To help students gain a clearer view of potential career paths in the gaming industry, Brock University is turning to its graduates.

The Centre for Digital Humanities is hosting two online panels to help GAME and Interactive Arts and Science (IASC) students think about their future, with insight offered up by alumni.

The GAME graduate panel on Wednesday, Nov. 25 at 9 a.m. and the IASC graduate panel on Wednesday, Dec. 2 at 9 a.m. will both feature a diverse selection of recent Brock graduates sharing their career experiences, from working freelance, to continuing their education, or working at big-name companies.

“Past graduates will talk about their experience and shine light on what you can do with a degree,” says event organizer Tom Brown with Brock’s Centre for Digital Humanities.

Chunck Trafagander (BA ’20) will discuss his freelancing career in the local gaming industry during an upcoming panel for Brock GAME and Interactive Arts and Science students.

Rachel Booth (BA ’17) began her dream job with Ubisoft this fall, after completing a Master of Information at the University of Toronto following her Brock degree. Currently, she is a user experience (UX) designer working on Rainbow Six: Siege, a popular online video game.

“As a UX designer, it is really important for me to look at things from different perspectives, so maintaining a game development lens is essential to make sure my input is valuable,” says Booth, who works with multiple teams on game aspects like customization, player behaviour and casting.

“Brock’s interactive media practicum course, IASC 4F00, was really helpful in giving me insight into how different game development roles function, which helps me communicate better with my teammates who come from different disciplines.”

Rainbow Six: Siege has a huge player base and a strong e-sports presence, she says. “I’m looking forward to seeing things that I’ve worked on published on such a huge platform, as well as learning a lot more from my very talented and diverse group of co-workers.”

Continuous learning is an aspect Chunck Trafagander (BA ’20) appreciates about his freelance career. Working as a 3D artist for several locally based game studios has allowed him to keep his hand on the pulse of the gaming industry, he says.

“If you are able to manage your time efficiently, the reward of working freelance is that there is never a dull moment, and you are constantly honing your skills at a rapid rate,” says Trafagander. “As well, you are able to expose yourself to a larger number of projects that are invaluable experiences in the long run.”

In addition to his 3D work, Trafagander curates a bi-weekly show for CG Cookie’s YouTube channel, as well as occasionally developing tutorial videos and training courses for Blender, software used to create 3D computer graphics. He also researches and develops introductory training courses for FlippedNormals, a digital marketplace for animation, games and computer graphics, on a multitude of software and areas of specialization.

“Our graduates move on to a diverse range of fields with post graduate studies, freelancing and working at large companies,” says Brown. “With this panel, I hope students can see the different opportunities available to them and different ways of landing those opportunities.”