Hello! My name is Travis Tracy and I wanted to speak a little bit about my game development journey. As an educator and someone who truly enjoys helping others, this website really about sharing my own experiences. I hope that this website will somehow help a few of you out there and provide a little bit of encouragement to you.
My journey started with a drafting and design program in Oklahoma. I wanted to start a career and quickly found my first job drawing 3D parts using AutoCAD and Inventor. I spent about 12 years on the engineering side of 3D, but that experience allowed me to be comfortable with utilizing 3D software and growing an understanding of the terminology that is still used to this day.
On the side, independently and outside of work, I was spending time learning about programming. I really did enjoy web development and that led me to working my first programming language, PHP. I started a few online businesses and life was good, but something was missing. Helping people!
My experience in the drafting and design program encouraged me to give back as an educator to the same Career and Technical Education system that had provided me with so much. So when the opportunity came up for me to jump into a classroom and help others, I jumped for it. I don’t regret that decision in the least bit and I believe that when my time comes to retire, I will think of my ten years in the game development classroom as some of the most enjoyable and rewarding parts of my career.
It was in the classroom that I was able to take my skillset and apply it towards game development. My students were extremely passionate about the industry. Of the ten years I was in the classroom, the last nine students won state level contests and competed at the national level. We currently hold six national awards throughout those years and two years we had won first place in national level competitions. Those medals remain in my office to this day as a stark reminder of the commitment my students have had over the years. It’s not about me, but about the dedication they showed in creating really awesome projects.
Fast forward to today, I have taken another role within Career and Technical education that has allowed me to influence more students and be a resource to other educators. This fulfills the purpose of me wanting to make a difference in the CareerTech system, but I miss working in the creative industry from time to time. For this reason, this website, indiegamehaven, is my outlet to share with others. To stay on the track of using my knowledge to make a difference. It gives me the grace to stay in the educational side of game development at my pace and when I can contribute.
If you wish to share with me what you are working on, or simply need some encouragement, feel free to contact me below. I have seen amazing projects and tried to provide guidance to the struggling ones. I am pretty good at delivering tough news softly, hence why this is place is a “haven”. I look forward to hearing from you!