about me
I'm a Computer Science student at the University of St Andrews, just about to start my fourth and final year.
After finishing my degree, I currently plan to find work in the video games industry developing games.
I am looking to create some of my own games/projects in the coming months before finding work, and I hope to
use this website as a portfolio and blog of my endeavours.
As well as CompSci content, I shall also share some coding projects that I have already done, as well as artwork
and music that I produce in my spare time.
why computer science?
For me, computer science holds the perfect equilibrium between logic and creativity, allowing me to blend all
of my personal interests. As many interesting applications as there are in the computer science category, none
apply to me as much as video game development. I want to make games that are enjoyed by a diverse range of
people from around the world; games that become a staple in the players lives, and a reminder of the times they played them.
I was introduced to programming at a coding club with Orion E-Health after school. We learned Java, HTML and CSS, as well as dabbling in various other projects in python or Git. After three years,
new, younger members of the club joined and I was
encouraged to help troubleshoot and teach the younger members with problems. This experience not only helped to
consolidate the work I had learnt, but also develop useful teamworking and communication skills. The club was a
very enjoyable environment, and the experience was hugely rewarding and a perfect introduction to computing and the computer science field as a career option. Meeting employees who spoke so highly
of their interesting and evolving computing jobs made me confident that computer science was right for me, regardless of which part of
the industry I joined.
Without really acknowledging it, I had been playing games my entire life, but the Christmas I got an Xbox was really when I started considering games as a career. I initially didn't even realise this was an option as a child, since how could someone possibly be salaried to work on something so cool?
Since that Christmas when I was about 13, I've had my mind set on one thing: programming. As I grew older, I realised how intensely competitive the industry was, so I broadened my scope to software engineering, which is still very enjoyable for me, however I hope to at some point to transition into the games sphere, possibly by starting my own company in the future. I don't think that I would have chosen to explore programming at all if not for video games in the first place! Some huge inspirations for me in the industry have been Rockstar, CD Projekt Red, Activision, Crystal Dynamics and Ubisoft. I absolutely adore the games that these companies make; the humour, the wit and the often heartwrenching storylines have really stuck with me. I have a games review blog that I update from time to time on this website, with games I am revisiting, or games I have recently played; click the "Blog" tab on the navbar to visit it!
It's really no secret that women often feel intimidated to join the gaming world, view it as 'just something that the boys do', or too difficult to join. In the same way, the computer science field is largely male-dominated, and can be seen as intimidating to girls and women. I hope that throughout my career I can encourage women into games and computer science by making it more accessible, enjoyable and appealing.