndieCade Intern
This Summer, I was admitted into IndieCade's Climate Jam internship. I was able to work well with my team to produce a 3D platformer puzzle game over the course of four sprints. Out of 65 teams we placed 2nd in Ideation, 12th in prototype, 5th in production, and 10th in release. These sprints helped me work in faced paced environments where I would have to quickly adapt to changes and learn on the go. If you would like to know more about our final product, Time Teddy, you can find it in the Games Page.
Our team had 8 weeks to create 10 games which was quite the journey. I made sure to develop a curriculum that was fit for each intern while allowing space for them to have their own creative input.
Developer11
Internship
Creating my own opportunities
Aside from programming and design, the process of creating a game requires the ability to work in a team, manage time effectively, and problem-solve. These are all valuable skills that can be applied to various industries, not just the gaming industry.
With the opportunity of our school's flipped internship program, I decided to put together a sub-division of the internship for the purpose of making games. Our team of ten made up a fourth of the program and produced stunning results. The majority of the interns I managed did not have any prior Unity knowledge which helped me understand how to lead and teach others while balancing work on my own game.
This internship program allowed me to connect with Industry professionals as well. I was able to have weekly meetings with Buzz Burrows who currently works at Epic Games as an audio programmer. Our meetings were used to discuss strategies on how to effectively manage interns to produce their best possible games under specific time constraints.
BHS Computer Science Tutor
Assisting Interns in the Flipped Internship
Beginning in April, I returned to Burlington High School to be a Computer Science Tutor. My main task was to help out with the Flipped interns who worked on a variety of projects(This was the same program I had done a year previously). There were interns who worked to create websites, program Arduinos, and even some creating games. I ended up spending a lot of time helping out those who were creating games. They were struggling quite a bit as to what they should make. I planned out a series of tutorials and resources that they could use based on their feedback of what they wanted out of their game. I was there in person to help day to day with any programming related issues that they encountered. Overall, this was another great experience that improved my leadership skills, my Unity knowledge, and my professionalism.
I decided that our final product for our Developer11 internship would be a physical game copy. This would include box art, a game manual, and a CD with the game burnt onto it.