The Joys of Video Game Development

Ever since the Train2Game and Epic game jam in November 2011, I've had the pleasure and honour to be apart of a talented bunch of people in the form of IndigoJam, working on an IP that most only dream of thanks to the Make Something Unreal Live competition and the fine gentlemen of Fighting Fantasy.

That being said, over the last 9 months we have gone through a multitude of emotions, all the way from unbridled elation to inconsolable rage. All the while we have learned some valuable lessons and gained skills through a process that would only really present itself in a real industry environment whilst working remotely in our spare time, juggling full time day jobs as well as putting in many hours into a game that we had no idea would even make it to the light of day.

We got the chance to showcase these skills and our game along with the other teams competing in MSUL to the public and industry legends such as Cliffy B, Peter Molyneux and Sir Ian Livingstone during the week long Gadget Show Live at the Birmingham NEC in April. 


This was an unbelievable experience, not only was it the first time we had worked alongside the people in the flesh that we had worked with remotely for 5 months, but we also got to spend all day everyday working on the game, no life or day jobs getting in the way. Being a part of this was an amazing feeling and it really made it click that I am gunning for the right career path. 


Being able to (almost) fully concentrate and create something that will hopefully be played and perhaps even enjoyed by other people is definitely for me and that has made this whole rollercoaster experience worth while. 

Hello World!!

Welcome to my very first ever blog.


I've been told that blogging is a great tool to use for creating a presence and giving people an idea of what kind of person you are, something that can be great to give people an idea of who you are without ever meeting you.


But where to begin? A bit about me would probably be a decent start.


Well, my name is Leigh, I am a 27 year old Games Design student living in the kingdom of Yorkshire with my long term girlfriend Alex and our 3 pet rats. I work full time at a well known supermarket in produce distribution.


I've had numerous jobs in various sectors over the years, ranging from labouring on construction sites to accounts management in a big company, none of which have ever felt like a calling. Even when I went to university to study Quantity Surveying, he didn’t feel like it was something that he wanted to do for the rest of his life. I decided to quit and pursue a career in something that I truly love – video games. I was working towards a Train2Game Games Developer qualification but after working as a Developer/Designer on the DeathTrap Dungeon project with IndigoJam for the Epic and Train2Game Make Something Unreal Live competition, I realised that my aptitude, skills and enjoyment leaned more towards being a well rounded designer. Luckily I have been given the opportunity to switch to the Games Design course instead.


I have a great interests in most forms of media, music, TV, movies, sports etc but my true passion is for video games.

I plan on making this blogging lark a regular thing, topics and subjects are still to be decided but I hope they will all entertain and some may even inform, but I look forward to doing more and any feedback would be appreciated.

Until next time.