Hi, I’m Tristan, this page is about me and my journey to becoming a Games Student

Who am I?

I am a student at the University of Staffordshire studying BSc Gameplay Design and Production. I hold a great passion for games both playing and in their creation. I also enjoy helping people struggling with anxiety, self confidence and differences which are aspects I struggle with myself. Using my lived experiences and skills in game design I one day hope to make games to help people.

What got me here?

Put simply, games got me here there are many formative moments in my life that I can either link back to a game and what it taught me or through an experience in a game. I can trace it all back to when my grandparents bought me a GameBoy Advance and Pokémon Ruby, a wonderous escape for a child who struggled to understand the world around him. Then to when I was out of school with no one to call my friend and fearful of being outcast due to my sexuality I was gifted a copy of Fire Emblem: Awakening by my mum. It taught me how to fight when the darkness feels too much to bear and that its worth fighting the darkness to find out who you truly are. I could go on, to during the COVID lockdown playing Stardew Valley with my partner to be and falling in love with him while playing. To having lost my grandad suddenly and on the verge of losing my grandmother as well, having Fire Emblem: Engage showing me the value of connection and how our faith in each other gives us all strength.

I first discovered my passion for making games while completing a Level 2 in IT and Digital Skills I found I was quite good at creating concepts and using Unreal Engine. I spoke to the course leads for my Level 2 course and the Level 3 Games Design and Development lead they encouraged me to take the Level 3 course. Before that I had no clear path in life apart from a passion for IT but now I had a new focus and drive. Over the following year I used that drive to develop my skills in games to where my Final Project for the course I was on was voted Game of the Year. I spoke to my teachers about progressing onto the second year of the course but they advised me to take the leap to University. After a mad dash around the country to find the right place I found the University of Staffordshire to study Gameplay Design and Production.

“Everything ends eventually. Even if history is not changed… Even if the world of darkness continues in its current state… Eventually the day will come when I won’t be here anymore. Since that’s the case, the timing of it doesn’t matter. The important thing is not how long you live… It’s what you accomplish with your life.
While I live, I want to shine. I want to prove that I exist. If I could do something really important… That would definitely carry on into the future. No… Not just into the future. In my friend’s futures too… My spirit has become part of them, I believe. In them, my spirit is alive. And that spirit could be passed along to others. And so, if I were to disappear… I think all that I have accomplished will go on. That is… that would mean…that it’s living, right?” – Grovyle – Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky