Cover Letter

Dear KPU Entertainment Arts Admissions Team,

My name is Luna Sharp, I am writing this in addition to my portfolio to contextualize my work and emphasize my interest in the Advanced Game Development program. I am a current KPU student under the “General Studies” major. I was aware of this program before initially applying to KPU and decided to spend a semester sharpening my artistic skills before assembling my portfolio. I would be well-suited to this program as I’m very passionate about video games and enjoy balancing creative and technical disciplines. I’m very excited about the prospect of joining this program to gain a well-rounded education on the various facets of game design and I feel this curriculum will be the perfect launching pad for my career in this field.

My creative skills, technological proficiency and lifetime experience of the wonderful and immersive storytelling medium of video games have prepared me to succeed in this program. I am self-taught in Python programming with some experience in Java, as well as currently learning the Godot game engine to bring my pet project “Becoming a Stranger” to life. This game is a point-and-click style story-driven mystery/horror game I have been solo-developing over several months. In my portfolio I have included various game design support documents, concept art, game assets and footage of a short demo for “Becoming a Stranger”. I was inspired to make this game by point-and-click horror games such as 1996’s “Harvester” as well as some horror films like “My Bloody Valentine”. I chose the point-and-click genre as both an homage and as a less technically demanding storytelling medium to ease my way into the programming side of game development. As I become more proficient in object-oriented programming I plan to bring to life another currently unnamed project with gameplay and aesthetic elements inspired by games such as “Jet Set Radio” and “Scribblenauts”. This project is envisioned as a multiplayer puzzle game with some action/parkour elements and pictionary-style challenges. I have included a small design brief, concept art and assets for this as well, showcasing my delve into 3D modeling using Blender.

In addition to my hands-on work with game development, I have included level design analysis essays to unpack levels I have found particularly challenging and/or inspiring in the past. I have included a level analysis from “Alien Isolation”, one for “Payday 2”, as well as one for “Baba Is You”.

With all these components considered, I hope I have proven my interest and devotion to this subject including an appreciation for all the components of game design. I would be thrilled to join KPU’s Advanced Game Design Spring 2025 cohort to prove my commitment to achieving excellence in this program.

Thank you, and please reach out if you have any questions or would like clarification on anything in my portfolio.

Sincerely,

Luna Sharp

luna.sharp@student.kpu.ca