Our students

Why Teesside and games design?

My tutors at sixth form said Teesside’s game design courses were some of the best in the country. When I visited, I was impressed with what I saw.

I always had a strong desire to learn new skills, and that combined with my love for video games led me to choose this course.

Best thing about your course?

I enjoyed the freedom to explore projects that complemented my skills and being able to expand my knowledge at my own pace.

I also loved the challenge of learning new skills, which have been invaluable since graduating.

How did your course prepare you for your career?

Developing skills in coding and writing, and problem solving has helped me edit and evaluate my work with a critical eye. The creative side of game development even helped illustrating. It also helped me pitching my ideas to publishers, which led to the release of my three novels.

What are you doing now?

I own BookWyrm, an independent bookshop specialising in LGBTQ+ titles and independent books. I’m the public face of the shop and take part in different events including markets, talks at schools and panels at conventions.

I’m also the shop’s author-in-residence and have written two novels – Riftmaster and The Forge and the Flood, which are our bestsellers. I’ll be releasing my third novel Renegade, this year.

What are your ambitions for the future?

My biggest ambition is to expand BookWyrm into a full bookshop. I also want to take it further and see my books in more shops, and work with even larger publishers.

Would you recommend Teesside University to others?

I’d recommend it if you want to enter any creative industry. Even though I didn’t end up working in game development, I learnt valuable skills which have helped massively in my creative career.