Week 1 (Activity) - Welcome to my critical reflective journal as a student of MA Indie Game Development at Falmouth University. This post is the beginning of a two-year long adventure into further game development, understanding principles and concepts in addition to showcasing practical and academic ability.
Creation of the CRJ
The critical reflective journal (CRJ) is intended to document work throughout the MA Indie Game Development course in the form of an online blog. In addition, it is used to evaluate findings critically and reflectively. Initially I was apprehensive about starting a CRJ because of the style of writing it requires, that being reflective. I feel like the longevity of this project will help in this regard. If maintained properly the CRJ is an effective tool used to develop a critical mindset (Kiefer, 2014). I hope to update the CRJ every week, expanding on course material provided by Falmouth University.
Modules within the CRJ can be further broken down into four categories: Research, Development, Activity and Planning. In addition, students are required to then reflect on the overall week.
Research - Writing and reflecting upon sources that aid your assignment.
Development - Documenting research projects and progress of assignments.
Activity - Documenting weekly challenges and tasks provided by the course leader.
Planning - Preparing for specific tasks and analysing SMART goals.
Originally, I thought this to be overwhelming, however, breaking down course material into these categories provides clarity and allows others to easily navigate through my work. By maintaining an organized workspace, categories will prove useful in the longevity of the project. Taking that all into account, it was time to start building the CRJ.
I decided to construct my CRJ using Wix.com as I am familiar with their user interface having already established a portfolio. I decided against using other sites such as Wordpress.com and Notion.com because I wanted a degree of comfort knowing I was about to delve into a new course. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been so quick to dismiss other sites because one of the reasons I enrolled on this course was to challenge myself. Furthermore, Wix.com has limited tools when developing an online blog. For example, users are unable to implement sub-categories, meaning I was unable to categorize blogs into groups (Research, development, activity, and planning) having already used the category tool to define each module (Figure 1).
Figure 1: Wix (Categories)
However, Wix.com does let you use tags; tags are a great way to achieve the same outcome. Now each blog post is tagged with keywords, letting users know what group a post belongs to. Using the tag cloud (Figure 3) users can easily navigate to a specific post by clicking a keyword. I believe this setup to be efficient and visually appealing.
Figure 2: Wix (Tag Cloud)
Spark Forum
This discussion presented the opportunity to introduce myself to my peers and write about why I choose to enrol on the course.
Hi, my name is Jack. I graduated from Solent University with a BSc in Computer Games (Indie) in 2020. I am currently part of a small indie start-up based in the UK who are working on their debut title with a planned release date of this fall. In my free time, I enjoy going on walks, creating music videos, reading, and of course, playing video games – Halo being my favourite franchise!
Following on from my undergraduate course in Computer Games (Indie), I decided to enrol into Indie Game Development MA at Falmouth University as I want to further my understanding of game design. The main objective of my professional career is to become a self-sustaining, independent games developer by publishing fun and engaging titles. I am excited to begin my studies and look forward to meeting you all, cheers!
If you are interested, I have included a link to my portfolio below. Thanks again!
The discussion recommended I limited myself to two paragraphs as to not overwhelm my peers with substantial amounts of personal information. Therefore, I included a link to my portfolio, which expands on my introduction.
My Avatar!
The last activity was to create a custom avatar of yourself by showcasing items that represent significant meaning in your life or journey toward a career goal.
Figure 3 - My Custom Avatar
Here is my avatar! (Figure 3) I tried to combine elements from my past and present (although this may look like it, this is not an Xbox promo). Starting with the background, I wanted to capture my love for science and fantasy by showcasing three books. In the middle we have 'The Elegant Universe' by Dr Brian Greene, to the left, we have 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' by J. R. R. Tolkien and finally, to the right is my favourite childhood book ‘The Spooks: Secret’ by Joseph Delaney. Continuing in the background and to the left are two of my favourite games, 'Halo: Infinite' and 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'. These games and their previous titles are one of the reasons for my venture into game development.
In the foreground, there is an Xbox logo because as well as being a great light source for this picture, Xbox has been a big part of my life. During the pandemic, I regularly connected with friends across their live service. To the left of the logo is a mug filled with tea, needed to maintain a high level of focus and a creative mind. In front of the tea is a leaf from one of my plants and an ‘Elder Scrolls Online’ character that represents my ‘rubber duck’. A tool used to help one program efficiently. The idea is that if you get stuck programming, you would ask your inanimate object (rubber duck) questions, and by speaking to it, you may come across a solution yourself. Continuing to the right of the Xbox logo, there is a ‘Vault Boy’ from the ‘Fallout’ franchise doing the thumbs up pose (apparently, I have been known to adopt the same pose). Lastly, there is a Manchester City scarf which represents my love for the club and the sport of football. Cheers! 😁👍
Conclusion & Reflection
In conclusion, completing the activities proved to be rewarding and insightful. Creating the CRJ was a significant milestone, and I believe the setup will greatly benefit me in the long run. I was able to share personal information with my peers, although I felt I could have replied to more of their discussions. The overall group cohesion is positive, and I am excited to build upon relationships.
References
Kiefer, K., 2014. What Benefits Might Reflective Writing Have for My Students? [online] WAC Clearinghouse. Available at: <https://wac.colostate.edu/resources/wac/intro/reflect/> [Accessed 29 January 2022].
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