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Gautam is a talented game designer. In the interview, he shared his journey of becoming a game designer in Aalto University. We met in the studio course ‘Design for Government’ last year. He is funny, humble and versatile. We had a great time working together in the team project.
Now he is finishing his master thesis, which is dedicated to fight stage fright with virtual reality. In the research, he found the limitations of AI technology. Instead of building a real-life scenario that fails to give normal feedback, he opted for a different strategy. There are different scenarios to help users battle stage fright. I tried the game last week, when I thought I was a human surrounding by the aliens, I looked down and found out that I was a green alien creature. Wow! Gautam has an impeccable sense of humor, which makes his game design full of fun and surprises. Moreover, the game is highly practical, users can upload their own speech or presentation script into the game and practice it with VR.
“Aalto has been helping me grow a lot, think outside of the box, think deeper about what I’m doing, and take me to different directions.” Gautam expressed that how he has been enjoying a pleasant journey in Aalto University.
In the next video, Gautam explained his concept, demoed the game and talked about his another ongoing project on visualizing climate change with VR.
In his first year, a member from a Finnish foundation was invited to deliver a speech in his department. He learned about the possibility to apply for grants from different foundations. Since then, he has been actively initiating projects with friends in Aalto, and applying for grants to bring the projects to life. I admire his enthusiasm and proaction. I believe his amazing journey has been inspiring those around him. I am lucky to be one of them.
More info:
Master’s Program in New Media – Game Design and Production
The portfolio of Gautam Vishwanath
Hsiao-Pei Liao,
Creative Sustainability Master Program