Who is Wesley Clark?
I am a seasoned web designer, front-end developer, and game creator based in Durban, South Africa. From 2022 to 2024, I honed his skills at IIE Vega Durban Campus, earning a BCIS in Game Design & Development.
I thrive in game design, graphic design, and material design for textures, with a passion for procedural artwork and textures.
Now leading projects at Studio Snark, I have chosen to focus on narrative-driven, creative, and artistic projects that showcase my talent for crafting immersive stories and innovative visuals.
Who is IIE Vega
Vega is an educational brand under The Independent Institute of Education (IIE), a leading provider of private higher education in South Africa. Founded in 1999, Vega specializes in blending design, branding, and business education to prepare students for the evolving global marketplace. Their approach combines creative strategy with innovation, offering accredited qualifications in areas like game design, marketing, and experience design. Vega emphasizes real-world problem solving, strategic thinking, and creative leadership, ensuring that graduates are industry-ready. The IIE-Vega School also partners with industry leaders, providing students with hands-on experience through live briefs and the prestigious Brand Challenges
At IIE Vega Durban Campus, the BCIS in Game Design and Development curriculum spans three years, covering both creative and technical aspects of game creation.
Key modules include Game Design, Game Development, and Game Art across all years, along with specialized courses like Narrative for Gaming, Databases, and Open-Source Coding.
The program also emphasizes Work Integrated Learning, preparing students for careers in game development and interactive media
Year 1
Year 1
In 2022, I studied several foundational subjects as part of my BCIS degree at IIE Vega. Mathematical Principles for Developers provided the mathematical tools necessary for game physics and algorithm optimization, focusing on vectors, matrices, and transformations. Game Design explored the principles of creating engaging and interactive gameplay, emphasizing user experience and mechanics. Game Development introduced programming techniques and game engines for building functional games. Game Art covered visual design and asset creation, including 2D and 3D modeling. Finally, Programming Logic and Design laid the groundwork for efficient coding, covering control structures, algorithms, and software logic.
In 2023, my studies at IIE Vega deepened as we tackled more advanced challenges, with each subject building on the previous year’s foundation. Game Design and Game Development evolved to emphasize complex mechanics and iterative prototyping. Databases introduced critical data management for dynamic game content. Game Art focused on 3D modeling and texturing, refining visual depth. Narrative for Gaming explored integrating compelling stories into gameplay. Additionally, our team won the IIE Vega Game Jam competition for the Love Your Nuts foundation, showcasing our ability to apply these skills in a high-pressure, creative environment.
In 2024, we further built on the complexities of prior years, tackling advanced topics across multiple disciplines. Open Source Coding focused on developing applications for Android devices, leveraging open technologies to build efficient solutions. Game Design explored real-world problem-solving, collaborating with non-profit organizations to address pressing issues. We also analyzed tech industry trends, predicting their impact on gaming. Game Development emphasized procedural design, utilizing complex algorithms for dynamic, scalable game content. Work Integrated Learning (WIL) culminated in a comprehensive project, integrating knowledge from all modules to solve workplace-relevant challenges, demonstrating our readiness for industry application.
Projects I am Proud of
1st Year- Game Art design
Traditional hand-drawn art is vital for 3D and game art design as it develops a foundational understanding of form, space, and proportion, crucial for translating concepts into three-dimensional environments. Capturing a subject’s essence trains artists to convey emotion and realism, while the continuous flow technique enhances spatial awareness and dynamic composition. This practice also helps refine individual artistic styles, ensuring originality in character design, world-building, and storytelling. These skills directly inform 3D modeling, texture creation, and animation, bridging the gap between traditional artistry and digital execution.
1st Year - Indroduction to 3D Modeling
The shift from traditional hand-drawn art to 3D modeling is a critical evolution in modern game art. Traditional art builds a strong foundation in proportion, flow, and composition, skills that are directly transferable to 3D work. As artists transition into 3D modeling, they apply these principles to create dimensionality, movement, and interactive realism. The process also challenges artists to think spatially and consider how their creations will interact dynamically within game environments. This synergy between 2D and 3D techniques is essential for developing compelling and immersive visual experiences.
For the final project in our game art course, we delved into historical research, examining residential and industrial architecture from the 11th to 13th centuries. This exploration focused on understanding the construction methods, cultural influences, and daily life of the period, providing a foundation for accurate and engaging worldbuilding.
