The document discusses the author's goal of obtaining a PhD in game design before age 40. They chose Dr. Chris Bateman, who is the only person to have earned a doctorate in gaming, as their role model. The author outlines the steps needed to achieve their goal, including maintaining a high GPA, acquiring good references, and applying for internships. They discuss how Dr. Bateman's career and views on game design have inspired and motivated them to pursue their dream.

1. MY CHOSEN FORMAT:
For this assignment, my chosen audience was my friends and family. Since my first draft sounded
so preachy to me, I decided to present my essay in a slideshow format for my friends and family
to click through and learn more about me and the person I chose to be my role model.

2. GOALS & ROLE MODELS
T H E P E A N U T B U T T E R & J E L LY O F S U C C E S S

3. Before I’m 40, I plan to receive my PhD in game
design. It might seem like a bold statement, as most
people might be hard-pressed to recollect someone
who has ever achieved a doctorate in gaming.This is
most likely because there is only one person who
has managed to accomplish this goal. Until recently, I
had never even heard of Dr. Chris Bateman. Most
people would not remember him for the many
games that he has designed, which includes
Discworld Noir, a point-and-click adventure game
with a cult following. Instead, Dr. Bateman is
primarily known for his books GameWriting:
Narrative Skills forVideo Games and 21st Century Game
Design, both of which are now used as course books
at the University of Bolton, England (Bateman, 2015,
para. 3).When tasked with choosing a role model in
my chosen field of study, I was lucky enough to have
stumbled upon Dr. Bateman’s faculty page. His PhD
in aesthetic game design immediately caught my
attention, as I had recently considered an attempt at
acquiring my own PhD in game design.
(Discworld Noir, 1999)

4. In order to achieve my goal, I have begun to lay out a
comprehensive path to do so. No one acquires a
doctorate overnight, and the road leading to doctor-
dom is long and full of obstacles.The most notable
obstacle is the sheer length of time. How much time,
you might ask? RobertTownsend of the American
Historical Association tells us that on average it
takes approximately eight years to receive a PhD
after the receipt of a bachelor’s (Townsend, 2006,
para. 1).That’s time and dedication. Further
researched reveals that when applying to a graduate
program a handful of things are needed, such as a
personal essay that sells me as the perfect candidate,
a shining reference list with at least one academic
reference on it, a better than decent score on the
Graduate Record Examination (GRE) and, most
importantly, a high grade point average – preferably
a 4.0 (Kuther, para. 1).(Krazy Ivan, 1997)

5. My primary focus has been, and will continue to be
my grades. Despite the lackluster that the grade
point average has accumulated over recent years, I
still believe that a person’s GPA is a direct reflection
of their resolve and dedication.As an online student,
it can be difficult to stay focused and it is important
to implement structure into your day. Personally, I
have a flexible schedule that I apply to each week
that ensures I spend a set amount of time working
on school every day – it even includes a few hours
of study on the weekends.The amount of time and
effort that anyone puts into their education will
always equal the reward, so it is important to
maximize the utilization of both.This method will
continue to be a great asset as I continue to further
my education, even when it’s time to tackle all of
those standardized tests.
(Emergency Mayhem, 2008)

6. While maintaining a good GPA falls entirely on my
shoulders, unfortunately good references don’t just
fall out of the sky.Acquiring a comprehensive and
respectable list of references takes time.As I
continue to further my education, I hope to make
lasting connections with fellow students and
teachers.After my first semester when I have an
official GPA, I also plan on actively applying for an
internship (preferably paid) with a local game studio.
I have already started compiling a list of potential
internships that are suited to me and their
requirements.The best way to coax an amazing
reference from a person is to earn it – reliability,
determination, and perseverance will go a long way
to doing so. It appears as though my parents were
right all of those years when they hammered the
saying ‘actions speak louder than words’ into my
head.
(Motorstorm Apocolypse, 2011)

7. With so many tasks looming ahead, it can be intimidating and, at
times, a little discouraging. In order to stay focused and keep
motivated, it can help to have a role model to look up to. Like
me, Dr. Bateman took a long time to get to where he is. He
spent many years working in game design, and his struggle not
to walk away from the games industry spoke to me. In an
interview with First Person Scholar, Dr. Bateman explains that
he has “always had a conflicted relationship with the [gaming]
industry at large, because [he’s] depended upon it for [his]
livelihood for a very long time and it has been both [his] friend
and [his] enemy in equal degrees…” (Bateman, 2013, para. 9).
While most people would see this as a negative statement, I
took it as a very positive one. Even though there were days
where Dr. Bateman couldn’t think of a reason to continue in
game design, he stuck with it and eventually became a well-
respected member of the games industry.This tells me that
even though there will be times when I might become
dispassionate about my education, if I just take a moment to
realize that it is only one small moment out of a lifetime, I can
power through it and achieve great things. For instance, in a
conference recorded for AdventureXpo Dr. Bateman explains
that the video game he is most well known for, Discworld Noir,
was a fantastic flop (Bateman, 2013). He took that experience
and learned from it by asking the tough questions and then
went on to acquire his doctorate.
Discworld II: Missing Presumed…!?, 1996)

8. In just two weeks, Dr. Bateman has helped me take a
dream that had just started to bud and solidify it into
an achievable goal. He has also helped me discover an
entirely different perspective of what game design could
mean to me. In an interview with Tale of Tales, Dr.
Bateman opened my eyes by saying,“most game
designers are not good at innovating with respect to
the mass market.They’re great at coming up with new
ideas for games they might enjoy, but that doesn’t
equate into new ideas for games that a wider audience
can enjoy” (Bateman, 2009, para. 14).This statement
altered my view of a good game concept as something
that I would like to play into games becoming an outlet
to reach out to new demographics of players previously
undiscovered and show them a new world of
entertainment they might not have otherwise found.
The more I learn about Dr. Bateman’s views on game
design, the more my thirst for creativity and innovation
grows. It is my intent to channel that passion toward
my schooling so that I can one day proudly display my
credentials on a wall of my choosing (before the ripe
age of 40).
(Barbie Horse Adventures:Wild Horse Rescue, 2003)

9. REFERENCES
• Chris Bateman (Discworld Noir) [Video]. (2013, Mar 9) YouTube.com. Retrieved July 16th, 2015 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rfz5m-DgMrU
• Dr. Chris Bateman (2015). Bolton.ac.uk. Retrieved July 17th, 2015 from
http://www.bolton.ac.uk/Subjects/Games/Staff-Pages/Chris-Bateman.aspx
• Hancock, M (2013) Interview - Chris Bateman: Part I - On Realism, Philosophy, and Artgames.
firstpersonscholar.com. Retrieved July 16th, 2015 from
http://www.firstpersonscholar.com/interview-chris-bateman/
• Samyn, M (2009) Tale of Tales interviews Chris Bateman. tale-of-tales.com. Retrieved July 16th, 2015
from http://tale-of-tales.com/blog/interviews/interview-with-chris-bateman/
• Townsend, Robert B. (2006) How Long to the PhD? American Historical Association. Retrieved July 27th,
2015 from https://www.historians.org/publications-and-directories/perspectives-on-history/february-2006/how-long-to-the-phd
• Kuther, Tara (N/A) Graduate Admissions 101: Parts of the Grad School Application. About.com.
Retrieved July 27th, 2015 from
http://gradschool.about.com/od/admissionsadvice/a/overview.htm