While I may not be necessarily interested in the field of game design or even the hobby industry, I did learn a lot from my experience at USAopoly Because my parents have never had a traditional desk jobs I never really got a vision for what it looked like to work in a place where you have desks, you arrive at certain time, have meetings and so forth. I believe it was really important for me to see what it is like to work in a place like USAopoly, who has a more definite modern office approach. Hearing stories from my teachers and fellow bloggers It seems more and more businesses are creating open collaborative workspaces for their employees to work in. So seeing how interactions played out in a space that I’ll like work in was insightful. However while my internship didn’t necessarily match the path I want to go down, it did allow me to develop a new skill, CADing. while I’m no master more and more engineering firms and companies use CAD programs to model most of their work. And because USAopoly wanted to communicate with manufacturing companies who use the same tools it was a perfect win-win.
Another skill this experience has allowed me to develop is long term goal planning. At High Tech while we have many different projects, these often have multiple deadlines for mainly grading purposes. But in the workforce, more often I found is that your given a certain deadline for project completion that you have to strive for. And while I wasn’t making a physical project, I still had to manage my time and schedule out my work. For me this meant learning how to learn on my own. I stumbled around a lot at first, but as I was able to experiment I really found a method of what worked for me. It combines traditional lessons, where you follow the instructor, to open work time were I could experiment with tools see how they worked both by themself and with others to create solid objects. While the CADing skills will be particularly useful as I head off to college, I think it was the smaller experiences that stack up to be more impactful. I know now how I can teach myself, which will happen when I go off to college. I know how a more traditional workspace can impact your work, and I got a peek into what many workspaces are doing now. As I final thank you, I want to thank Bridgette and all my coworkers for allowing me the opportunity to work with them. I want to thank USAopoly for even considering high school intern even despite the moving workspaces soon. Finally I want to thank Mr. Leader for not only helping me when I had questions, but also dealing with the unpredictability of my schedule.
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The link to the presentation about how I made models can be found below:
https://create.piktochart.com/output/30616316-presentation-of-fusion-360?presentation=true The provided project fully covers all I had to do most of my project technically, but there was much more learning that went into it. My project over the past few weeks was to learn how to use the CADing program Fusion 360. The goal was to teach some of the staff the basics of the program, which is what I’ll be doing throughout this week. So I used Autodesk’s tutorials that go into depth on how to navigate the program, and how to use some of the tools. But this only got me so far, I did a lot of work researching industry standards, file compatibility, and what is standard when it comes to sharing work across companies. I learned that unfortunately it depends on what company uses for both CADing and manufacturing. I Often found myself spending my time watching the videos and following along with them, then spending about an hour just exploring with the tools. I found this mix of structure and exploration really got me used to the controls of the program, while teaching how to actually create objects. The link to the tutorials can be found below. https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/get-started I am really grateful that I got the opportunity to work with this program at USAopoly. I currently and slip between many different degrees, from architecture and design to an engineering field. However no matter what field I go into I know that I’m going to need to use a program like Fusion 360. So to be given the chance to work on a project that may not be something the company currently does but wants to do was both exciting and practical for me. And while I didn’t necessarily learn directly from a mentor, I learned many other practical skills. Just from having a set work time, to workplace attitude, I feel like I gained a much better understanding of how working in any field may be like. Not to mention I got to learn so much about an industry that I knew so little about. Just picking up on how games or any product go from design to building, to revision and sometimes back to the very start helped me understand and just appreciate how much work goes into every product. Hopefully through some of my tools I can make it less time consuming for some of the other employees at USAopoly to learn the program so that they can better communicate exactly what they need for their products. In addition to the last 5 images here are two more. 1: How did you measure the success of the work you did while you were an intern? What did you learn from this?
