My last blog talked about Starting Your Future Now, and how you can begin sharpening your skills for whatever career you want. I also mentioned how getting feedback from  other people can be beneficial, especially if your career is project-based. Presenting projects and research papers to classmates, friends or professors can help you fix your mistakes and sharpen your skills. You can even take it a step further and reach out to people already in the industry for feedback.

Continuing with the theme of “presenting projects” I want to talk about International Games Day. International Games Day is today, where we celebrate games of all types. To mark this occasion, the UB Simulation and Game Design program is hosting several games in the Priddy Library, from 11-4 for students to play. There will be several board games and 3 video games created by UB students. One of the games being presented is a game I worked on with a team of my classmates.

The great thing about presenting our games is to gain feedback on our skills. Students who aren’t in the field can offer valuable feedback, that us game designers will take into consideration when making games in the future.

Not only will there be games to play, there will also be a guest speaker. Mandi Parker, from Bethesda Game Studios will be talking about System Design vs. Quest Design. Being from the gaming industry, Mandi can offer feedback to the games that the students are presenting. Once again, reaching out to professionals in the industry is a great way to gain valuable feedback.

I encourage you to check out these games on display. The games will be playable from 11am until 4pm, which is a large time frame. I know you have homework and classes, but I’m sure you can spare 5 minutes. You might even enjoy playing. Playing the games will give me and my classmates feedback that will go a long way.