Shaylin Carter: A pixelated journey

BY ASHTYN HANSARD / Executive Producer

Video games may just be a hobby for some people, but for Shaylin Carter, it’s much more than that.
 

Carter, a senior Digital Media Studies major, has already begun building her own future in video game creation. Her work ethic and motivation has propelled her forward and paid off well in the end.
 

Carter is originally from Fort Worth and went to school in a much bigger area than Tarleton. From there, she went to Oklahoma State University for a year before transferring to Tarleton State University to pursue a different major and experience Tarleton’s video game development program. 
 

Transferring from a bigger school to a smaller one can be a culture shock, especially when growing up in such a big city.
 

“It was hard to go from such a big environment to a small one,” Carter said. “I definitely knew I needed it because I was gonna have a lot more one-on-one time with my professors. I was also going to be able to grow a lot more independently versus, like, just being another person in the crowd.”
 

Transferring after spending a year at a university can be overwhelming, even if it’s back to your home state. Carter had these worries when she first transferred to Tarleton, but soon overcame them. She found that  joining many organizations helped her settle in comfortably.
 

“I joined as much as I could so that I could meet more people, and then that, like, settling experience would be a little bit better for me,” Carter said.
 

In her years at Tarleton, Carter has been a Residential Leader, a historian in the Phi Mu sorority, a member of Honors College and is currently the Secretary Media Officer for the Texan Esports team.
 

Carter, like many students, had her first experience in video games with the popular game, Minecraft. As she grew older, Carter discovered a sense of satisfaction after finishing escape rooms, which later helped inspire her next big project.
 

With her major, Carter had to create a senior capstone project to present before she graduated. Due to her passion for video game development, Carter decided to create her own horror video game.
 

“It’s going to be like an escape room,” Carter said. “So you’re not only gonna be escaping throughout this house, but you’re also gonna be figuring out this story while you’re going through it.”
 

However, it’s not going to be any ordinary escape room game. Carter shared that she also has an interest in true crime and set to combine the two together in the video game’s storyline.
 

“I thought, how cool would it be if I could combine that? Where the player goes through an escape room while learning a true crime case, whether it be fictional or nonfiction, and then just be able to solve it as they’re going?” Carter said. “It’s kind of combining the, like, big franchise of true crime and then the big franchise of, like, escape rooms, puzzles and stuff, and then try to put them together.”
 

This game has been a long term project for Carter. She first started working on the game in January and  has continued to work on it throughout the year. To improve her own knowledge and understanding the work it takes to create a video game, she created everything by hand, refusing to take shortcuts.
 

“The coding and everything in the background has been built by me versus importing my own engines, which could have been a lot easier,” Carter said. “But I wanted to learn, and so I knew I needed to learn that stuff before even trying to join the video game world outside of this, and so I was like, okay, what’s gonna teach me? Just build your own first game.”
 

Carter has spent over a thousand hours creating this game, spending four to five hours a day working on it after her classes. Her game will be published on Steam in February 2025, and will be available for PC users to purchase. 
 

Carter has proven her incredible perseverance in building this game while going to class and maintaining her grades. It seems almost impossible, but she found a way to make it work. 
 

Carter added pieces of her family to her video game in a few different ways. For example, her family’s handwriting is shown on documents that appear in the game. She also has had friends and family voice act some characters for the game.
 

While creating the game still does take up much of her time, Carter doesn’t seem to mind it at all.
 

“It’s kind of like that saying, ‘You’ll never work a day in your life if you love what you do.’ That’s what it feels like,” Carter said. “It’s like doing the game design work isn’t work for me. I just love to do it. And I would do it at any second of the day. I’m actually working on it right now just for fun.”
 

Along with creating her own video game, Carters role in Texan Esports is an important one. While she only just recently gained this position, Carter has been a part of the club since fall of 2023.
 

The Texan Esports have not only been extremely supportive of Carter’s project, but have even offered help with whatever tasks she needs to complete.
 

“It’s awesome,” Carter said. “It’s just like a constant support system,  and they don’t ever stop supporting me. They’re always asking me about my game, when it’s gonna come out and when they can play it.”
 

Not only has Esports helped support Carter while creating her game, but they’ve also created a trusting atmosphere for everyone in the club. 
 

“There’s no divide between the guys and the girls. They are so incredibly accepting,” Carter said. “I have so many friends in it that are just like, they don’t judge. They always wanna play with you and have fun with you.”
 

Throughout her time at Tarleton, Carter has found herself feeling like she was missing something. She soon discovered what it was: faith.
 

Although she stepped out of her faith for a while, Carter found herself being called back to it. After reconnecting with her faith, she found herself with a completely new outlook on her life.
 

“I think that just growing my faith has helped, like people around me, become more positive,” Carter said. “My whole attitude this whole entire semester has completely changed because I feel like the purpose is there and the meaning is there.”
 

Carter, throughout her time here at Tarleton, has learned many important things, including some she wishes she knew at the beginning of her time here.
 

“I saw a quote a while ago and it said, ‘It’s okay to be happy now versus chase after happiness,’” Carter said. “I think it helped me realize that it’s okay to accept what you’ve done now and be proud of yourself instead of always trying to chase after something else.”
 

Carter plans to attend the University of Utah and get her master’s in video game production. She will begin class in fall 2025. Until then, she plans to publish her game in February and attend a game developer conference in March where she’ll display her finished video game.
 

Congratulations, Shaylin.