Shauni Maple BSc
I am 23yrs old, and I have a First Class Honours BSc in Games Design. I worked extremely hard over the three years I was at university, and I am extremely proud of what I achieved during my time there. I love creating levels, and I love seeing ideas develop from an idea to something polished.
I have loved games and gaming since an early age of three. My dad always had me playing games on his computer, such as simple puzzle games and matching card games. Although I didn’t properly start gaming until I was about 8yrs old; the first real game I played was Final Fantasy VII. Since then I have become obsessed with Japanese-styled games, even though they are rare to find and play whilst living in the United Kingdom. My favourite genre of games are RPG, RTS, Puzzle, Adventure and Platformer games. However, I am very open to playing all genres of games, and I do enjoy most genres.
My main goal in life is to be successful, whilst having fun and being happy. Now I realise the games industry isn’t always an easy place to be, but I imagine the reward after working hard on various projects is worth it. I am passionate about level design, however after having the opportunity to do some QA testing, I discovered that I really enjoy doing it; I am extremely organised and analytical with everything that I do. Although, I believe I could be great in many different industry roles, as I am an extremely fast learner, as well as being very versatile.
As well as games, I am very passionate about Japan, and the entirety of the Japanese culture. I was lucky enough to learn this language at a GCSE level in college. I studied hard in this subject, and earned myself an A grade. It is not just about knowing and understanding the language, but being able to visit Japan before I was 20 was a massive achievement for me.
I worked extremely hard whilst learning Japanese, as well as taking up a part-time job to earn money to fund my trip to Japan. Being in Japan was one of the best experiences of my life, and I proved to myself that I can do anything if I simply put my mind to it.
When I graduated, I was featured in the Bolton News here, and the University of Bolton's website here. I was featured on these websites as I was the first female to graduate from the Games Design course, at the University of Bolton.
Below is a picture of myself on Graduation day (11th July 2012).
I have loved games and gaming since an early age of three. My dad always had me playing games on his computer, such as simple puzzle games and matching card games. Although I didn’t properly start gaming until I was about 8yrs old; the first real game I played was Final Fantasy VII. Since then I have become obsessed with Japanese-styled games, even though they are rare to find and play whilst living in the United Kingdom. My favourite genre of games are RPG, RTS, Puzzle, Adventure and Platformer games. However, I am very open to playing all genres of games, and I do enjoy most genres.
My main goal in life is to be successful, whilst having fun and being happy. Now I realise the games industry isn’t always an easy place to be, but I imagine the reward after working hard on various projects is worth it. I am passionate about level design, however after having the opportunity to do some QA testing, I discovered that I really enjoy doing it; I am extremely organised and analytical with everything that I do. Although, I believe I could be great in many different industry roles, as I am an extremely fast learner, as well as being very versatile.
As well as games, I am very passionate about Japan, and the entirety of the Japanese culture. I was lucky enough to learn this language at a GCSE level in college. I studied hard in this subject, and earned myself an A grade. It is not just about knowing and understanding the language, but being able to visit Japan before I was 20 was a massive achievement for me.
I worked extremely hard whilst learning Japanese, as well as taking up a part-time job to earn money to fund my trip to Japan. Being in Japan was one of the best experiences of my life, and I proved to myself that I can do anything if I simply put my mind to it.
When I graduated, I was featured in the Bolton News here, and the University of Bolton's website here. I was featured on these websites as I was the first female to graduate from the Games Design course, at the University of Bolton.
Below is a picture of myself on Graduation day (11th July 2012).
After completing my degree, I was swiftly offered a QA/Games tester role at Rockstar North on a 6 month contract! Whilst working there I would run through play-throughs of GTA V on the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.
Rockstar was an amazing company to work for, especially as it was my first industry job after finishing university.
Then after my contract finished at Rockstar North, I moved back to Bolton and was offered a temporary position as a 'Variable Hours Lecturer' teaching Games Design, specifically Mechanics and Metrics. Although this was a short-term role, I really enjoyed my time at the University and gained some valuable experience in teaching. I'm not sure if teaching is the job for me, but it was great to see the university course that I recently completed, from both perspectives; being the student and the teacher.
Rockstar was an amazing company to work for, especially as it was my first industry job after finishing university.
Then after my contract finished at Rockstar North, I moved back to Bolton and was offered a temporary position as a 'Variable Hours Lecturer' teaching Games Design, specifically Mechanics and Metrics. Although this was a short-term role, I really enjoyed my time at the University and gained some valuable experience in teaching. I'm not sure if teaching is the job for me, but it was great to see the university course that I recently completed, from both perspectives; being the student and the teacher.