Lia Spirova
Adress: Yana Yazova” str. N.7, Sofia, Bulgaria;
Date of birth: 23th June 1994;
Email: lea.6est@gmail.com ;
Phone: (+359) 886 040 413 ;
Graduated highschool: June 2012, Lycee Francais Alphonse de Lamartin - French School of Sofia, Bulgaria
With grades:
- 6.00/6.00 in IT;
- 5.50/6.00 in Math;
- 5.40/6.00 Overall grade;
(6.00 being the highest grade obtainable in Bulgaria);
Out of school activities related to game design:
- Participated in the Game Theory online course on Coursera (a 3 month long online course on game theory - predicting and understanding the actions of players in various situations - namely games, the possible outcomes, and the payoff each player gets) in January 2013;
-
Currently (may 2013) participating in the Game Theory II course, a
continuation of the first, and things get more complicated;
- Read the book "Beginning of Programming with C++ for Dummies" (a great book from the Dummies series, that helped me learn the basics of programming);
-
Did tutorials for Photoshop – basic and advanced; For Blender –
basic; And an online sketching tutorial course – basics of fast
drawing;
Contests participated in:
- The League of Legends Digi-art throwdown contest;
- The J!nx T-shirt design contest;
- A League of Legends unofficial contest (a private contest with 2 parts - create a unique champion for League of Legends - with skills, lore and a drawing; and make a drawing of a scene on League of Legends);
All additional information and my submissions to the contests are on my portfolio.
About my decisions and thought process
I’ve never had an absolute plan about my future and abilities as I went through school. I’ve had a few professional advisors in high school but they have never been of much help to me, as I’m good in almost every subject, yet not especially genius in any of them. I’ve always excelled at math and sciences, so for a while I was considering continuing my education in chemistry.
But I realized it was not enough for me. I didn’t want a subject that consists of only pure logic and studying that logic – I wanted something artistic as well, somewhere I can use my full creativity and imagination. And then I thought about game design.
Video games – and all games in general – have always been a passion for me. But I wasn’t just a gamer and addict. I would look at a model and animations and I think what I would do to make that champion better (I often think about the game League of Legends). How can I make the model, the animations, even the splash art for that champion express even more about their personality; or even more, how to make the storyline behind them even more interesting and attention grabbing.
So I thought that few things combine science, art and my two greatest passions – video games and storytelling (I’m a big fan of fantasy books) better than game design.
Why DAE?
The Digital Arts and Entertainment program in Belgium was the first program I saw which sparkled my interest and the more I looked for similar programs, the more I found myself returning to this one again and again. There are a few reasons for that.
DAE is the only program I found that combines game development and programming with arts and character modeling in just the right proportion. I have not yet decided on what specialization I will choose after my first year, and that’s why it’s so important for me to get a taste of everything.
It’s difficult. I’m not expecting college to be a stroll in the park. On the contrary, I want to challenge myself. I want to push myself to find where my limits are and I know with a lot of hard work I can become a great game designer.
Objectives
I plan to use the DAE courses to get as much knowledge and experience as possible on all the subjects I need to be a game designer. Finding a job as a game designer will require a good portfolio and experience, so I will need to work on as many projects as I can in my years in college to have a good chance.
I don’t want to be simply an artist/programmer in a big company. I believe a team (of game designers) works better when everyone knows a bit of every other’s job in addition to their own job in the team. This way each member develops their skills and grows as a game designer. And in the process they create a wonderful game, which is what is important in the end.
About me and my country
I must say, Bulgaria is not a country with a very good name in Europe and the rest of the world. Our history, and the impression we as a nation have made to other countries is far from great. But I prefer not to restrict my mind only to the boundaries of my country and the mentality of some of the people around me; I like to think more as an European, and a citizen of the world. I strive to be seen as a person, instead of being defined and judged as “Bulgarian”, whatever that might mean for anyone.
I believe I can be a useful addition to the Digital Arts and Entertainment program because I will aim to be the best I can - so people (and myself too) can see what I'm capable of.
