I am Alex Stopen, Producer for Team Perfect Ten at Business Birds Studio at Champlain College. I have always had a passion for games throughout my life, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it in some capacity. This is what high school graduate me was thinking when I applied to Champlain College and its been a long road since then. Originally, I wanted to be a programmer and within a few semesters, realized I despised programming but felt I had devoted too much effort to turn back now. I inevitably discovered I couldn't invest myself into something I didn't have passion for and decided switch to something that better suited my strengths. Having gone through game production, I asked myself which roles I could fill, and what I was missing in programming.
  My greatest strengths are critical thinking, thorough analysis, and time management. These fit the production role very well but wasn't sold me on it entirely. In past experiences I noticed I enjoyed working with teams the best. I am more productive when part of a team, I feel more invested in the work I was doing, I enjoyed discovering the strengths and abilities of my team members, and seeing our strengths put to use to produce a result that reflects our dedication. I knew which work environments I worked best in and decided I would rather create those kinds environments.
  This semester of production has served as a great learning experience and a chance to practice my project management skills. Every sprint I try to improve on the one before, find what is working and what isn't. I am constantly looking for ways to improve and be more effective. Our project, Gaze of the Abyss has been very successful thus far and I dedicate its success to the team as a whole. The team had solid communication and amazing coordination. Recently, our prototype was selected to move forward in development and the team has been expanded to accommodate the increase in scope. I am interested, if a little nervous, to see how my abilities will scale with the team. No doubt things will become more difficult, but it serves as a challenge I can learn from.