Michael, ’18: Interactive Design / Game Design Concentration
Michael Treis, 鈥�18, has overcome a few challenges on his way to earning a BFA in interactive design鈥攁nd he鈥檚 looking for more.
After starting out in bio-medical and computer sciences at another university, Treis switched career paths and earned an associate degree in graphic design.
鈥淚鈥檝e always loved art, design and technical challenges,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 enjoy working with design鈥檚 limitations and its potential.鈥�
Encouraged by a friend, Treis took a visitor鈥檚 tour of 91制片厂 and was impressed by the interactive design program.
鈥淭he program is robust and in-depth, and merged my technical skills with my interest in design and software development,鈥� he says.
An avid player of video games, he seized the opportunity to also study game design.
The program is robust and in-depth, and merged my technical skills with my interest in design and software development.
After his first year, Treis was offered an internship with Graphite Labs, a game development company. Matt Raithel, game design instructor at Maryville, is Graphite鈥檚 studio director and encouraged Treis to apply.
鈥淚t was daunting at first because I had to learn complex software and implement backend programming,鈥� Treis says. He also created art assets for new games and explored other aspects of the industry.
鈥淚t was a good learning experience,鈥� Treis says. 鈥淎fterward, I felt much more prepared, confident and focused.鈥�
Treis hopes to work in game design, although he has his eye on mobile software development. 鈥淚n game design you can do anything,鈥� he says. 鈥淲hat makes a game so interesting is the unexpected, so you can work on the visual style, sound, art, coding鈥攜ou鈥檙e always problem-solving.鈥�
Which is exactly what Treis enjoys most.
鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing like being up all night and finding that one little bug, then having a game that runs,鈥� he says.