About Andrew Hyam.
Web Design
My interest in web design first started sometime in 1996 when I got my first internet account. Although I first started using home computers since the early 1980s, the opening of the World Wide Web proved to be an eye-opening experience.
Armed with a great desire to learn, I found out as much as I could about HTML and did a lot of practice. Initially, I was unaware of any software I could use to practice, so I used Notepad where I learnt to hand code everything.
My first opportunity to design a "proper" web site came in early 1997 while playing in a Genesis Tribute band. The first website the band had was designed by the keyboard player, and due to other commitments he passed the design and maintenance tasks to me.
After a short while, by word of mouth, I was asked by friends and "friends of friends" to design personal websites for them. These websites were simple affairs using HTML and basic graphics to represent what the "client" had in mind for their website. (Sadly, these websites don't exist anymore, or they have changed so much that I cannot call them my own work anymore.)
By mid 2004, after working in the science industry since leaving college, I decided to make a career change and as web design was of most interest to me I decided that this was the career path I wanted to proceed with. I knew that getting a web design job wouldn't be easy without qualification, so in early 2005 I started a course in web design which I completed successfully in early 2006.
Games Design
Something I've done for a very long time now (since the early 1980s in fact) is play computer games. I also dabbled a little bit with learning how to programme these machines (anyone remember Microsoft Basic 1.0 on a Dragon 32?). Over the years I've played games on quite a few different platforms (my favourite for a long time was an Amiga 500), but never really followed the programming route. My current machine is an overclocked Windows 7 PC where I've spent a lot of my playing time in MMORPGs such as "The Lord of the Rings Online" and "Star Trek Online".
Since 2006 I've tried very hard to get work in the Web Design industry but in recent years it has been a bit tough due to recession, increased competition from EU immigration, and most frustratingly, that dealing with 99% of the I.T. employment agencies in this country is like banging your head against a brick wall.
So..... onto Games Design.....
The idea of becoming a computer Games Designer came from, initially, playing around "toolsets" provided with games such as Dungeon Siege 2, Neverwinter Nights 1 & 2 and, more recently Dragon Age:Origins. These toolsets were quite fun to use and were computer-based versions of the pencil, eraser, ruler and graph paper I used to use for creating Advanced Dungeons & Dragons levels and campaigns.
While searching for web design work I have subscribed with various job seeking websites and one day in mid 2009 I received an email advert from one of them which described the courses available from a company called "Train2Game". After a bit of research and some deep thought, I decided to enrol in the Games Design Diploma course and have been studying from November 2009 to the present day. (I hope to complete the diploma by the end of 2012.)
