Monarch Odyssey

​In the Fall 2025 semester, I completed GAME 450, a capstone course that focused on practical, individualized guidance in crucial aspects of the design and development process, including ideation, research, prototyping, implementation, documentation, and playtesting. Additionally, the course worked with identifying, researching, drafting, and revising critical arguments about games and game-related issues. Three teams were working on the Monarch Odyssey project, a game the Game Studies & Design program has been developing over the past few years. I worked on the 3D Team, which was responsible for 3D modeling the campus and world-building in Unity. I was assigned a leadership position as the co-producer of the project. This meant that I had to not only complete 3D assignments, but also ensure that everyone was working efficiently, tasks were being assigned and completed, and that information was going through proper channels. This semester, the 3D team mainly focused on modeling ODU buildings around campus.
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During this experience, I was able to hone in on skills such as coding, 3D modeling, communication, leadership, and more. Learning 3D modeling in applications like Blender and Maya will help me when seeking a career in the gaming industry, as these skills can be essential depending on what I decide to pursue. Additionally, working with GitHub and Unity enhances my skill set, which is necessary in the industry. Without this experience, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to hone in on these skills and improve them.
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Being given a leadership position also gave me good insight into how to properly manage myself and others in a game industry setting. Our work was completed in 2-week Sprints, where we used the Agile framework, specifically Scrum, to determine which tasks needed to be completed each Sprint for the 3D Team. The project required us to use Microsoft Teams, so I am also familiar with that platform after taking this course. Through this experience, I have realized how important proper communication in these settings can be. People encounter various setbacks that need to be recorded, and others do not complete assignments promptly, which can affect the project. This became something that needed to be addressed, and afterward, there were no more communication issues that interfered with the project. Overall, this course taught me valuable skills that I can apply to the gaming industry in the future.