Thought I’d give a little bit of an update about where I am at with my PhD (also known as, I want to be a Doctor in Video Games).
I just want to preface that PhD in different countries and universities are a bit different. So this is specifically based on my experience at RMIT in Australia. So for my PhD, I only have 1 mandatory class for the whole thing (there are also different types of PhD that you can do at RMIT), mine is well, developing video games, so it’s a creative practice based PhD. So I have a Creative Practice Research Strategies course. Part of this course, we hear about other’s people’s research. Since I am based in the School of Design, it’s so diverse.
Anyway, here is my presentation, and also sort of where I am at with my PhD currently.
Since I started in September last year (actually I started on my 32nd birthday), I have been doing a lot of reading, some writing. I joined a few game jams and I made a few games, and I was interviewed on radio and on TV because of one of those games. I got to reflect and ruminate more, I think, about who I am as a game developer and researcher and where I want to go and what I want to be.
It’s been a good journey so far (less productivity due to corona virus and self-isolation aside). And yup, I’ll keep going, and I still have a Confirmation of Candidature coming up in August. Hopefully by my 33rd birthday, I’ll officially be a PhD candidate (It’s fun how all my milestones are around my birthday, actually even my undergrad and Masters too, I’m such a geek that academic milestones and achievements are the best birthday gifts).
Michelle Chen 