Today’s visit to Glass Egg was a very informative experience because I had very limited exposure and knowledge about the gaming and digital art industry before this session. Hearing the company’s story and learning about the work they do gave me a much better understanding of how big the global gaming industry really is and how many different skills are required behind the scenes of what we witness as players of the games.

In my opinion, one of the most interesting things I saw was how many workers they had at the company. Walking into that room and seeing over 100 people in one department focused solely on designing cars gave me a much clearer understanding of the scale of the work they do and the amount of detail required in this industry. Before this visit, I never really thought about how many individuals are involved in creating the graphics and designs that appear in games. What stood out to me most was how specialized everyone’s role seemed to be. Even though they were all contributing to the same overall project, each person appeared to focus on a different part of the design process. It made me realize how much teamwork and coordination are necessary to create something that looks realistic enough for the audience and the players. Something as simple as a car in a video game may take hundreds of hours of work from many different people before it is truly completed and completed with detail.

At the same time, the visit also highlighted some challenges companies like Glass Egg might face in the future. Technology is constantly changing, especially with the rise of AI and more advanced tools. Companies will need to continue to train employees and even though AI will help in some departments, the company can’t let it take them over and control them. During the Q and A, there were discussions surrounding AI and he stated that they use it for the sketches and to fill in the designs that the artists create but they can’t use it to print 3d models that are needed for in-game use. Since companies around the world offer similar services, it is important for this company to have a specific focus that they are the best in. They made it clear that cars were their main focus and the games that were displayed to us revealed this. Their car designs were unique and walking around the different floors, being able to witness a video game designer actually designing the cars that are used in the games, was such a unique experience.

Separate from the site visit, I got a special opportunity to attend a tedtalk. This was run by the UEF students and it was a very organized event that offered a ton of new information. When we arrived, we were greeted by the students that we recognized from our classes with them! It was cool to see them in a working environment. All of us took a photo before going in (of course) and I actually got interviewed at the door. They asked me “Why I was here” and I explained how I wanted to attend this event because I love hearing new stories and lessons and I hope to come out of today learning something new. I definitely did. We sat through three speakers. The first speaker discussed the importance of clarity in content. The second one discussed listening and the true meaning of listening. The last speaker explained his experience with resilience. Being able to take away even one lesson is so important, especially getting to experience an event like this in person.

One highlight that I want to share was helping Mickey and teaching him how to tie his tie. It was such a small thing that he learned now for life. This was after our sports day which was such a fun experience participating in boxing for the first time along with a lot of fun team building activities. Looking forward to our trip coming up!