My name is Shantanu Nair. At the time of writing this, I am a third year at Parsons. My major is in Design and Technology, specifically the game design track. My primary art and design interests are obviously in making any kind of interactive experience that is entertaining for the person using it, if I were to describe the work of art/design that I’d want to make the most, it’d be a 2D fighting game.
My work takes the form of interactive downloadable computer games or playable browser games. The formal elements are usually 3D models or sprites, they also usually feature audio, mainly music that I compose. They are playable on a computer screen and are presented on a website called itch.io.
In terms of my aesthetic values, I’m not completely sure I have a unified aesthetic style as a lot of the games I make differ in how I make them. If I were to describe the aesthetic values, I’d say the feature simple small sized pixel art and color that is rather contrasted and suitable for the themes of my games. For example, a game that is set in an icy environment features a lot of blues. My projects communicate these through their graphic designs, be they 2D or 3D models.
I create my work using the Unity Engine and Visual Studio for C# scripting. The tools are important to me because they help me create what I need and more importantly, they help me learn the fundamentals of video game development, a lot of what is learned in Unity can be translated to other engines like Unreal. When I make a project, I start with conceptualization, then I go to creating a simple prototype with working controls. The next step is to polish the gameplay. Finally, I create the aesthetics and add sound.
I make videogames because they have been a very big influence on how I’ve grown up. I’ve been playing videogames since I was four years old and I have consistently enjoyed them and at this point I play them almost religiously. It seemed almost logical that I make videogames. It’s important to others probably because it is the most accessible and popular form of entertainment currently. My works reflect both this enjoyment as well as what I value in designing games.
My research interests intersect with my creative practices because my research centers around crucial aspects of videogames such as being immersive, fun, interactive, and so on. I’d like to research how people manipulate these or address these aspects when making their games and either build upon them or find ways to subvert these aspects.
In terms of where I’m going with my art/design profession, I want to create a game that has an in depth and immersive story while being fun for all to play. In terms of what I’ll specifically do to achieve these goals, first I have to finish my technical learning, and then develop my ideas and start getting to work.
My game Ice Brink, a 2D platformer that has a specific aesthetic style to it, which was decided by my partner and I.
A mobile AR Game made for a cell phone
A VR game I made with 3 others, we were trying to make a game where you play as a ghost and have to scare the humans away.
