Arrowad cracks code for game design

A pyroclastic explosion of flames. A sharp drive of the arm wielding a futuristic light sword. Or perhaps, once a step is taken, a flood of water rushes from thin air, pursuing the players into the depths. These possibilities make up only a figment of junior Adam Arrowad’s imagination.

Arrowad began designing games from the game creator program on Roblox. He started small by modeling digital figures and eventually worked his way to coding. Arrowad was intrigued by how coding worked and how he could use it to fix bugs in his games. 

“It felt like there were many solutions using code, and it was fun to go around and go ahead and fix all the bugs that I may have caused,” Arrowad said. “There was, for example, having the projectiles moving too fast, not firing in the right direction, and fixing enemy behavior.”

The process of creating video games has opened up endless possibilities for Arrowad’s creativity to run wild. Arrowad’s free reign over his tools allowed him to make games that his friends could enjoy playing.

“In video game design, the sky’s the limit,” Arrowad said. “The fact that I can mess around with a game as I’d like, make a game that would be strategic, and make my friends want to play is what I enjoy doing the most. It’s fun to give my friends a challenge to see if they can beat my game.”

After much practice and hard work, Arrowad has learned many things about video game design such as art, music, and sound effects. He learned the importance of organization as well as studying the different aspects of music and shading. 

“I learned the skills needed to knit a game together,” Arrowad said. “I learned how to code, draft, design, make prototypes, make art, make music, and make sound effects for games. The more you practice, the better you will get at art, music, and sound effects.”

After eight years of gaining knowledge on the world of game design, Arrowad is continuously eager to share his creations with the world. Earlier this year, he was one of the top 10 students in the state to be nominated for the STEM Fuse: Got Game Competition, a competition where students from fifth to 12th grade submit their original game. As he continues his journey as a game designer, Arrowad hopes to produce more of his artwork for others to experience. 

“In the future I want to prototype new ideas, and to release a game for the public to have fun with,” Arrowad said. “I mainly want to make more fun games for my friends. I like to make games for fun, not for making money. I enjoy seeing people’s reactions when they play my games.”