My Vision
Throughout my life, I have felt an inherent draw toward media and the arts. Many of my interests stem from video games that inspired me, as I would always want to draw my favorite characters, learn how to play my favorite soundtracks, or read the texts that inspired my favorite stories. I see media as a way of being exposed to ideas that I have yet to experience in my immediate environment, and have been determined to absorb as much as possible. Music from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker left me walking right up to my elementary school's orchestra, insistent that I wanted to learn the violin, while the story of Xenoblade Chronicles resonated with me on a deep enough level to drive a lifelong interest in narrative analysis—leading to my eventual GDC talk and content creation pursuits. I believe that there is a lot to learn about every person based on what media resonates with their unique character and life experiences, and I want to create games that take advantage of that connection to leave a positive impact on their lives. Look below if you'd like to either learn more about my video essays or see me play music from The Legend of Zelda and Dark Souls!
Video Essay Content Creation
Following my speech about Xenoblade Chronicles at the 2023 Game Developers Conference, I was determined to continue creating and sharing my analysis content. It helped me find the confidence to turn to YouTube, where I began uploading in-depth, psychologically informed analysis videos on various video games and video game characters. My videos have achieved an average like rate of 11% compared to YouTube's typical 3-4%, as well as high comment rates that indicate strong audience communication abilities.
For my first major project, I converted the key points from my GDC talk into an extended, 50-minute analysis of Xenoblade Chronicles—breaking down its core themes through lenses of framing techniques, ludonarrative design, cohesive character arcs, musical commentary, and more! My goal was to inspire people to think deeper about video games, the ways in which they can tell stories, and what we can learn from them.
I am additionally extremely passionate about mental health-informed game design, and as such, produced a 42 minute analysis of a character exhibiting a grounded portrayal of complex trauma—discussing the underlying mechanisms of the condition and how they are reflected in gameplay, dialogue, narrative, and character design. It draws from several books and studies from the fields of neuroscience and psychology, allowing me to share obscure, helpful information in an engaging way.
My Interest in Music
Trailer Theme from The Legend of Zelda:Twilight Princess
While I was always encouraged to play instruments, I mainly got into music after I started choosing the songs I was learning instead of going by the books. Many of these pieces were from video games, which became a point of frustration for me as it was difficult to find sheet music for them. However, this struggle pushed me to learn how to arrange music on my own, which made me a lot more passionate about playing. I could often be found attempting to sound out my favorite songs growing up, and have continued playing regularly throughout my life as a result. It has helped me in working closely with sound designers, while also allowing me to more carefully consider the impact of music on the games I make and study.
One of my favorite songs to play is Orchestra Piece #1 from The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which is the theme for the game's trailer. It is one of the more challenging songs I have learned, as I am not classically trained, but I still had a lot of fun with it. Twilight Princess is a special game to me and I have always loved its trailer! I also am quite fond of Gwyn's theme from Dark Souls, which I have included an additional excerpt of!
Gwyn, Lord of Cinder from Dark Souls