Summer 2023 was definitely one for the books. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain a Production Internship at a game studio or a project management internship at a company. I decided to improve upon my production skills in some unique ways.
Before I get into that who the heck am I? Hi! I am Kadin White, a senior at Bradley University pursuing a degree in Game Design, with a minor in creative writing and marketing. My real bread and butter, the work I love to do, involves the realm of game production and project management. This blog is an idea I've been tossing around in my head to help get my name out there, in hopes for me to join and help game studios/companies produce innovative game experiences, and help companies manage projects in the best way possible. Now that the brief intro is out of the way...on with the blog!
I spent the summer working for a mining operation where I worked partly as an administrative assistant, handling phone calls, managing invoices, and weighing semis as they left the mining facility with the material. You gotta love being organized. While working here I stretched my communication skills by operating a front-end loader. Your communication has to be loud and clear when customers talk to you while you're running a machine that's louder than a bulldozer plowing through 18 walls of concrete.
But as a gamer, I obviously knocked some more games off my list, in the sense that I played them, not necessarily completed them. Oh to have that time to complete games. The list included Star Wars Jedi Survivor (this one I actually did complete... the main story at least,) Pokémon Scarlet, Hogwarts Legacy, Diablo IV, GTA online, continuing my Animal Crossing Island, and being bad at Super Smash Bros Ultimate. Oh yeah, Marvel Snap is a great game too.
The summer wasn't all work and games. I also traveled to St. Paul to see Brooks and Dunn in concert. They definitely played something country that night.
I went to a few St. Louis Cardinals games, and I had a blast, though please don't ask me about where they are in the division, it's bad. So bad.
I finished off my summer by going on my family's 3rd annual trip to the Lake of the Ozarks. I went on boat rides, my face still hurts from smiling so much. Ate way too much food. There's a fudge store on the famous Bagnell Dam strip. I don't want to disclose how much I bought. Lastly, most importantly, I made a lot of memories and great laughs with my family.
The first week of school is in the books now and I can't wait to see what lies ahead for my senior year. If you've made it this far thanks for reading.
Moving forward I look to post at the end of every month on a topic within the games industry that interests me, game production being at the top of that list. September is a big month for the industry Starfield, Lies of P, Mortal Kombat 1, and the Phantom Liberty Expansion for Cyberpunk 2077. I can't even imagine how many times the roadmaps have changed for those projects. But I just might talk about it ;) Or if you'd like me to discuss a specific topic and or my thoughts on a particular game within the industry drop them in the comments.
At the time of writing, I am also producing one of my school's senior capstone game projects. If allowed, maybe I'll give some dev updates in my monthly post as well to let you know how the experience is going.
One objective I have with this blog is that if you are a developer, producer, or recruiter, at a game studio/company, it will give you some insight into how I think as a producer/project manager and who I am as a person. If something I write in the future interests you feel free to contact me or chat in the comments.
At the end of the day, I hope this blog gives some enjoyment in your day even if it's just a small grin. Games have the power to bring joy and positivity into the world, it's why I'm striving to break into the industry. I hope you'll join me in talking about games, asking questions about project management and game production, and engaging in some great conversation.
Thanks for reading and take care of yourselves.
-Kadin
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