This Spring, we had the pleasure of welcoming a Game Design intern into the WhiteMoon Dreams Family. Alyssa was thrown into the deep end, working directly with our Creative Director and Designer Extraordinaire, Scott Campbell!
Before she returns to school to pursue her degree in Computer Science, we took a moment to reflect on her time with us at the studio, which was actually extremely awesome by the way.
Thank you for joining us Alyssa! It was a joy to work with you and the whole team wishes you the very best at whatever you choose to do next!
Hi, Alyssa. I’m going to bug you and ask you a few questions. How did you first hear about WhiteMoon Dreams?
I looked up game studios local to Pasadena and found WhiteMoon’s website. I was intrigued by the diverse and numerous titles the studio had worked on in the past.
Was there an open position available for an internship or did you reach out and ask for one?
There wasn’t an internship posting on the website, but I was fortunate that the company was communicative over email.
What are you studying in school? Will this internship help when you’re back to school?
I’m studying computer science and visual media studies. Next year, I’m taking an independent study course where I can guide my own project and learning. I plan to develop my own puzzle video game, so I’ll definitely use the lessons I learned about documenting design and workflow to assist me in that.
What’s your day to day life like as an intern?
In my internship, I focused on level design for an in-house game. Much of my day consists of brainstorming mechanics and talking through them with Scott, our creative director. I get to see what a thorough design document looks like and learn how to organize people toward a certain vision. In particular to my role as a level designer, I strengthen my creativity by having to ideate interesting scenarios and puzzles based on a limited set of mechanics.
From there, I get to draw out maps and even prototype them in Unreal. In this process, I’ve learned a lot of technical skills as well, familiarizing myself with blueprints in Unreal and version control with Perforce.
From there, I get to draw out maps and even prototype them in Unreal. In this process, I’ve learned a lot of technical skills as well, familiarizing myself with blueprints in Unreal and version control with Perforce.
What were some of your first impressions of WhiteMoon?
I was surprised by the relaxed company culture, the environment is trusting and reasonable.
What do you enjoy about your internship?
I most enjoy getting to be in a space with experienced professionals and observing the skill they put into their work. It’s really cool to watch new 3D models being sculpted or a system being programmed and then see the results.
Even noticing how the studio operates as a team and how they communicate in meetings has been fascinating. It inspires me to keep growing, knowing that one day I can get to that level of expertise.
Even noticing how the studio operates as a team and how they communicate in meetings has been fascinating. It inspires me to keep growing, knowing that one day I can get to that level of expertise.
What are some of your favorite games?
Inside, Portal, Stray, Outer Wilds
Do you have an idea of what you’d like to do once you’ve finished school?
Ideally, I’d like to find design work within the gaming space, either for entertainment or education. I’m also interested in other storytelling technologies like VR/AR and interactive attractions. There are many opportunities, but at its core, I’d really like to be a part of a project that challenges my creativity and pushes a medium to interesting new possibilities.
What will you miss about your internship?
I’ll miss the amount of freedom I was granted as an intern to take on such a role in design. At the start of my experience, it was made clear that I could help on any aspect of the game and use any process that I felt comfortable with.
I was given full confidence to take my ideas and run with them which likely wouldn’t be the case at any other studio, especially for an intern. I really appreciated that trust and it made me very excited and invested in my work everyday.
I was given full confidence to take my ideas and run with them which likely wouldn’t be the case at any other studio, especially for an intern. I really appreciated that trust and it made me very excited and invested in my work everyday.
Any final thoughts or ideas you’d like to share on your way out?
Just wanted to say that the work I did here didn’t feel like “work.” I easily lost track of time and never felt bored. And to me, this solidified my interest in game design and development, so I know this was the right path for me.
