Nicole's Portfolio

Nicole Finegan is a perpetually tired student, an enthusiastic learner, and one day hopeful top-500 Overwatch player. 

Student, Game Design

Who am I?

Hi! My name is Nicole Finegan. I am a student studying interactive arts and media at Columbia College Chicago. With a passion for game and level design – I hope to achieve my goals of receiving a bachelors in the year 2024 and make my dream of working in the game industry come true.

Before I decided on a career in the interactive arts. I had plans on becoming a dentist. I spent years on-and-off studying the sciences (biology, microbiology, chemistry, and all that “fun” stuff). I even took a number of English courses in hopes to becoming an author as a side-gig. However, things did not pan out as I would have liked. Over time, the idea of becoming a dentist became detached, but my love for story telling, and immersive world building continued to flood into many imaginative ideas. Some, in which, I attempted, learned, and tried to re-create. Although not all were successful — I took my efforts to, at least, see this as a positive reinforcement to a passion I once only saw as a hobby.

This was the beginning of a new career path. The path to become a story builder or, as many refer to it as, a designer – and not just any ‘ol designer. A GAME designer no less!

Why game design?

I might sound like a broken record, but when I say I am passionate about immersive and interactive experiences, I truly do mean so. I want to share my ideas and implement them in ways that make creative propositions feel real and important. I want to build worlds that feel like you’re walking through them at only but a glance. I want stories to feel like they can relate to people around the world and make situations feel as though they are really apart of something bigger. I want both these things to evolve and strengthen the bond they may share with their teams in the industry.

I can go on and on about my passions, but the last thing I want is forcing you to read a novel (I’ll save that for my side-gig as an author one day). What makes me passionate about games is a combination of creativity and technology that envelopes an immersive and interactive experience. I enjoy seeing design and visions embraced and hope that I may share this with others with a similar interest one day.

Education

Columbia College Chicago
2021 – Present

SOFTWARE

Favorite Games

Overwatch
Blizzard

Stray
Annapurnainteractive

Final Fantasy XIV
Square Enix

^{To be fair… I have way too many favorites! They simply would all have to have a space of their own if I were to list them all!}