My internship project was really open. I was given 1 simple objective. Learn Fusion 360 so I can teach it. Because of this I really was given a lot of options. If I had to describe all the work I did from floor layout in the begaining to learning how to CAD, I would describe it as open ended. So I set my own goals throughout it. For the first week I measured success through how many floor plans I came up with. And in only 1 week I was really proud of making 13 solid layouts. But when it came to fusion 360 I measured my success much more straightforward. I learned the program through an extensive online tutorial which had 3-7 minute instructional videos explaining how the work went. So I would watch a video then apply the learning through examples I made myself. And by tracking how many I completed I learned the program. I found that finding small achievable goals motivated me to continue forward throughout the work and really learn despite really teaching myself. 2: How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education? That work directly transferred to skills I know I’m going to use. I know I want a degree in design and engineering. That means I’m going to use CAD programs, as they have become industry standards in every fields. So be learning about not just the program but also what file types to use, and what do they mean. storing files, and creating visuals like animations to show how the product works, are essential skills I know I’m going to use wherever I end up. 3: How did your project go from an idea or inspiration to a final product? At first I was unsure about my internship project. It was going to be floor layout which I definitely need to know how to do. But I was concerned I wasn’t going to have enough content for the whole project. Even when I was going to be researching and designing my own booth for a trade show. So when the option came up to learn Autodesk Fusion 360, I jumped on it, and I was glad that I did. It had everything I wanted to learn and so much more. It gave my reassurance that I wasn’t going to run out of ideas and content anytime during internship. 4: How might internship influence the direction of your life? I hope that all of the things I learned during my internship really help me figure out what I want do in life. There was the really interesting and exciting parts, like building models and even some simple moving parts, or doing material tests in the program. But also seeing how those counter the negatives, like lots of sitting and staring at screens, and sometimes getting lost in all the openness. But I think that points a lot to the limited amount I can do at the moment. So overall it reassured that I do want to go into a design field and gave me experience with the tools I might use. 5: What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why? The one quality I see in all the people around me during internship that I want to develop the most us time managment. Historically during school I usually procrastinate, and I was really proud of myself during internship because I felt like I really didn’t do that. Then again I had one task while they often have multiple. I think it’s one of the best traits at USAopoly. Everyone knows how to self motivate and set goals, because they can’t fall behind. I also really appreciate just how insightful the people were. They always seemed to know how things would playout. For example the game designers don’t want to waste time on building their games, so they have to think out how everything mechanic will work out. I think that ability to think far ahead is something that would not only be beneficial, but drastically help out going forward, These are just some of my thoughts so far from USAopoly. I hope I’ve done good work so far and look forward to ending internship strong. Here are some more images that show some of the work I'm doing at USAopoly, as well as what it looks like. Images of the creative space where I work are coming shortly.
USAopoly works on multiple projects at a time from multiple franchises some of which haven’t been released yet. Because of this I can’t photograph everything. I want to make sure that none of the pictures I’ve taken have any of those projects in them. Because of this I’m only uploading my desk right now. Tomorrow I’m going to double check all of the images, to make sure that I can show everything in them. The image below is my desk. It’s a simple mac with keyboard, I have my journal, and a game that I’m using to model it’s tray as an example. It’s very simple, however many of the other desks have shelves behind them which include different products the employes made, plus different memorabilia that the employees enjoy. Many of the desks also include large wacom tablets that can be written on for easy drawing online.
Originally my internship project was going to be designing a trade shop both for a board game. I already did similar work by coming up with designs for the new creative space for USAopoly. But instead we changed my project to be more useful and teach me more. Over the next few weeks my job is to learn how to use a CAD program called Autodesk Fusion 360. Similar to programs like Solidworks I am learning to build models that can be 3d printed machined or molded. The program include features to build moving joins and parts to model complex machines. It also has an animation section that can show different parts coming together. The reason USAopoly wants me to learn this is because of a simple but annoying problem. Because the board games are often mass produced they work with factories in china for manufacturing. However this causes a language barrier. And while they do have an employee that speaks mandarin, technical terms can be lost in translation. So they want to be able to physically send over files that the factories could use without having to try to explain it. The animations can show how parts are supposed to fit together, and sometimes move. Together the hope is that I can teach what I learned to my mentor so that they can use this program for the different projects they plan. This means I will need to learn both learn the software and figure out how to teach it to my mentor. I’m currently going through maying small projects and watching tutorials while getting some support from the 3d modelers who work in similar programs. Overall I think I will really get more out of this work than the previous project, learning valuable CAD skills along with how to learn completely new programs. I Look forward to the coming weeks of learning how to work with Fusion 360.
I was unable to interview my mentor this week so I plan to do so next week, until then I still have some insights from around the workplace. I've gathered that most of the people who work at USAopoly have degree in graphic design, however many didn't originally go down that path. It's a community where everyone works together, making group work skills invaluable. And lastly that while most of the board games are licensed from preexisting content, the company is just as devoted to independent games. I will update this blog with an actual interview next week, until then I will continue with this weeks reflection.
