In the eyes of a games design student these past three weeks have been amazing I have had the opportunity to follow my passions and interests, meet loads of new people and explore an entirely different lifestyle and culture.
The first week had to be the best introduction to England I could ever have expected. As part of erasmus I took part in the colleges games design classes the students there were incredibly talented already and they were only on their first year of three in their 3 year degree, I took the inspiration that I got from week 1 and I started developing my own game with my new skills I tried to make a 2D game, with 3D references such as the player and the enemies. It's a Space Shooter with no name yet because it's just a test game. I got enemies moving and killing the player but I ran into a bug where the enemies would intersect and bounce off the world border allowing the enemies to get past the player and destroy the town. I havent finished the game yet as I took a break from development and went around with my supervisor Alex and get to have hands on with some of their ''toys'', I used a 360 camera called Kenny and their Virtual Reality Headset the Oculus Go which was a lot of fun and has made me think about buying Oculus's latest tech the Oculus Quest which is a headset that you can bring anywhere and develop games with. I also got to learn how to develop film in a dark room with Roisin another Erasmus GTI student. Dont ask me about the culture of England I was almost convinced to stay over here for the entire summer I had such an amazing time over here, I will definitely be back soon after Brexit even if I'm not allowed, The first weekend we were here We visited these really cool underground tunnels that was used for plumbing when cholera was a massive problem. On the same day we visited the Cathedral in Bristol which was massive and looked amazing for the glory of God and paying tribute to the heroic efforts soldiers made during war time. We also visited an art museum and a hip restaurant that allowed you to play board games while eating their amazing food The next day I and a fellow student Viktor went to see John Wick 3 with a load of the students from the Games Design Class It was a really nice evening and the cinema was amazing it has stood the test of time once called the Festival Theatre built 1965 with its recent renovations in 2007 it has become a masterpiece and a well visited cinema for all the ages. The next weekend was a very adventurous trip as we jumped from tree to tree in the adventure centre Go Ape which was highly recommended by my supervisor, It was definitely an experience as I'm not the biggest fan of heights but Hey I survived and I am still really proud of myself of that. We then visited paignton Zoo which was fantastic we had a really nice day with clear skies and all the animals were out having a blast, It was an amazing day I got to reunite with my brethren the flamingos. A few of us also made friends with a group of Swiss Girls from our accommodation they were great crack and I was able to help them with some English Vocabulary while touching up on my German slightly. Now most nights we play very ridiculous card games that we have been given out to for being ''too loud''. I think that's a good summary of what went on over the last 3 weeks I have really enjoyed my time over in England and am looking forward to coming back home and sharing my experiences with friends and family. I am blessed to have been giving this amazing opportunity and I am so grateful for the opportunity to travel abroad and follow my passions. -Uan Murphy
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Erasmus is a great idea. I had the pleasure to travel to Paignton, England for the duration of three weeks. There I worked and continue to work in the finance department of South Devon College. The people here are very nice and appreciative of me being here. I work with supplier invoices, statements and also have the responsibility to count up all the revenue that the business's outlets make daily. This gave me a good taste of what it's like to work in an office. I saw first-hand the culture, atmosphere and dynamic within the organisation. My confidence increased as dealing with the college's finances involved sums of money significantly larger than to which I was used to. Thus my comfort levels were pushed and valuable experience was acquired. I learned to rely on myself as after I was shown the ropes I worked independently. I could ask for help but I was okay without it. I had the pleasure of attending two meetings and got to accompany the team as they inspected a newly built premises for which they allocated finances. As for the cultural and social experience. It was very interesting so far. I am staying in a place which has other student from different countries. I got to explore some of Paignton. I visited underground tunnels in Exeter, the Exeter cathedral and found a nice place where people can play board games and eat food. I thought it was a great idea. I went to the beach in Paignton which is nice. Go Apes was a terrific experience. I plan to go to the zoo, national aquarium, splash park. I came across different accents but they were easy to understand. I picked up a few slang words but they were never used when talking to me. Overall I am very happy with the experience. -Victor Ignonin My first impressions of Devon were beautiful scenery very friendly locals. My work placement was in South Devon College. South Devon caters for High school students, A level students and also has links to the University of South Devon and the University of Plymouth. On day one of work placement I was introduced to my supervisor Karen. Karen kindly gave me a tour of the college and introduced me to members of staff I would be working alongside. I spent week one in the A levels department carrying out general administration duties, typing student’s class work and creating spreadsheets on lecturer’s feedback for student’s yearly reviews. On week two and three I was based in the HE department of University of South Devon. I worked on creating an abstract booklet which included gathering all the information and research from students for the booklet which would be published and distributed.
During my free time on the weekends I visited Exeter, a nearby city. I explored cathedrals, shops, ate amazing food and visited lots of tourist attractions including an adventure park where we went zip lining. We visited Torquay, went bowling, to local restaurants and took a boat trip to Brixham. We travelled by train to Plymouth to see the University and in the evenings relaxed at the beach. Overall my time spent in Devon was unforgettable, I got to experience the culture of South England, made new friends, discovered a new place I have never been to and gained invaluable work experience. -Jennifer Flaherty |