Short

My name is Mark Badoy and I love games and art. I'm finishing my Masters in Interactive Technology at The Guildhall at SMU. I want to make games for a living.

Long

For as long as I can remember, I've been playing digital games. Growing up, my dad introduced me to Atari, Commodore, and Nintendo. I remember the rushes I'd get from beat-em-ups, shooters, and fighting games, the countless hours I'd spend in versus mode against my sister in puzzle games. I remember my first role-playing game.


A Screenshot of Final Fantasy IV by Square

When I was nine years old, I played Final Fantasy IV for the SNES. The characters, storyline, and gameplay overwhelmed me. The art and music stirred powerful feelings inside of me. I never expected so much depth and absolute beauty from a videogame. I suppose it's how non-gamers feel when they hear that song, or when they watch that movie, or read that book, that toys with their emotions. For fourth grade English class, I wrote a story based on that Final Fantasy world and my teacher thought I was some sort of aspiring fantasy writer. She made me read the story in front of the class. That was my first and last fanfic.

Since then, I saturated my life with games. I'd play and love all sorts of genres, but my favorite would still be the RPG. In high school, I started writing the story for my own role-playing game. I poured so much of my heart into that story. I wanted to make a game that brought a rush of adrenaline during boss battles and rival skirmishes. I wanted people to care about my characters, to experience their joys and even their sorrow. I remember thinking, "I want to get just one person to feel the same way I did when I played FFIV. If I could get that one person, I would be content with my life."

College came and I grew unhappy. I told the advisors that I wanted to make games for a living and they looked at me like I was crazy. Here was this brand new world that was supposed to open so many doors for me and I didn't want to enter any of them.


A Screenshot of Skies of Arcadia by Overworks

During my second year of college, my friend let me borrow Skies of Arcadia. That was the spark that my life needed. Old feelings came alive again as I sailed through those skies. It was a world full of rich cultures, mysticism and legends, air pirates, and a tyrannical empire. I hadn't drawn or done any kind of art in years, but I felt the need to do something as a tribute to that game. So I went on my computer and made fanart of the empire's admirals with my horrible ball mouse (link). Soon after, on a whim, I changed my college major to Fine Arts.

The same friend that let me borrow Skies of Arcadia introduced me to an article about game schools. It was there that I discovered The Guildhall at Southern Methodist University. With lots of support from my sister, I was ready to stop wasting my time in college and just apply to Guildhall. However, my mom stopped me. "Just finish school. And go there later if you still want to." I decided to take her advice. Seven years later, that leaves me to where I am today. I finally received my Bachelor of Fine Arts at The University of Houston School of Art, and I'll be graduating from The Guildhall at SMU in December of 2009.