This interview was one with Johnathan Futch, a 3D developer and golf course coder for Perfect Parallel. I benefited from interviewing him due to the fact that what he does involves a blend of my 3d development skills with the golf courses, and the programming skills I have earned with my internship and class experience.
Onto the interview itself, the interview was basically divided into five questions, as Futch was busy at PP and pressed for time, so we could not do a video interview. Even though the interview was condensed into about a paragraph, it was still informative and useful. The questions I asked were “Where did you graduate from college and what was your first job? How did you end up working at Perfect Parallel? and What do you recommend for someone trying to get into game development and coding at my point in time? (other than practice).” The first two responses were interesting, especially considering first that Futch hadn’t pursued game design as a career directly (he was in fact a database manager) but as a hobby instead, and it made me realize that we never know where we’ll end up for our first jobs but we have to keep trying and honing our skills to get what we want. The second one was also interesting because Buffalo Game Space (the spot inside Perfect Parallel where I work was actually started at Lyons Hall at Canisius. The third question’s response resonated with me.
I know practice is a big part of becoming a better Digital Media Professional (Not just a student) involves practice, anything you want to get better at involves practice in anything you do. Oftentimes, on semester breaks, I’d have plans and ambition to start all of these DMA projects and I’d say that would make me a better student and a more valuable commodity to others. Yet, my breaks always began and I’d fall into my old habits- losing all that motivation and ambition my plans had. I realize now that I’m not a self starter. It can be difficult to start a mini project if you have no plan and you run into errors which being in class should’ve fixed. However, I feel Futch sort of understood my feelings through the screen
” With everything going on in life, it can be tough to find the time and energy. So beyond that I’d recommend joining a group or meeting up with other people who share the same interests to help learn from them and to keep each other motivated.”
“That’s where the Buffalo Game Space came from and it’s what we’re here to do.”
Then, I realized, if I give other things a shot and take risks the same way Futch and so many others with a remote interest in digital media have, what do I have to lose?
And so I’ve tried that
And I’ve gotten a chance to work on a friend’s game because of it.
And I’ve motivated to go to BGS and hone my skills because of it.
I’m going to try and be a better programmer because of it.
I don’t know what the future holds- no one does, but I have more motivation to try now, thanks to this interview.
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