During my Sophomore year of high school I was looking for a class that would help me achieve my dream of becoming a game designer. I learned about a special program called Freestyle Academy. The program is about producing art for larger project-based units through various multimedia visual and audio formats with modern software and hardware tools. The course was intriguing as it took melded the work you did in English class with both your Design and Digital Media/Film class.
I grew to love my time at Freestyle. I’ve learned so much about design and digital processes. Practicing my skills through my projects. My most memorable one being the narrative project, where I wrote a story in English, made that story into a graphic novel in Design, and turned that novel into an animation. Moving through each step taught me how to transform a simple idea into many forms of art. I learned that films or games are not born fully complete, but are molded step by step into their final form. Joining Freestyle Academy was the biggest educational opportunity I have ever encountered in my entire high school career but it wasn’t the only one.
Over the Summer, I traveled to Florida to attend a Pre-College program at Ringling College of Art and Design. There, I took a courses in game art and game design. I learned many important aspects of game design and got to apply those lessons to my work using technology that real game companies utilize. I also learned the enormous impact that art has on the game industry. In my favorite project, I created a 2D platformer, akin to Mario, to practice creating tutorial levels. I created a game mechanic and taught the player how that mechanic worked in a fun and engaging way. My level was featured at the open house at the end of the program.
I have already taken steps to fulfill my dream and now it’s time for me to take that next step.
