Who am I?
My name is Steven Holmes and my journey into game development hasn’t followed a straight line—
I began my professional life as a chef, working in fast-paced kitchens where precision, timing, and adaptability were essential.
Food, like games, is about more than just the final product—it’s about how it makes people feel.However, I Never intened on going down this path becoming a chef, I was in that line of work for around 7-8 years- ish including college .
Life just has a funny way of turning out sometimes you fall into the wrong career and I always wanted to be a games dev.
I quit my job as a sous chef a few years ago to pursue my dreams and I've never looked back. This has been the most terryfying and rewarding journey ive ever endured but thanks to the support of my Wife Amy, my brother David and my family having my back I'm able to keep going down this path.
This led me to pixel art. What started as a hobby quickly became an obsession.I figured it would be an easy entry point t ogames development.
Pixel art sharpened my eye for detail and taught me how to iterate constantly, refining ideas until they worked. It also introduced me to the wider world of game development, where art, code, and design come together to build immersive experiences.
During this pixel art journey I created Multiple Card Games, Pixel Bits and soul Hoarder Both games designed to be an entry point for new comers to card games to join the hobby
Along side this I started doing UDEMMY Courses to learn how to use Unity and enough C# to get me by.
I've also been devloping my own rogue like space shooter called "Our Last Stand"
it's been all of this work that led me to become a student at the university of Derby and formalise my learning journey.
Now, as a university student studying games development, I’m bringing these experiences together.
At university, I am expanding this foundation by learning , Computer Games Medeling,Animation game design principles, and collaborative development processes.
What drives me is the desire to create games that resonate with people—experiences that are thoughtfully designed, visually engaging, and emotionally impactful.
My background as a chef has given me a strong work ethic and the ability to perform under pressure, My path may not be traditional, but it has given me a unique perspective.
I am excited to continue growing as a developer, combining my artistic background with technical skills to contribute meaningfully to the industry.
I want to give to people what Games have done for me, Video games have gotten me through some of the toughest times of my life and to be able to spread joy and happines through this medium would fill me with pride.