That's all folks!

Hey everyone! I finally finished my last GDW project. Here it is!! 

I must say, it required a lot of hard work to complete, but my group members and I all worked hard together, hence why I think our game turned out very well. Although there were a few things that didn't pan out as we would have liked (like 4-player multiplayer, particle effects, new enemies, and a final boss battle) our game still turned out well, given the time we had. Throughout the year, we had to deal with many assignments that took up so much of our time; so dedicating the last couple of weeks to our GDW game was definitely painful and resulted in lots of sleep deprivation, but in the end we feel that all our hard work paid off. We presented this game at my school's Game Con, where all UOIT game dev students show off the finished version of their year-long GDW projects. At the end of Game Con, an awards show took place. There, to my surprise, my group and I won the Professor's award for best 3rd year game, and Student's award for best 3rd year game! Given my GDW track record (where in 2nd-year I delivered a game that was mediocre at best, and in 1st-year I barely had a game at all) this was a real shock to me. Two years ago, I never would have thought that I would end up winning not one, but two awards in the future! As for Game Con's Game of Show award, we lost to 2nd-year team Ram'deep who presented Werebear. But rather than be disappointed, I'm actually very happy to lose to such a talented team; they truly deserved to win that award. I have a few friends of mine on that team, and I know how hard they worked to make that game. Don't get me wrong all GDW groups had interesting games to present, and I wouldn't doubt that they all worked very hard, but Ram'deep created a UOIT Game Dev gem. Bravo Ram'deep, and bravo UOIT Game Dev students and professors!! As for my team again, I'm so happy that our game turned out to be so successful, and it shouldn't be a surprise given the dedicated effort we all put forth together! I feel very privileged and honored to work with such an amazing and talented team, and I wish the best of luck to my teammates' future endeavours. Thank you, team ProTesters!!! :)

This is the awesome team I worked with: ProTesters!!!

Now that I completed my group project, my focus has shifted to my future. Right now, the near future for me is not entirely unknown, as I'll either be doing an internship or a capstone project during the summer for a fast-track credit. For every UOIT student, capstone is a requirement to graduate, and many people do their capstone during their 4th-year. Capstone is basically a big 4-5 month-long project that a group of students have to complete for a given client. Many 4th-years at the beginning of this school year strongly recommended for me to pursue my capstone credit during the summer, so I took their advice and looked into it. As I educated myself on the topic, I learned about internship, and how it can take the place of the required capstone credit. Internship is basically a temporary job position open for students for a certain number of months. Eventually I discovered Global Edge, which is an internship program that allows students to travel abroad and pursue internship in foreign countries. One of the opportunities they presented was an internship with Wooga in Germany. Wooga is the third largest social game development studio, which makes games for Facebook. Out of all the choices I have this summer, this one definitely appeals to me the most! So I applied for an intern position there, and I now have an interview this week! I'm really excited about the opportunity, so I hope I make the position!! However, if I don't make the position, I do still have my capstone project to fall back on. Taking either the internship or capstone during the summer will alleviate one course for me, instead of having to take it during my 4th year. This will give me more time to focus on running my school's game development club, which I've recently been elected as president. I have many plans for that club next year, and one of them includes helping 1st-years build their programming skills to match that of the upper years.

Wouldn't it be awesome to work for these guys?

This year has definitely been my most successful year at UOIT, and I'm truly thankful for all the help, encouragement, and support of my friends and family, which brought me to where I am today. I couldn't have done it without you all! Also, best of luck to everyone graduating this year; I wish nothing but the best for your game dev profession! For all those not there yet, I hope for everyone has a relaxing and enjoyable summer, and see you all again in September!! Goodbye for now!!! :)

- Mario