The Joy of Being a Game Dev Student

Mubanzi Magoye is a solo game developer powerhouse. Just two years into her Game Design and Development Bachelor’s Degree, she’s already produced an award-nominated game, Value, released a devlog on YouTube, and livestreamed educational coding content to her peers on Twitch.

Game development snagged Mubanzi’s interest at a young age. “When I was 15, I was like, hm, I think I wanna do games and I said, well, I'll either get where I wanna go or I'll stop wanting to and I still have yet to stop wanting to. I still want to be doing more.”

Mubanzi’s drive ensures that balancing school and passion projects remains a priority. “Every day continues to be the most serious point in my game dev career,” she explains. “But at the same time, it's also the most serious point in my life.” 

Her advice to newer game developers? “I encourage everyone who hasn’t done a game jam: do, like, five of them.” Mubanzi credits her relentless work ethic to the numerous game jams she’s experienced.

Ultimately, she champions putting the proverbial pen to paper, again and again. “At the end of the day, your mind, your thoughts, and your ideas are confined by your literal skull,” she says, adding, “at a certain point, you just have to start dragging stuff onto Unity and start making things work.”

“Being able to do that is super incredible.”

You can watch an interview with Mubanzi as she demos her game, Value, for RIT’s EDGE

Written November 20, 2024 by Erin Graham