PART 1:

This last seminar was quite interesting. Seeing all the different work by the professors was amazing.

Seeing what could done with the risograph was very cool, and I want to look into that a bit. If I remembering correctly the process is called screenprinting? Anyway, I enjoyed what I saw from that and would like to try it. It would be nice to be able to make a design of something and maybe get it put on a shirt or print of some kind.

Bill’s stuff was very nice. I liked how he didn’t try to explain any of the pieces and just let the slide show go to let us observe on our own. I kept trying to identify what objects he may have used in each composition, but any guess is as good as mine. For that one he told us about, I never would of guessed a pack of post-it note strips. There was one photo I enjoyed quite a bit as it resembled the “evil eye” symbol or “nazar”.

Tuan’s work that be showed us was quite nice to see. He had mentioned it a bit before in class, but I had no idea the scale of the work he does fro the school when it come for flyer designs and all of that. His stuff was quite appealing, and I’d like to be able to do such things.

Lastly, Kim’s pieces in her slides were great and some of the things she does with her work is quite humanitarian. I enjoyed knowing she utilizes her art in such a way.

Part 2:

While I’m not exactly sure how to make a four year degree plan, I’ll be using info based off my DegreeWorks and what I may need to work/improve in these next few years.

As of right now, I’m doing quite well in terms of grades and taking care of myself. I’ve been going to all my classes and am able to fit in time for studying, work, meals and some relaxation.

For classes, I’ve gotten around 18-19 credits so far according to DegreeWorks. I still have plenty of classes I’ll need to take for my major (Interactive Game Studies) and some general education classes. As long as i keep working the way I have been and be sure to stay studious, I think I’ll have no problem with the next few years.

The classes I’m taking and will be taking are helping me to become more experienced with video games and the industry. Having a career ion the video game industry, specifically a video game designer is what’ve always wanted to do. With a degree in Interactive Game Studies, getting a job in the video game industry will be slightly easier. Not entirely easy, but the degree will help me get a starting point somewhere.

In the event things don’t go my way I have a backup plan. I’m currently a student worker in the Human resources department of St. Edward’s. With that on my resume, I could end up doing that for awhile. While it’s not similar to my dream career, I know how to do it and am efficient at it. IT’s not bad at all in my eyes.

Here is my Skill Inventory for my 5 classes.

1. The Art of Leadership through Speech

1. My greatest strengths in Speech include: My confidant voice, well rounded outlines and ability to do impromptu speeches.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Take more time to develop my outlines and speeches.

2. History of Games

1. My greatest strengths in History of Games include: My passion for games, attentiveness and speaking/commenting on things when appropriate.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Take more time to study and re-read chapters of my textbook even if I’ve read them before.

3. Visual Studies

1. My greatest strengths in Visual Studies include: Being able to learn from past work, being able to put lots of time and effort into my work and having an understanding of how different forms of media are associated with each other. I also am able to accept constructive criticism on my work.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Do more research on the types of projects we do in class to get a better understanding of them.

4. Rhetoric and Composition

1. My greatest strengths in Rhetoric and Comp include: Being able to write coherent essays and papers, being able to utilize proper grammar and being able to accept constructive criticism on my work.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Get other people to peer-review my work so i can improve my work even further

4. Rhetoric and Composition

1. My greatest strengths in Rhetoric and Comp include: Being able to write coherent essays and papers, being able to utilize proper grammar and being able to accept constructive criticism on my work.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Get other people to peer-review my work so i can improve my work even further.

5. College Algebra

1. My greatest strengths in Algebra include: Getting all of my work done early, being able to do mental math to a decent extent and familiarizing myself with the material.
2. For greater success in this course, I need to: Perhaps go to the math tutoring center on campus, as there are times when the homework does confuse me.

Computer skills:

1. My computer skills include: Being able to use multiple softwares such as Photoshop, Audition, Premiere, Microsoft Office and various other programs.
2. I still need to learn: Some higher level softwares such as game making software.

Research & writing skills:

1. My greatest strengths as a researcher/writer include: Being able to take constructive criticism, taking my time when researching or writing down everything and citing my sources.
2. I need to work on these aspects of research and writing: Using various sources, not just a few. As well as using MLA formatting.
3. I learn best & accomplish most when: I’m given time to process what being presented to me and looking at examples.

Part 2:

I feel as though one class I could do better in is my Rhetoric and Comp class.

Here are 10 things I would do to improve my performance in the class.

