Senior Spotlight: Tim Kashani Levels Up in GDIM Program
From filming b-roll footage for his father to immersing himself in the fantastic worlds of his favorite games, Tim Kashani grew up surrounded by art and creativity. His early exposure to artistic expression shaped his passion for storytelling and game development, eventually leading him to UC Irvine to study game design and interactive media (GDIM).
Kashani knew UC Irvine was where he wanted to be when he learned that the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences (ICS) had revamped its computer game science major. In fall 2021, ICS launched the GDIM major, which emphasizes both the creative and technical aspects of game development.
“UCI piqued my interest when I heard that they were changing the computer game science major to be more about game development as a whole than solely programming. It was my first choice of school because of this program, and how close it was to my family,” says Kashani, who is also pursuing a minor in Japanese language and literature. “I had to work hard in my final year of high school to make sure my grades were high enough to get accepted.”
Once at UC Irvine, Kashani quickly recognized how valuable the collaborative, project-based nature of the GDIM program was to his growth. Through diverse projects with different peers, he learned what it meant to be an excellent game developer while building new relationships.
One of the most formative of these experiences came in fall 2022 when Kashani created a game with extended reality (XR) technologies in Informatics 295/190: Climate XR, an experimental course offered through ICS. The course, which explored the potential of XR in raising awareness about climate issues, was taught by Informatics Professor Andre van der Hoek in a unique partnership with Kashani’s father, Tim Kashani, a Broadway/film producer, director and ICS alum.
Alongside six students in Climate XR, Kashani built “Toxicity Rising,” a virtual reality (VR) escape room game set in 2035 that educates players on the environmental impact of carbon emissions.
“We continued the project throughout the year and ended up with three unique levels, complete with sound effects and voiceovers,” says Kashani. “It was one of the hardest projects I’ve ever worked on, mainly because we were all very new to VR game development, and we had many ambitious features that we had to figure out how to implement. I also had to lead a team of 19 programmers in spring quarter, which, while very challenging, was a great learning experience.”
“Toxicity Rising” also taught Kashani the importance of engaging users with a clear and focused message when using technology to inspire meaningful change.
“If you want to make a social impact game, the game itself has to be engaging in order for your message to be effective. This is not to say that you can’t lean into the message a lot; you absolutely can, but in order to be powerful, it has to be well executed,” says Kashani.
When Kashani isn’t busy with his coursework and projects, he finds balance through his favorite pastimes: playing games, of course, and basketball with his friends. His current favorite game is Balatro, a card game with a twist.
Now in his final quarter at UC Irvine, Kashani is preparing for a career in game development, starting with his GDIM capstone project. Kashani and his teammates are working to release their game, “IRIDESCENT,” at the end of the year. More than a culmination of Kashani’s technical skills, “IRIDESCENT” shines with the many layers of his personal growth throughout college.
“Balancing classes, social life, and personal time can be very hard to do, especially in your first years, but you get a lot better at it over time, and that is a great skill to have for your entire life,” says Kashani.
— Karen Phan