I'm poor and can't afford to go to GDC! And even if I could they don't let rats on planes! Unfair! I thought it might be nice to talk about my story in game development though! The last year has been a big adventure for me, from my first publicly released game to my first job in professional game development.
About two years ago me and my friend (https://mezmeromania.itch.io/) decided to work together on a game project where I could focus on writing and learning some programming skills, and she could focus on animation. It was a long process, and we both learnt a lot from it, but just under a year ago we released Parsnip (https://bunbirb.itch.io/parsnip) We never expected anyone to play it, so when 100s of people played it soon after release, and we got feedback from reviews, lets plays and social media we were super blown away. It was amazingly motivating to make something people enjoyed!
A few months before Parsnip was released I came out as trans, and this was a big influence into our next game, The Testimony of Trixie Glimmer Smith (https://digital-poppy.itch.io/trixie). LGBTQ representation is something I wish there was more of in games, certainly in AAA games, so having a chance to write a cast of fun LGBTQ characters in a spooky story was incredibly nice! Trixie in some ways become a way for me to discuss my own feelings during my early transition, and I feel the game and its characters have a lot of meaning to me for that reason. The game was also very funny. I am allowed to say this, even if it is vain.
It was a big dream for me to work in indie game development, but unfortunately it wasn't something that came close to being affordable, especially not with my medical costs, so it was a good job I finally got a job in a large games studio! This was super big, and something I never really thought would happen, given my impostor syndrome! While it is sad that I don't have much free time for my own projects, working on a new project much bigger than anything I have done previously has been really exciting!
More than anything, the last year has rekindled my old love of writing. As a little one, I was always telling stories, but I lost that passion during my teens, when I was hideously depressed. Spending time writing about my characters for over a year though has really encouraged me, and I look forward to writing more in future, maybe even professionally! Who knows though, not me!
If any of my work sounds interesting feel free to check it out! It's all free, besides Trixie, and you might even enjoy it!