Ellie Smith
Game Designer
I'm a third year at Falmouth University studying BA(Hons) Game Development: Design. I love the design of games and the complex problems, producing excieting and meaningful experiences. In particular I'm interested in UI/UX design and systems that entwine together to emerge moments of surprise and delight.
In general I love loads of different crafts; anything from bookbinding to wooden ring making to pyrography. Additionally I'm really passionate about rock climbing.
Skills
-
UE5 / Blueprints
-
Unity / C#
-
Photoshop
-
Learning new software (Learnt Trenchbroom to create a Quake map)
-
Creating one page game design docs to outline key systems / gameplay features
-
Microsoft Office
-
Graphic Design
-
Prototyping to figure out how things work / iterating on ideas
-
Iterative agile workflows (scrum / standups)
-
Paper Prototyping - developing board games
-
Organising playtest sessions
-
Analysing playtest feedback
-
Sprint planning / project management
-
Researching industry processes
Achievements
.jpg)
BAFTA Young Game Desginers is a competition for kids aged 10-18. I entered this competition in 2022 and made it to the finals out of 1000s of entries with my concept for Escape the Engines:
A Steampunk Escape Room Party Game, with the only means of escape being through the players' abilities to communicate and work together before the time runs out.
What I learnt from doing this:
- My first independant game dev project. When I applied I didn't tell anyone about it so I had to plan the project, do research for it and carry it out all totally off my own back.
- Researching The Fundamentals Of A Game. At this time I had no idea what the game development process was so I had to spend time researching what needed to be known to develop a game concept.
I regularly go indoor rock climbing and I've been on outdoor trips as well.
I'm always improving my problem solving skills when I'm climbing because there's always problems that I'll approach and have to work out what the right set of movements are to get from the bottom to the top. As a short climber and someone who generally doesn't have a lot of strength I often have to figure out solutions that involve working towards my strengths instead of my weaknesses.
Fear is a major problem that I have to overcome when I'm climbing. Whilst you get more used to it the more you climb there's always a new problem, which you might really feel the fear on. Even when it might actually be an easier climb sometimes the fear can really hold you back. Learning strategies to overcome the fear is a really key skill you learn as well as learning when is appropriate to push yourself beyond what you feel is comfortable.
