“One of the main reasons I chose the University of Utah is the games program. I started playing video games just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. It was during this time that I discovered how interesting games are.

I started studying computer science in my home country of Malaysia. I knew I wanted to do something tech-related, but I didn’t really want to do coding. Since I was playing a lot of video games, I decided to try the games program when I transferred to the U.

I quickly realized game development wasn’t what I wanted to do. Instead, I was drawn to research. The games program is flexible. The professors are really nice and willing to help you if you’re proactive. I took a game user research class in fall 2024, and something in it just clicked. I started taking classes in sociology, psychology and research methods and working one-on-one with my professors.

In March, I attended a conference in Korea where I presented on one of my research projects. My current project is on immersive avatar customization in virtual reality. We’re trying to figure out how to make an optimized interface design for avatar customization in immersive systems. My research is more towards VR interfaces: spatial perception, cognitive load. I’m probably going to pursue a master’s or Ph.D. in research as well.

In the games program, teamwork is just as important as the technical side. Most of our classes are team-based and project-based. There are different sectors—art, engineering, design, production—and people have different perspectives on how to work. Figuring out how everyone can work together toward one final goal has been really interesting. For my capstone right now, we’re a team of 16 people. Don’t get me wrong, our team has lots of ups and downs, but overall, I think we are very proud of what we’ve done together.

It can be hard to take critique on a creative project like a game, but I always work to be very open to critiques of my work. I am curious to know what other people are thinking. I think that’s part of what drew me to research.”

— Kaylee Lai, Class of 2026, B.S. in Games, College of Architecture and Planning, from Selangor, Malaysia