First I’ve been given a chance to revisit some old skills from past years. While I’ve kept up my design skills for Photoshop and Illustrator by using similar programs like Gimp, and Solidworks, the formatting is slightly different, and it feels like a good refresher. As I’ve said before I really appreciate the work space, it's really interesting hearing the kind of conversations that happen here. For example today I heard two people talking about a particular online reviewer that kept giving out poor reviews of their products. It’s the kind of talk that I didn’t expect but makes total sense for the work. I’ve also learned that more about the field and how deadlines work. Often there aren't benchmarks, just a date that needs to be hit for a complete product. So many people here have to set personal deadlines, and stick to it. Some of the dead lines are really far out, they can be 3 weeks to more than half a year away, making sticking to personal deadlines all the more important. I think overall I’ve had a good time so far, and look forward to my new work ahead, as it will require more thought, research, and time than my last. First ImpressionsHaving already been to USAopoly twice before for career days, my first days were mostly what I expected, but nonetheless I will share what I found interesting. The first thing that struck me was the space itself; It’s a large open room, as such what anyone person does, everyone can hear. So you'll usually see people with headphones in while doing work. While people still talk the room is relatively quiet until lunch. But from the kind of behavior I saw everyone was fairly respectful when it came to noise, trying not to bother others unless they were collaborating or had questions. Lunch which is usually around 12 conversation picked up and more people were moving around. But overall, a nice quiet place to get work done.
In terms of my coworkers I was most surprised to see another intern. He was a college graduate and seemed to be working on a project for a game, but I still was surprised to see him. My work the past few days surprised me in how long it takes to complete it. These past few days I’ve created new floor plans for the new creative space. It takes so long due to the surprising complexity behind the issue. To make sure the new space works I need to take into account, foot traffic, workspaces, teams, giving enough room to work, and making sure the layout makes sense for cross team work. All of this together means I’ve taken a bunch of time going over each layout thinking about how it would actually work as a 3d space. My one fear is that this work becomes tedious or repetitive after too long. I have heard of way to many internships were the students were stuck doing busy work. I want to make sure my project is both interesting and enjoyable. But I am still hopeful, my coworkers are nice, the space makes it easy to work, I am familiar already with the programs I’m working with, and I can see how the work I’m doing is useful. All together I think I will have a great time at USAopoly and look forward to the coming weeks. With internship coming up I spent a day at USAopoly shadowing Sam, to gain some tips and tricks about the kind of work I’ll be doing. I’ll start with how the space and employees interact. Inside of USAopoly the creative team, which is who I’ll be working with, have a large open space with desks forming what I’d call small communities, where different jobs where. For example the 3d modelers and the marketing team were in different groups, in the same room. Everyone breaks for lunch around 12 for about 30 minutes, some bring lunches, other go and get them, but it depends on when a person is at a good stopping point to break. Most people got to USAopoly around 9 AM and depending if they have meetings or not slowly filter out after 2:30 PM. Clothing was very casual, some dressed in slacks and buttoned flannels, others t-shirts and jeans.
This all means I can focus on my internship project. While there I will be completing two main tasks, and likely helping around on smaller projects when needed. The first project is an exhibition booth for a game to show off at trade shows or conventions. This is everything from layout of display images, to floor planning of people at the booths, and even some graphic design to grab the attention of nearby people. The second project is to help work out the floor plan of a new creative space. During the last week of my internship the company will be moving buildings, to a larger space with more employees. This means more desks and a new arrangement that keeps workflow high. I believe that my skills from High Tech will come in great use on these projects. I’ve have been a part of multiple exhibitions working on flow of people through the space and how to attract their attention. Because of the project based nature of High Tech I know how to be an effective group member. Through multiple classes and projects I have developed a rudimentary understanding of many of the programs I will be using, not to mention thanks to Sam I now have some tips on how to use them better, and how the servers work at USAopoly. This Career day was a huge success. Not only was I able to see the space I will be working in. I was able to learn about Photoshop, Illustrator, and Indesign. And I gotta talk to some of the employees and get a better feel for the mood of the company. All of this reinforced by my previous years career at USAopoly. I hope I can only better my own design skills through the work I do, but also help out will meaningful projects for the company. And with the amount of knowledgeable professionals around me that can help me along the Way I know I will both have a great time and do great work. I hope by showing off what I can do I can come back next year to show off even more refined skills and work on even bigger projects. Below is an image of my entering me about to enter USAopoly. |