In my project, I chose to recreate an 11th-century Dublin weaver’s workshop. This setting highlights the city’s Norse-Gaelic heritage and its role as a hub for trade and craftsmanship. The detailed recreation of tools, materials, and layout reflects both the functionality and cultural significance of such spaces during the period, enriching the narrative and authenticity of the game world.
2nd Year- Character Design
Good character design is vital in game art and development because it establishes the visual identity and emotional connection players have with the game. Through detailed character key art, artists define the personality, style, and role of a character within the game’s narrative. Animation cycle setups ensure characters move naturally and believably, enhancing immersion. Drawing out proposed animation cycles allows designers to plan and refine motion dynamics, ensuring every movement aligns with the character’s traits and the game’s mechanics. Together, these elements bring characters to life and elevate gameplay experiences.
In this case the character created for the projectwas based around a familiar subject to me which is my Norwegian heretige and based all the character elements in as much true to history as I could research.
2nd Year - Game Jam Design & Development: Cancer Crusher
For the Cancer Crusher project, we created a 2D fixed shooter game aimed at educating players about cancer prevention for the Love Your Nuts foundation. Players embody a white blood cell battling cancer cells within the body, with gameplay incorporating educational questions about self-examinations and healthy habits to earn ammunition. The retro visuals and engaging mechanics balance fun with an impactful mission to promote early detection and awareness.
My contributions included serving as the initial artist, designing user interfaces, and preparing media for various award submissions. Notably, our game won Game Jam 2023, showcasing the project’s creative and educational excellence.
Our game was also subsequently entered into the 2024 Loeries Awards, and we were also shortlisted for the Creative Consciousness 2024 Awards
2nd Year- Art Challange
The Blender Guru Doughnut tutorial served as a foundation for my art challenge, where I aimed to push the realism of the textures and materials I created. Building on this, I conducted detailed research into various material properties, focusing on realistic lighting and texture creation. Using Blender’s advanced node system, I crafted a custom node setup that allowed me to generate complex, detailed sugar crystals. This not only added depth and authenticity but also pushed the boundaries of procedural texture creation, going beyond the tutorial’s scope to achieve a higher level of realism.
The challenge involved experimenting with various techniques to refine these textures, ensuring that each one appeared lifelike and interacted seamlessly with the game’s lighting environment. I spent significant time fine-tuning the lighting setups, researching how different light sources affect texture properties, and applying this knowledge to enhance the final render. The result was an exceptional level of detail and realism that brought the assets to life, showcasing my ability to extend foundational concepts and create complex, visually engaging materials for the project.
2nd Year - Narrative for gaming
Narrative design is essential in game development as it serves as the backbone of player engagement and immersion. Through storytelling, designers create meaningful experiences, shaping how players interact with the world and characters. Good narrative design balances story and gameplay, providing context for mechanics and emotional resonance. Tools like character key art, animation cycle setups, and drafted animation cycles further enrich this process by ensuring consistency in visual storytelling and player connection to the characters’ journeys.
My final for this course was this project, Delta-V, presents a deeply immersive space narrative rooted in themes of exploration and human resilience, influenced by works like Battlestar Galactica and Homeworld. It features detailed worldbuilding across iconic locations in the Solar System—Mars, the Asteroid Belt, Neptune, and beyond—each characterized by distinct environmental and narrative challenges. Players engage in a critical quest line, navigating conflicts while making strategic decisions that affect outcomes.
3rd Year- Open Source Coding: Leap-Time
Open-source coding refers to the practice of sharing software code publicly, allowing anyone to contribute to, modify, and improve the code. In the context of the Open Source Coding module, I focused on developing Android applications using Kotlin, and familiarized myself with Android Studio’s various features, such as the Layout Editor, LinearLayout, and Firebase database integration. This module also included creating a graphical game, where I applied my knowledge of app logic and design principles.
For our project, Leap-Time, I played a central role in UI design and visual design for comparing three time-tracking apps: Timely, Clockify, and Toggl Track. My contributions included designing intuitive user interfaces, optimizing UI flow, and creating visual infographics to make the comparison clear and engaging. This experience allowed me to apply both my creative and technical skills, ensuring that the app’s design was not only functional but visually appealing and user-friendly.
