My Master’s program offered a unique approach to game development education. Its purpose was to provide comprehensive training in all aspects of video game creation, with a particular focus on user interaction. The curriculum covered a broad spectrum of disciplines including game design, narrative writing, scripting, sound design, 3D modeling, UI development, and production pipeline management – essentially everything required to ship a complete game. The program’s rigorous nature became evident when only two students, myself included, graduated from an initial cohort of 150.

The program revealed an interesting challenge in game development education: the difficulty of mastering multiple specialized skills. While some students excelled in technical areas like rigging or 3D design, they struggled with project management, and vice versa. Though I demonstrated strong adaptability across different disciplines, this broad-spectrum approach had its limitations. The need to cover so many areas meant that deep expertise in any single discipline was difficult to achieve within the program alone, requiring significant independent study to meet the program’s standards.

My master’s thesis explored a fundamental question: Could a single developer create a compelling game demo that would be viable for studio pitch presentation? Prior to the emergence of AI technology, I would have considered this nearly impossible. However, recent technological advances have potentially made this a more achievable goal.

The demo I developed used Unreal Engine 3 (UE3) and required approximately one year of development, working exclusively during evenings and weekends. The most challenging aspects included AI bot development, character rigging, event scripting, and thesis writing. However, I found particular enjoyment in material editing, motion capture, sound design, and UX development.

Below are visual materials documenting key moments of this journey.