1. Read the assigned chapters of the textbook multiple times, not just once
2. Get people to proofread my essays
3. Get a bit more sleep, since it is a 9:30 am class, and I get tired.
4. Work with people from the class and see how they handle the assignments.
5. Read all of the assigned articles throughly.
6. Email the teacher is i have questions or problems with an assignment.
7. Meet with teacher during office hours for help.
8. Don’t get distracted by phone while trying to write essays.
9. Be sure to use proper grammar and spelling.
10. Use MLA handbook to improving essays.

Part 1:

Having four upperclassmen talk to us about their respective majors of photography, art, graphic design and interactive game studies was quite interesting. As an interactive game studies major, it was nice hearing and seeing what someone with the same major has done over the last few years. However I enjoyed seeing the works of all the upperclassmen. I can’t seem to remember the names of each upperclassmen at the moment, but I’ll try to remember as best I can.

To start, the Photography major who spoke had very interesting and intriguing pictures. I loved the way she captured nature in some shots and people I others. One photo that stood out to me was the one of the three people in front a garage door and they each have a dog in their hands. I also enjoyed seeing her collages and ended up getting some inspiration for what i may do for my collages.

The art major’s work was quite interesting. I enjoyed her art style very much in her previous works, professional works and current work. I’m glad she gave out her Tumblr and Instagram at the end for us, as I want to see more of what she has posted. Hearing what she had to makes me want to get out my sketchbook and draw again. It’s been quite some time since I last drew and after today I think I’ll start again.

The graphic design major had a lot of eye-catching work and I thought all of it looked very nice. Typefaces seem very interesting and i want to look more into them. All of her work had a nice aesthetic to them and were very appealing to the eye. I hope that whole monthly box thing she talked about near the end goes well for her.

Now, Alexis (the only name I could remember) the interactive game studies major said a lot of things I agree with. Everything that has to do with our major, no matter how big or small takes work. Whether its homework for the course or what will be after graduation, you have to continue to work. And networking is important too, which is something I need to start looking into. Alexis’s presentation actually sparked a good discussion in my History of Games class right after the seminar.

While many of my peers agreed with what she had said about work and the course, a few were not exactly convinced. They seemed scared or put off by the way she described the amount of work or the things you may have to do to get some traction in the video game industry (specifically non-paid internships). But I don’t see those as bad things. Life isn’t easy, you constantly have to work. And sometimes you may put a lot of work into one thing and get no results, but thats why you keep working. You work to get those results that you strive for, the ones that inspire you. This is my opinion at least, and I feel that the few students that are worried about the work and lack of instant gratification need to step back and see the bigger picture. Because our major is not about just playing games or analyzing them. It’s to familiarize ourselves with the industry we will hopefully get into some day and be ready for what will be within it.

Overall, each upperclassmen offered me some inspiration and advice that I feel will help me on the journey that is my major. Each one did a wonderful job with speaking and I hope to hear from them again if they ever come back to speak.

Part 2:

1. https://www.niergame.com/us/ and 2. crashbandicoot.com

A two in one, but the one feature I like on both sites act the same. Both sites have a menu of some sort that lead you to whatever part you want very quickly. Instead of scrolling through you can easily click to what section you want to go to and be there.

3.  bizarreadventureart.tumblr.com

I like this site, not only because it posts artwork from my favorite series but because of how its formatted. It’s just art, plain and simple. I wish more of them had descriptions but I like the way this one is set up.

4. reddit.com/r/MortalKombat

While I don’t play the game itself, this subreddit has an amazing interface and everything is very well organized. The menu on the side is a nice touch and everything looks so uniform.

Part 1:

Currently in my Visual Studies we’re creating collages based on the principals of harmony. Meaning that we need to incorporate shape, value and texture as well as other elements into our collages. The assignment asks “How do you ‘make’ an image?” The two images below are the two “analog” collages I’ve made, meaning I found objects and used them to make the collage. The objects I collected were mostly stickers I found on South Congress. I figured I’d try and make an image out of a bunch of different images.  With at least one of them (the second one pictured) I feel that I used Harmony quite well and ‘made’ an image, but no so much with the first one.

Part 2:

1. The strongest aspect of my work was definitely the negative space and symmetry of my second collage. With my first collage, while I used lots of color, it fell kind of flat. That leads to my weakest aspect.
2. My first collage was too cluttered and it made too much sense. I tried to create a scene which didn’t get understood very quickly. I also didn’t experiment enough, staying pretty tame with my assignment. I would swap body parts for similar body parts for characters (ex. a dog head replacing a human head) and didn’t do enough with the surroundings.
3. While i’ll get the chance to do some more collages in the coming weeks, I’m going to be sure to make things more strange, while also incorporating the elements of harmony into my pieces. I won’t be plain with what i put together like my first two. I’ll also make way more then two collages.
4. I just need to be sure to spend as much time as I need and really think about how I can incorporate the elements  as well as things like layering and such.