My name is Jade Hall-Smith. I’m an artist, creator, games developer, animal lover a big fangirl of Marvel (The incredible Hulk is my favourite, as you may soon learn).
I was born and raised in London, England and live with my family, two rabbits (Noah and Milo) and Kitten (Shuri). From childhood I have always been creative and would spend most of my days drawing, painting, and often collecting and studying insects (much to my poor mother’s despair).
When I got older and went to college, I tried my hand at graphic design and began to develop a taste for digital mediums, where I taught myself photoshop and illustrator. I later went on to study a Bachelors in Digital Arts at the University of West London and I am presently finishing my Masters in Independent Games and Player Experience Design at Goldsmiths, University of London.
For me, designing games is a fantastic way of promoting issues and raising awareness. I am currently developing a game entitled ‘Natural Tone’, a collaboration with Hannes Flor of Hypnotic Owl. The game presents some of the challenges of being autistic and living in a ‘widely neurotypical world’ by using interpersonal mini-games, camera placement, audio and sound mixing among other techniques and storytelling methods. As an autistic woman, I felt that the game would be a great medium to illustrate social masking and anxiety.
Music Tech Fest is the first festival where I’ll actually be talking about something and although I am very (x100) nervous, I am also honoured to share my thoughts and answer questions to anyone who has them.
I’m looking forwards to seeing you there!
P.S. You can’t miss me, I will probably be wearing something Hulk related!
