What I Want to Achieve and Why

I've been a little off of the track when it comes to my studies recently.  I can't quite put my finger on why, though I will admit to being pretty deluded with how I'm being played by the RAF.  After working so hard and seeing no tangible reward, it makes it difficult to pluck motivation out of nowhere.  So I'm going to use this post to rectify things by realigning myself with my goals and determining my motivation for achieving them.

What do I want to achieve?

My aim is to change careers to become a videogame designer.  I've been passionate about playing games and following the videogame industry for the majority of my life.  To be employed within the sector has been a longtime ambition, and now feels like the right time to really put in all my effort in a direction that will give me the best opportunity to fully realise this goal.

If things were to go perfectly to plan, I'd like to leave the UK and work with a major studio on AAA titles; I'm thinking EA in Montreal, Canada, Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina, Rockstar Games in NYC, or DICE in Stockholm, Sweden, or whoever else is hot at the time.  I was completely absorbed by the American culture on my recent holiday, and would love a chapter or two of my life to unfold overseas.

Perhaps the option to found or co-found my own studio might one day present itself, which would also be something I'd be very proud to achieve.

And why do I want to achieve it?

I briefly touched upon the 'push' and the 'pull' in my first post.

To be realistic and frank, it is looking like I'll be out of the RAF by July 2013.  Since I'm being refused extension of my nine year contract, and am being denied any kind of promotion, it looks like I perfectly fit the bracket of "natural wastage."  In essence, the RAF neglects me promotion (and therefore extension of my contract) and in return doesn't have to compensate me for dropping my employment.  It makes financial sense for them, even if it is a slap in the face on a personal level.  I'm a victim of timing and budget cuts.

So why then the videogame industry?  I would be a much better candidate for something aerospace related; perhaps pursuing Air Traffic Control with NATS, or Air Defence contracts with IBM, for example.

In short, I want to work in a creative industry that produces entertainment products for commercial release.  I've always been creatively minded, and think that I would thrive in such an environment that would much better match my personality than my current employment.  I appreciate that it's a demanding sector, where success and failure hinges on sales, but I know I would relish the challenge.

To work in one of the top studios would improve my lifestyle ten-fold.  The option to live in another country with a working visa, to travel around the world with teams in aid of research, to work alongside and be inspired by some of the industry's best, to work in some of the best facilities and campus' with premium equipment, and to be rewarded financially for my efforts...

The why speaks for itself really!