Game development can be such an impactful form of art in ways that not many people are aware of. I was curious to know about the motivations of casual and competitive gamers in the 21st century, and I wanted to research how one could create their own project that could impact others through escapism, positivity, or even empathy. I spoke with professors from USC, teachers from my own school who dibble-dabble in gaming platforms such as Unity or Unreal Engine, and mentors that guided me and scoped down my project to an attainable outcome. This is what I learned. Throughout the few months of research, I came across an extremely influential person in the gaming world named Richard Bartle, a forefront in Multi-user Dungeon styled video games. He created what is now called the Bartle Type Taxonomy, categorizing four versions of video gamers at that specific era of technology to even now. With his information and many other researchers like Nick Yee, I was able to configure an abstract of data regarding the future of video games including League of Legends and Genshin Impact. In order to understand modern games that are designed with traditional components, I also interviewed many students who enjoyed playing Stardew Valley or even Pokemon. It was thrilling to receive this much information on the behind-the-scenes of video game software, realizing how much thought each company or individual must have made to create one level or character. They influence plot, character development, environmental and robotic design, psychological reference, and all the what-ifs of a scene. I then chose to create my own game and release it online. It was a grueling but exciting process of finding forums and videos on how to work in visual code or in programming languages unused before, but with the help of the mentors I reached out to during the research process, I was able to find my footing and start slow. The game is called “Sloths,” a video game designed to teach players that depression and anxiety are prevalent in anyone, but can be overcome as shown through the main character’s storyline. I enjoyed thinking about my past struggles with isolation or feeling different from others, and how I myself was able to overcome and smile in situations that didn’t particularly provide joy. Adding my creative side in such a logical activity through my own background music or sprite design was a learning experience that raised my respect for many independent programmers, but I decided to keep going and create levels all original and unique to my own life. I found this project so interesting because I was given the freedom to sit down and work diligently, while continuously walking around and feeling the atmosphere of different situations or settings to be applied in a video game. I believe that’s why technology inspires me, because though it may seem technical and straightforward, there is such a vast space of possibilities aligned in each line of code. Through this scholarship, I hope to continue my journey in college as one of the few programmers in video games and in other aspects of creative programming.

(This poem is based on the short illustration created by Shel Silverstein named "The Thinker of Tender Thoughts." I enjoy this drawing because it represents how people are so easily affected by the world's common thinking, losing their creative minds. However, there's always a chance to change because of some miracle in your life.) Baby's Breath This man has always been a single atom Like a phantom, a ghost who holds no single fandom A plant with flowers on his head, a soil stand-in As imaginary fantasies water his garden With age, with withering, with darkness in the dreams No longer did the flowers look the way they seemed Transforming into snakes required certain melodies In which he was surrounded by the tunes of indecent families A glass approached his path, in which he said to himself, “at last” This was his true form, a fulfilled personality He can walk through his sin, the horns on his dome But nothing could ever return his old form No touch of gold, no lords behold But suddenly, a child, with eyes of blue Wrapped his hand around his finger And left a mark on the man to lose His hair, shapeshifted with glorious disposition Revealed his true self, not the mirror of false religion A child is what he needed, his own kin of innocent gold Still retained with purity not affected by the destructed world His imagination changed, he grew tulips, filled with towers Carnations, lilies, orchids, even a lotus, he loved these flowers But the one flower that grew the most on his new pot, Was his baby breath